Tuesday, December 11, 2012
The Santa Claus myth is all kinds of fun when your kids are little, but when are they too old to still believe?
I remember when I first told my oldest son, Sam, about Santa Claus. He was two months old and obviously incredibly invested in the myth. He stared vacantly at me, digesting the importance of my words. He may not have awoken with wonder and excitement to find his filled stocking that first Christmas morning, but he really liked the toy Santa brought him that flashed lights and sounds when he kicked it. Naturally, it probably took him a couple more years to really understand who Santa was and why he should care (and then maybe another year before he would agree to sit on his lap at the mall), but once the story took, it took hard. Sam believed in Santa with all of his heart—and once his two brothers came along, they did as well. I know a lot…
Thursday, December 6, 2012
With help from Montgomery County police, Santa will ride from Germantown to the Children’s Inn in Bethesda to deliver gifts to sick kids.
As part of a charitable effort by Montgomery County police, a motorcycle-riding St. Nick—flanked by 20 of Montgomery County’s finest—will carry donated gifts to Children’s Inn in Bethesda on Wednesday. Santa’s “sleigh” ride begins in Germantown at 10 a.m. at the District 5 station in Germantown then makes two stops — Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce on Clopper Road and Sheehy Ford on Frederick Road. Santa plans to lunch at Vince & Dominics Pizzeria in Bethesda. The motorcade is expected to reach Children’s Inn by 5:30 p.m., just in time for a party. Part of the National Institutes of Health, Children’s Inn is a nonprofit facility that offers lodging for children receiving treatment at NIH and their families. Police are still …
Monday, November 26, 2012
From singing dogs to a philandering Santa Claus, these recordings came in last place in a recent survey.
Odds are there's at least one Christmas recording filling the airwaves each December which you absolutely, positively cannot stand. Maybe it's something about the vocalist. Maybe the song brings up less than cheerful memories. Maybe the carol itself is just plain awful. Whatever the reason, you're not alone. Edison Research, a company specializing in marketing and polling, has published a list of least liked holiday songs for 2012. To compile its rankings, the company polled a group of 200 women ages 30-49 "who said they liked or loved hearing Christmas music on the radio." (The sample may be somewhat unrepresentative of the broader population, but we're willing to bet a few of these recordings would show up on a great many "least favorite…
Friday, November 16, 2012
St. Nick's coming to Montgomery and Prince George's county malls this month and here's where you can go a snap a picture with the family and your pets, too.
It's that time of year again! Santa Claus is coming to town and he's available to take those adorable family photos with you and your children. Here's where Santa will be this holiday season. Wheaton Westfield Wheaton, 11160 Veirs Mill Rd Silver Spring, MD 20902 Santa will be perched in his chair, waiting to take a photo with your child, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Nov. 17 through Dec. 24. Photo packages run between $21 and $45, and all come with a gift card to Shutterfly. Bethesda Westfield Montgomery, 7101 Democracy Blvd Bethesda, MD 20817 In Bethesda, you can have your child’s photo taken with Santa on the lower level of the mall, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 …
Jill Berry
11:39 pm on Tuesday, December 18, 2012
I'm all about keeping the Santa myth alive for as long as possible. My oldest started doubting at 9 or 10. I told her that children who believed in Santa got presents from Santa. That got her thinking. I went on to say that those who didn't believe only got Mommy/Daddy presents on Christmas morning. That did it...Santa presents are SO much better than boring old Mommy/Daddy presents. She was a … more ›