Online and Urban Holiday

We did it! We did not step one foot into the mall this holiday season. A big thank you goes to our good friends at Amazon and UPS, as well as the 16 year old kid who stocks the Kroger gift card center, for making this dream possible.

As for Santa, we avoided the three hour wait – and the $300 spent while roaming Kenwood Towne Center while holding the Christmas pager – by making a trip downtown and visiting the big guy at Fountain Square today. So easy. No lines. No overly priced photos. One super friendly (and patience) St. Nick. That was followed by some tag team shopping at Macy’s, microbrews at Rock Bottom and the holiday train display at the Duke Energy building.

The only downside to waiting until two days before Christmas to finally see Santa: a possible curveball on the wish list. All Avery could shyly ask for was a Barbie - a gift idea we had delegated to others. So we did have to hit the Kroger toy aisle on the way home to ensure this one and only request would be under the tree on Christmas morning.

The only downside to visiting downtown during the holidays: makes us wish we lived there all year long.

But overall, I believe we have a new December 23 tradition and one more day of the year we can pretend to lead an urban lifestyle.