Better watch out, better not cry...

Better not pout, I'm telling you why...

 Santa Claus is coming to TOWN!
And not only was he IN town this weekend, but he joined us for breakfast at the mall on Saturday;)

Our neighbors (and dear friends),the Robinson's, invited us (minus Cor because he was at a sleepover) to join them for a morning of fun-filled Christmas festivities at our local mall.

We had never participated in this event before,

but it will be on our "MUST DO" Christmas list from now on;)

 

Thanks to chic-fil-@, the first 100 guests enjoyed a FREE chicken-mini kid's meal breakfast!

How AWESOME is that-right!

There were tons of activities for the kids to do, and immediately after finishing breakfast they were off, ready to check everything out!  

 Riley had written a sweet letter to Santa earlier in the week, and he brought it with him to give to Santa personally during breakfast. When we got to the mall though, Santa had a BIG mailbox set up right in the middle of the food court. Riley excitedly placed his letter inside!

Sophie had colored Santa a special note too and was excited to send it off to the North Pole as well!

The kids also got busy decorating little gingerbread men cookies!

With bowls full with candy, sprinkles, frosting, and treats, the kids had no problem creating a very yummy Christmas cookie!

 Sweet Hudson needed a little extra help from Daddy!

Riley, who is my little artist/perfectionist, patiently created his masterpiece--one sprinkle (literally) at a time;)

Bless him;)

 Sophie, on the other hand, couldn't get enough candy or sprinkles on that cookie of hers!
{Grin}

The more stuff, the better!
Her gingerbread man was piled sky high with every sugary morsel and treat that was available;)

After our sweet treats were made, it was time to make a snack for Santa's reindeer!

The kids each received a Ziploc bag and had fun filling it with the things reindeer like to eat. 

Did you know Rudolph and his friends enjoy popcorn, dried oatmeal, marshmallows, cheerios and raisins?

Who knew...
We'll make sure to sprinkle our reindeer food on our lawn before bed on Christmas Eve.

Santa's reindeer are gonna need a hearty snack in order to re-fuel while they make that long trek around the world that night:)

The "Daddies" were great sports and enthusiastically jumped right in to participate in a fun Christmas game!

How many balloons can you stuff in your shirt in only ONE minute!

Apparently, Santa wasn't the only one walking around with a little too much "jelly in his belly"--HA!

This was the last booth we visited and I thought it was an AWESOME idea! The kids had the opportunity to thank our troops by writing/coloring a Christmas letter and then mailing it to them!

Soooo many of these men and women will be spending Christmas far away from their friends and family.

I can't imagine, BUT I do deeply and sincerely appreciate their love, sacrifice, and service to our country!
Shane served as a Marine for six years, so the people in the military hold a very special place in our hearts.
You know what they say right...Once a Marine, Always a Marine!"

Anyway, I hope our little letters to the troops bring a small smile to their face and a little Christmas cheer to these wonderful, selfless individuals!

And with that our fun morning came to an end, BUT really our day of Christmas fun was actually just beginning. We still had two wonderful Christmas activities planned for the day, but those details will have to wait for another post...