All he Wants for Christmas

Eliot's absolute, hands-down favorite part of the holidays is candy canes. This morning, Toby bribed our son into going to the hardware store on the promise of a visit to the decorating aisle for a candy cane ornament. Last year, we had to remove every candy cane from the tree because Eliot learned to stack a stool on the coffee table in order to reach the ones hanging from the highest branches.

My son doesn't quite understand that his favorite treat's name is made up of two distinct words. Instead, like Pooh and his "hum-de-hum," Eliot sings out a repetition with an extra syllable in between. He calls them "CANE-dee-canes."

Yesterday, we picked up Eliot's friend and headed over to the Fort Edward historic Amtrak station to visit a certain Christmas celebrity. The little guys are, of course, only three. A strange old dude in white gloves beckoning them to his lap? No, thanks. The boys averted their eyes and headed right past St. Nick to the model train village in the back. The teeny-tiny Santa on one teeny-tiny roof with an electric train cruising past was much more appealing.

On our way out, we had to pass the peculiar Claus family again. This time, Eliot noticed something that gave him pause. Old Mrs. Claus was holding a basket. Once he realized what was inside, he walked right over to Santa and clambered up, unassisted, onto that big, red lap. It didn't take long for Eliot's little buddy to overcome his reluctance and join his friend.



When Santa asked Eliot what he wanted for Christmas, Eliot asked for just one thing. "CANE-dee-cane," he said, pointing to the basket. Mr.and Mrs. Claus were able to fulfill that request on the spot.