Tale 35 - Santa Baby

 September is approaching.

September is when I ask the Sassy Princess and the Prince of Tales to write their Christmas list for Santa!

A bit early you are thinking?

Well, maybe for the Sassy Princess. In the past we have had typical age related requests for Santa from her. LOL dolls, laptops, IPods, dolls houses, Doc McStuffins figures and outfits etc. 

Sadly, she is also at the age where we are getting the ‘Santa yeh right’ wink as if she is now beyond that. Truth is she is still not sure, so she still does the letter to Santa ‘just in case!’

 

I call it the ‘better play along with the story than get nothing’ phase.

The real reason for the early list however is the Prince of Tales. 

Some of his present requests are what you would expect. Remote control cars, robots etc.

However, for the last three years, his requests have been, let’s say, unusual!

Request 1 - Typewriter. Must be fully working.

Getting a typewriter was not as easy as I thought. They are now retro, and working ones not cheap. I ended up on Facebook marketplace and found one that I had to pick up from one of  the roughest estates in Bradford. (I lived on a Bradford Council estate for a lot of my childhood so I know my city!) 

When I got there and knocked on the door, I was told to come in by a suited gent who looked like a mafia boss. I entered a smoke filled room with five smartly suited men who looked like they were planning a heist! I nodded to them all whilst the ringleader took an age to walk up the stairs and return with the typewriter. The silence was deafening! I gave him the thirty quid and quickly scarpered!

On Christmas Day, the Prince of Tales opened it, smiled at me, then carried it to table at the side of his bed. It sits there nine months later, never touched. I often ask him why he wanted it. He just smiles and says “It will be used.”

If ever you hear on the news of a murder where a Richard Clarke died of blunt force trauma, please tell the police to check the typewriter. I fear ‘Cluedo’  wise that Mr Clarke was murdered in the bedroom with a typewriter! 

Request 2 - A Sully that turns into a house.

Initially this makes no sense. So the Prince was asked to explain.

Sully is Sullivan, the green and blue monster from Monsters Inc. The idea is he should turn into an house and back again. A bit like ‘Transformers’ who were ‘Robots in Disguise.’ They had moving parts so they could be manoeuvred from robots to cars, and then back again.

The problem was that the ‘Sully into a House’ toy does not exist! I tried every toy site, eBay, Facebook marketplace, etc etc. Nothing.

In the end I bought a soft material house and a soft toy sully. I made a hole in the back of the Sully, removed the stuffing, and stitched the house in. You could remove the house and put it round Sully, then put it back inside Sully as well!

Brilliant I thought. Surely I am a contender for ‘Father of the Year!’

Far from it!

Christmas morning, it was opened by the Prince. He unwrapped it then looked at me. 

“Not the Sully that turns into a house I wanted, but well tried!” he said, in a manner that felt like I entered the School ‘Sports Day’ parents egg and spoon race and came second in a two parent race!

It has been in a toy box in his room ever since.

I still search for the Prince of Tales version, which I am pretty sure is his imagination and not real!

Request 3 - A statue of Harry, Prince of Tales.

Yes, you have read that correctly. The Prince of Tales requested a statue of himself. I do not believe that any other child in world history as asked for a statue of himself unless he was a member of the royal family in 1643!

For days, weeks, I was at a loss. 

Maybe there was a statue of someone like him. 

I searched statue on eBay for ages. Surprisingly, not many statues of young boys with blonde hair and glasses came up in the search. I went to car boot sales in the hope I could find something that would give me a flicker of inspiration.

Nothing!

It was only in December when my inspirational moment  came. A friend of the Dancing Queen was getting married, and one of her friends mentioned a cake. 

It suddenly hit me. The figures on top of a wedding cake!! Can they be personalised? I searched and found a company that would make a 6 inch statue based on the photo I sent.

On Christmas Day, the Prince opened the present. He looked at it, then looked at me and smiled. I won!!

It sits on our window sill. It probably signifies the greatest moment of my gift related life! I can’t help but laugh every time I see it, but I know one day, when he is older and lists are a thing of the past, it will make me cry too.

I look forward to the Christmas lists of September 2022. I’m sure they will contribute to another tale!

Have you ever seen a Sully that turns into a house! Can you challenge the Prince of Takes for strange Christmas requests? Let me know!

Have you had a stranger Christmas request from your child than a personalised statue??