Father Christmas

I've just read a post on a friend's blog that reminded me of something Mapera did recently.

We were in the bank, waiting to see someone about the mortgage, when an elderly gent with a white beard, and driving a motorised wheelchair came in. Mapera immediately spotted him and asked her current question de jour "what's his name?". I said I didn't know, and what did she think and she thought about it, took a good look at him and said "Father Christmas".

Now, baring in mind that when she met "Father Christmas" at a Christmas party last year, she howled and did not like him at all, this next bit made me very happy.

I said did she want to ask him if he was Father Christmas, and she said yes, so Tareka waited til he'd finished at the counter and asked the nice old man if our daughter could ask him a question. She asked "what's your name?" and he told her it was Robert, but that most people called him Bob, then Tareka prompted her to ask her other question and she did, very shyly ask if he was Father Christmas...he asked if she wanted a present and her little 2 year old eyes lit up. Bless the dear old fella but he reached into his pocket and gave my daughter a $2 coin. Tareka and I thanked him profusely and got Mapera to say thank you too. I said to her "he really was Father Christmas, wasn't he?".

The look of amazement on her face was priceless.

This is what I love about kids. She didn't even notice the wheelchair, she just wanted to know if he was Father Christmas, and you know, he never said he wasn't :)