For the past twenty years, Santa Claus has visited ABC Carpet & Home. For a handful of Saturdays and Sundays in December, he becomes an integral feature of the store: a literal symbol that the holidays have arrived. For us, Christmas isn’t Christmas until Santa has arrived.
We know we’re not alone in the sentiment. So, this holiday season, we scouted out the (admittedly sizable) line for several weekends in a row in hopes to meet families who have come to know and love Santa Claus year after year. We were absolutely successful in our mission: we were introduced to three very special families who make the trip to our store to see Santa year after year. Read their adorable stories, below.
The Meyer Family:
Even though we moved out of Manhattan six years ago when my kids were one and three, Santa at ABC Carpet & Home continued to be a must. My kids are fully aware that he is Santa; all the others are just his helpers.
Over the years we have progressed from being fearful – and having to sit on my lap – to giving Santa a huge hug; from mumbling a request to wanting to have a long conversation about life and school. Santa always knows exactly what to say to relax them: “It is so nice to see you again. You are getting so big.”
The Bond Family:
We have been coming to ABC for years to visit Santa. The first year I can vividly recall is when my girls were three and almost two. They were a bit more in awe at the time and didn’t have too much to say…just wide-eyed with awe when we walked into ABC and first saw Santa.
This year, we were afraid our seven year-old might not believe in Santa. Instead, we were happy to find out that she does still believe, however, she has carefully delineated which are the ‘real’ Santas and which are the ‘fake’ ones. How can they tell? “The beard,” they tell me. They understand that there are Santa fill-ins all over New York, but your Santa is not one of them. From a parents’ perspective, what is better than visiting a beautiful festive store, seeing our children’s happy smiles and topping off the afternoon with brunch at ABC Kitchen?
The Goodman Family:
We’ve been coming since about 2000, when Isabelle was two years old and Rose was about two months old (and there was never a line!). Santa always recognizes the kids, but he says he identifies them by the parents. He said to the girls’ mom, “I don’t always recognize the children because they change so much, but the parents never change.” And she replied, “Bless you, Santa.”
It is certainly a tradition in our family to see Santa every year. The kids would be crushed if we were to miss him. We nearly missed him last year, and we had to run to catch him on his last visit. I like to say, “If there is a real Santa, he is it.”
Thank you for sharing your stories with us! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
-Reveal
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