A visit with Santa!

Kemper posing with a reindeer.

Ever since we discovered the Bass Pro Shops Santa's Wonderland back in Richmond, VA, we've made it a tradition to visit their Santa (well, not the one in Richmond, of course) each year.  They have such a great little area full of Christmas crafts, games and a place to mail your letter to Santa while you wait.  They even have a "fast pass" system that we've used in years past.  

Hudson hanging out with Daddy, patiently waiting to see Santa.

It seemed that this year, lots of people discovered Santa's Wonderland and the fast pass return time was 5 hours out and the wait was only 40 minutes.  There was plenty to keep us occupied...checking out the reindeer and elves in the display, taking turns going to see the fish in the big tank, and checking out the hunting stuff with Daddy.  Hudson loved the elves and seemed pretty interested in Santa as we approached the front of the line.  Kemper was excited and not scared at all.  

Kemper's excited...Hudson seems a bit skeptical.  

When Kemper was Hudson's age, he wasn't a fan of sitting on Santa's lap so the picture from that year is of James holding Kemper standing next to Santa.  Hudson is nothing like his older brother, plus, he takes cues from Kemper so I wasn't terribly nervous that he was going to have a meltdown.  Sure enough, once Kemper hopped up on Santa's lap, Hudson was game to follow!  

Success!

After Hudson gave him the once over, he was good and even smiled for the camera!  (Another great thing about Bass Pro Shops is that you get a free picture and are able to take as many pictures with your own camera as you want.  There is no pressure to purchase additional pictures!)  

Santa's reaction to finding out that Kemper wanted his very own workshop for Christmas.

After we got a picture of both boys, Hudson wasn't interested in hanging out on Santa's lap while Kemper told Santa what he wanted so Kemper got some 1-on-1 time with the big guy.  Santa was very shocked to hear that Kemper wanted a Santa workshop for Christmas.  He also asked for more elves to go with his Santa sleigh and reindeer set he got last year.  After Kemper was done, as we walked away, I asked if he remembered to tell Santa what Hudson wanted.  He had forgotten...guess it's each man for himself when it comes to Santa around this house.  

Mister, I'm not supposed to take candy from a stranger.  

Santa had candy cane for the boys but Hudson was a bit skeptical of taking candy from a stranger.  Overall, it was a very successful outing.  When we found out where we were moving, one of the first things I saw when researching the area was that there is a Bass Pro Shops in a neighboring town.  I'm excited that we'll be able to continue the tradition next year, too!