Letters to Santa, 30th Annual Dickens of a Christmas

Here's a letter for yesterday and one for today...

Dear Santa-
I first want to say Merry Christmas. And I love your elves, how do they get so small? I want a lot of presents but will only tell you a few because you are so busy. I want a lady bug pillow pet, zhu zhu hamster and a little baby puppy. See you soon (I hope)! Love, Alexandra

And this one I love just for the spelling...

Dear Santa-
For Chrismish I whant rad likrish [red licorice], makris [markers], ds games. Love, Hannah

Letters to Santa, 30th Annual Dickens of a Christmas

Here's another letter (with quite a bit of detail!)...

Dear Santa-
I would like you to know that I've been fairly [the word very is crossed off and replaced with fairly] behaved this year for Christmas. I would like the movie Tangled, Shrek Forever After and some schleich figurines, such as an eagle and owl...and dogs and horses and dragons and cats. Some American Girl accessories and webkinz and lots and lots of books. Littlest Pet Shoppe and art supplies would be good too. And some good stuff for my brother too! Love, Katy

30th Annual Dickens of a Christmas

What a fabulous weekend for McKinney's 30th Annual Dickens of a Christmas! Thank you to everyone who stopped by for our Annual Open House. Literally hundreds of girls and boys of all ages stopped by to write letters to Santa and make reindeer food. Over the 3 day festival, we merrily gave out 564 cookies, 390 candy canes and used 21 pounds of oatmeal to make 450+ bags of reindeer food with the kids! How fun is that?

The letters to Santa will be delivered to the North Pole, but I couldn't resist peaking first. I spent the afternoon reading through the hundreds of letters and couldn't stop until the very last one was read. I was astonished by the creativity, humor, innocence - even humanitarianism revealed in so many of the letters. How impressive! Don't get me wrong, not all of the letters were as profound. But even the wish-list, "I want...I want...I want..." ones were heart-warming, not to mention informative.

By the way, the overwhelmingly #1 asked-for item is a Pillow Pet! Based on the letters written this weekend, a Pillow Pet is a super safe bet for girls and boys and will surely be a hit this Christmas! Zhu Zhu Pets and Tangled (the movie) came in 2nd and 3rd, respectively, after Pillow Pets.

Dear Santa-
You are a great man! I love you Santa! I want a Christmas Barbie and I also want some pink pom poms. Have a Merry Christmas Santa. Love, Azlyn

So many sweet letters worth mentioning but I'll try to post just one letter a day from now until Christmas. Do you have a fun letter to Santa to share?

Paciugo - Kids Eat Free Tuesdays in July from 4 p.m. – 9 p.m

I am different from most in that I have never craved ice cream, frozen yogurt or any form of a chilly sweet treat! Ice cream just isn’t my thing – its cold (obviously, I know). And for me, when I eat something sweet, I want to be soothed and comforted by it. Ice cream has never played a role in my quest to calm the craziness. And so without regret, I almost always decline any offering of ice cream. Why consume the calories when it’s less than enjoyable and doesn’t soothe my senses? That is until I discovered Paciugo.

Paciugo recently opened their doors in downtown McKinney, Texas. One of several locations, this one is located at 107 N Kentucky Street (we are at 207 N Kentucky Street) – it’s merely a block away. And so neighboring merchants, customers and friends have been raving about Paciugo for months and have done their best to get me to try it. It being gelato; which I was told clearly is not the same thing as ice cream; though I still categorized it in the “chilly sweet treat” category. And after months of respectfully declining the offering of a gelato; I gave in to peer pressure and tried just a spoonful of Mediterranean Sea Salt Caramel. A single spoonful (and for those familiar with gelato – the spoons are tiny) delivered so much more than I imagined. It is rich, velvety smooth and the combination of sweet & salty is fabulous and it is so NOT ice cream! The best part…it’s 70% less fat than ice cream and made with whole milk and all natural ingredients; truly amazing!

Like so many who have encouraged (borderline pressured) me to try Paciugo – I urge you to try it for yourself. And what fun – kids eat free Tuesdays in July from 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm. What’s your favorite flavor? Do tell…