I came in a little out of breath and a little sweaty this morning. We tried to come in through the East Mall doors, but they were locked. So we trudged back to the truck and drove around to the west side of the mall. We then had to take the long walk (for two old people) to our changing / staging area. That’s a lot of hurried walking. Thank God for deodorant and colone. I hope none of the kids or parents notice a sweat smell.
The mall hours are posted as 10 to 8 today. However, walking through the mall, nearly all of the stores were still locked up and dark at 10. When we got down to the set Mike was on the phone with tech support because the camera to computer to computer wasn’t done updating. A twenty-year veteran had come in to pick up a purchase from Helzberg, but they didn’t open until 11. So he sat and visited with Santa for quite a while before the store opened.
Our first appointment was for 10 and it took a little longer because of the tech issue but the pictures were great.
An older special-needs man came in with his family for a photo and to tell Santa what he wanted a Barbie.
A preschool-age boy with autism came in to give me a hug, but wouldn’t sit for a photo.
Santa had a four month old boy in for a photo. No smile but no time for Tears either.
We are starting to get busier. We only had four or five appointments scheduled but we had a lot of walk-ins today.
There was a mother with two Elder daughters she came in a wheelchair they didn’t buy photos, but they took some with their cell phone. Santa never says no. That’s the job of the set manager to tell them that they can’t take personal photos.
Tom and Ella Journal 