Totally Texas -- Santa says: Love comes back to you

NorthPark Santa

8687 North Central Expressway (Central at Northwest Highway)

Dallas

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I started a Christmas scrapbook for my now eight-year-old grandsons. The first page includes a picture of their first photo with Santa, aka psychology professor Carl Anderson, who’s been the face and voice of the jolly old elf at NorthPark mall in Dallas now for twenty-five years.

I’ll admit, sometimes we’ve visited other Santas, but none beat Santa Anderson, as the crowds of kids and parents who show up to hear his daily storytelling can attest.

Despite how busy Santa and his elves are getting all the toys made before Christmas, “sometimes we take a break,” he confided to his audience this week. “But we don’t take coffee breaks. We take story breaks.”

And so he launched into this year’s holiday story of “The Old Woman in the Vinegar Bottle,” but not before asking his audience’s help at crucial points in the story about a person who’s too busy wanting things to enjoy what she already has.

And to further help Santa in his mission of bringing joy, he passed along ideas for how even children could bring joy by giving out smiles, waves, hugs and greetings. “When you give love, it comes back to you.”

It will be good advice to remember as we stand in line for visits with Santa, lines so long his helpers give out numbered (free) tickets for the privilege. Although ticket giving starts at 9 a.m., I was warned that the secret to getting a ticket as soon as possible is to arrive early. NorthPark opens at 7 a.m. to let exercise walkers in. Take your coffee or stop by the in-mall Starbucks, which also opens early, and find spot near Santa’s little storybook house on the first level near Macy’s with the other parents and grandparents eager to snag low-numbered tickets to hang out one on one (or two on one, in my grandkids’ case) with Santa. While you wait, check out Anderson’s blog, http://santasays.org on your Smartphone for an extra helping of holiday warmth.

Don’t forget to smile and wave, but hurry. Because when Santa leaves NorthPark on Christmas Eve, he’s gone until next year.

Santa story times are 10:30 a.m. today, Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday, and noon Sunday (with no storytelling on Christmas Eve). Individual visits are 11 a.m. - 2 p.m., 2:30 p.m. - 5 p.m., and 5:30 p.m. - 7 p.m. daily except Sunday and Christmas Eve. Sunday visit times are 12:30 p.m. - 3 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. - 5 p.m. Christmas Eve visits are from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

There’s no charge for visits unless you decide to buy professional photos, but family members are welcome to take their own pictures.

Totally Texas -- Angels flock to the Dallas Arboretum

Dallas Arboretum

8525 Garland Road, Dallas

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The DeGolyer House’s fireplaces never felt more delightful than when I stopped by after several days of icy weather. And the interior of the rambling Spanish colonial revival house on the grounds of the Dallas Arboretum seldom looked more beautiful, dressed for the holidays with more than five hundred angels.

The angels, unofficial mascots of Pi Beta Phi, are on loan through December 31 from the Dallas chapter of the sorority, the oldest Greek letter organization for women. And they seem to like hanging out in the historic 1940 home of the family of geologist Everette DeGolyer and his wife Nell, peeking from mantelpieces, topping dining and breakfast tables, perched on bookshelves, adorning Christmas trees, or hanging from mirrors, all amid masses of red, pink and white poinsettias.

I like to bring my grandkids to the arboretum when they need plenty of outdoor space to move around in. But even active kids need a place to warm up when the weather is wintry or rainy. For those times, the DeGolyer is a haven.

Although the house, like the rest of the arboretum, is generally open daily except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day, it will be closed for a private party December 17, and during any weather severe enough to cause school closings.

The DeGolyer is open 10 a.m. through 4 p.m. Tours are self-guided, with help from knowledgeable docents. However, the angels are only in residence through December 31.

The arboretum’s grounds are recovering from last week’s ice storm, and as of fifteen minutes before this posting, the Children’s Adventure Garden planned to reopen today.


The arboretum also hosts visits from Santa Claus and a live reindeer, and costumed Frosty the Snowman and red-nosed Rudolph Saturdays and Sundays through December 22. Regular hours are 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults (ages 13-64), $12 for those ages 65 and older, and $10 for children over age two, free for younger children. On-site self-parking is $10. But for discounts on tickets and parking as well as times for the weekend holiday events, see
www.dallasarboretum.org/.

　

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More good news for the holidays--Richardson’s Santa’s Village is open after being closed last weekend because of the ice storm. However, visitors may want to keep umbrellas handy!

(Next Friday -- bringing on the tubas at Thanks-Giving Square’s annual Christmas Eve concert.)