No Off Season...for dads

Christmas time in New York is always a fun time.  The animated Christmas windows, decorations, and the smell of roasted peanuts on the streets is always a treat. Macy's after the Thanksgiving Day Parade becomes a human sea of eager shoppers looking for the quick sales.  Another Macy's tradition is on the top floor called Santa Land . If you've never been, its a treat.  You meander through a constructed area with Christmas trees, trains, and elves. At the end of the path you can take a picture with Santa Claus. My wife used to do this when she was younger.  This time the excursion to Santa Land turned out to be a lot different. We received word as we were in line that there was a African American Santa or for our reading, a Black Santa.  There was a secret code that all the elves knew to get a picture with him. We had to ask for 'the special'. We had to wait a little longer for 'our' Santa to prepare.  We're not sure why, but have assumptions. As the

It was the Thanksgiving holidays. As a family tradition, we would eat  at the formal dinner table.   But, we could not come to the dinner table looking shabby.  We had to look sharp.  Well, it was time for my boys to get a haircut. We did not have the opportunity to get it done in DC, but we had more time in New York.  I took them to a local barbershop down the street from their grandmother's house.  It was a small barbershop; it only had three chairs. The barbers sat the boys down in two different chairs and went to work.   Jasira Monique's son getting a haircut. They edged them perfectly, took off a layer of hair, put some 'smell good' spray to finish it off and brushed off the neck.  OMG, my boys looked good!  I recently polled parents on Facebook asking if they took their children to the barber or if they cut hair themselves.  It was interesting to see that almost half took them to the barber. One father thought it to be an important place of public debate