Penncember

On Monday I got an alert that there was a campus event called Penncember.  Like all good moms with social anxiety, I made Mike inquire around campus to see if it was for certain a family event, as advertised, because I didn't want to be the lady who showed up with five kids to hang out with a bunch of college kids.  Campus events are tricky!  He said all the information he was given pointed to it being an open family event, and so we decided to cross the street (literally) and give it a go.
I'm so glad we did!
It was a sweet event.  Many of the campus organizations had activity tables set up and there was a Santa there, too.
Within the span of an hour and twenty minutes our kids made pine cone bird feeders with the ecology kids, candy canes with the educational students, made snowflakes, decorated cookies, wrote letters to Santa, made cards for the local Nursing Home, decorated Christmas ornaments, and visited Santa.  We even missed three stations!  It was a busy night!

Santa was so youthful looking! 😉  Here's what I have to say about this, actually.  These college kids could have made light of their roles as Santa and elf and not done it well, not made it magical; however, they did a great job of the task.  Santa and his elf both kept the illusion of mystery and magic in it for the kids who needed it and I applaud them for that.  Santa was kind, took his time, and was not creepy (important!).  The elf slyly got the kids' names and said things like, "look, Santa, Johnny has come to see you!" (because we all know Santa knows your name already!  Well done, Santa and helper!

Mia is at an age of wonder...

Santa listened to her requests for baby doll gear very seriously.

The event was not overly crowded and very well managed.

Yes, sprinkles with dye.  Look at the mom that is loosening up a little.  You won't find them in our home, but there wasn't any need to miss out on a bit of fun.

The one whom dye affects behaviorally didn't even eat her cookie.  She's learning to make wise food decisions on her own.  Neither did the wildest child eat his cookie.

I can't even with this kid's cuteness.  He's been the least "wanty" this Christmas.  He can look at a toy catalog and tell you a million things he "wants" but when you actually ask him he says, "maybe a toy." 

Snowflakes...
Mia spent forever here.

Bird feeders.
I have the most pictures of Zayden because he worked a bit more quickly than the others, so he and I and Ev in the stroller went ahead lest he get bored and find an opportunity to do parkour in the PAC.

Candy cane making...
Perfect opportunity for this teacher mom to reinforce the patterns we've been learning about!  Zayden chose a more challenging ABB pattern so he had to really focus to keep it straight.

Daddy carried this lamb around awhile and then she happily sat in her stroller watching the fun, until she fell asleep and took a little snooze.

The big kids even got to meet Willy P!

Thanks for a fun night, WPU!

Lighting the tree before walking home...