Reindeer Ears

After eating dinner out this evening, we happened upon some pre-Christmas festivities at an outdoor shopping area. There were horse-drawn sleigh rides, free reindeer antlers, a Christmas tree lighting and balloon animals. The line to visit with Santa, who was 45 minutes late, was ridiculously long, so we opted instead to partake in complimentary caffeine from Caribou Coffee while we watched the goings on. The Little Nguyens scored mammoth-sized M&M cookies as well as hot apple cider...kudos to Caribou for thinking of the kids! Then, what to our wondering eyes should appear....a faux Paula Deen! I mean Mrs. Claus. I am not exaggerating when I say she looked exactly like Paula, albeit with a little less "butter," and she spoke just as sweetly. She tied a red string around each of the Little Nguyens' fingers and told them to let it serve as a reminder to be good boys for Santa. Mrs. Claus also asked us to go out and do something special for those less fortunate this holiday season, which I think is wonderful. I wished I had had my camera to take a picture of Paula Claus and the boys in their reindeer ears, but I wasn't that prepared. So, we took a few snapshots when we returned home. The First Little Nguyen took the last two. Hmmm...a budding photographer?