Christmas Shopping

We did a little Christmas shopping this weekend. Christmas window shopping, that is. I took Sam to NorthPark Center this weekend and we invited Gram and Pops to join us.  NorthPark is a very well-known shopping center, the oldest and largest in Dallas.  It has fountains and sculptures and the kinds of shops you usually only see in fancy magazine ads! Gram and Pops brought me here to see the Christmas decorations, from the time I was a tiny baby, so it was nice to be able to bring Sam as well. While some things have changed, there was a lot that felt very much the same!

Pops, Sam and Gram in front of one of the many Christmas trees placed throughout Northpark.

 Sam was ooohing over these guys:

They are mechanical, and I remember coming to Northpark to see them when I was very small.

 He really, really liked the moving sculpture.  Such a guy.

Whose presents are these, flying overhead?

 Why, it's Santa Claus and his reindeer!  Santa and his crew are made of very old nuts, shellacked marshmallows and other petrified bits.  We know they are at least thirty-something years old...

 Rudolph, with your nose so bright!

There were no penguins, as there were when Momma was a little girl, but they did have ducks and turtles.  That's two of the three WonderPets!

 It was love-at-first-sight for the salesgirl at the Nasher Sculpture Center Shop, so she had to find lots of fun toys to make Sam laugh.

Because our timing was a little off, we didn't make any of the puppet shows like we'd planned. But that was okay.  Sam enjoyed a snack in front of the gingerbread house and met a couple of babies while we listened to the Plano Civic Chorale sing Christmas carols.

There were lots of fun things to touch, too, like these very soft cactus forests. 

They looked like little Christmas trees, and we felt like GIANTS!

But the best thing about the day was that Mommy's sweater had buttons.  Go figure.

We'll be back next year, for sure, although we might try for a weekday instead of a Saturday afternoon!  And next year we'll make the puppet shows and, if he wants to, we'll take Sam to the Miniature Train Show.  Can't wait!