Santabration

Today was a big day for Madison - it was time for her Santabration!  Daddy got off of work a little early, and together we went down to the Mall of Georgia for the big Christmas celebration.  It was the kick-off of the Christmas season, and the time to welcome Santa to the mall.  To start out with, there was a parade - this featured a marching band, walking pretzels and pizzas, teddy bears, kung fu children, and a float filled with adorable little dancers like this:

Madison helped decorate the float, along with Mommy and Daddy and a bunch of other parents.  It was sort of a last-minute effort, but it all turned out well in the end.  The parade traveled around one side of the mall, and Madison rode on a parade float with the other children, each one tossing out candy to the spectators on the side of the road.

They wrapped up things right at the stage, where the dancers entertained a pretty big crowd.  Here's a photo of Madison and her friends, dancing to Jingle Bells.

It was all very cute - and at the end of one routine, Santa came out himself to greet everyone.  And that's not all he did.  Right there from the stage, he started the countdown for the lighting of the mall's tree - and Madison was right there behind him, helping out.  They counted from ten, and soon, the Christmas season was started for the mall:  the tree lit up, and the crowd cheered.  Then it was time for some more dancing.  Madison's friends took to the stage, and entertained the crowd with reindeer costumes, angel costumes, and even a few elf costumes (these elves were clogging to that RUN DMC Christmas song).  It was quite a night!

As it grew darker, it grew colder.  The next thing planned was a showing of the movie "Elf," but we were a little chilly, and a little tired too.  Mommy and Daddy are coming down with something, but that didn't stop us from really enjoying the evening.  It definitely put you in the Christmas spirit!