Now with the "Magic of Snow"

On Saturday, the kids and I, along with Elizabeth and her kids, all went to take part in a truly Hawaiian Christmas tradition: going to the mall for live entertainment.

That's right, the mall. Ala Moana, to be specific. Didn't know the MALL was a venue, did you. Well, in Hawaii, it is. In fact, I was an attraction at the mall once, but that is another post...

This time was to see the Christmas Gift of Aloha. Last year, I heard that the mall had a play based on a book. WOW, thought I, the good teacher that I once was, that is great! Get the book and go see the play based on the book. Have you been paying attention to my blog? Hawaii is not like the rest of the country. Nope, here, the play and book were all thought up by the mall marketing team. Brilliant, actually. What better way to get hundreds of people in to the mall each night (except Mondays) = Put on a play that tells a story of Hawaiian products going to Santa's sleigh on the Candy Cane Train (which you can also ride for $6/kid!). Brilliant.

Now, there are lots of issues I have with a play at the mall:

1) It is only at 6pm. It lasts 30-45 minutes. Right in the middle of dinner. The big question is to eat dinner before or after. "After" = starving kids until at least 7:30 by the time you get somewhere for food. "Before" = eating dinner at 4pm. We went with "before." We got to Romano's Macaroni Grill right at 4. 2 Adults and 5 kids and they, indeed, gave us a table. HAHA. We had our food by 4:30 and were ready to leave at 5pm. Which brings me to issue number

2) There are NO TICKETS for a play at the mall. This leaves you with no choice but to get there early. Last year, Jim was in Alaska when I brought the kids to the mall for the play. I went to the second level, the only level with actual seating, and actually found seats. Then, I look over and Teresa is studying the mall map. She looked at me and said, "Mom, I found the potty on the map. I'll be right back." WHAT! I don't think so! A six year old going to the bathroom in a crowded mall all by herself! I told her that we would lose our seats if we got up to go, but there was no other option. Sure enough, we ended up sitting on the ground on the first level.

This year, Elizabeth and I thought an hour in advance would be PLENTY of time to get a seat. NOPE. There were SO many purses saving seats it was pathetic. I did bring a beach blanket at least. So, back to the first level we went. 7 people (5 wiggly) sitting on the floor of a mall waiting for a play to start.

There were many "upgrades" to the play this year. I think Elizabeth's favorite was the FREE milk and cookies! Turns out they also had eggnog. FREE! I wished I had my camera ready when she came back with the treats in her hand. Kid in a cookie shop. That's all I have to say about that...

After an hour wait, the play finally started. I must say, for a mall production, it is AWESOME. Lots of singing and dancing. Cute story. My favorite was the fish/coral hat. (check it out in the picture...the lady in the blue dress) Another "upgrade" was the addition of "SNOW." At the end, "snow" started falling from the top level. It was really neat. It truly looked like flurries. Alan jumped right off the blanket and started running to catch the "snow" on his tongue. Little did he know that the "snow" was actually BUBBLES. It was HILARIOUS!

Anyway, a great time was had by all. Can't wait to see what they "upgrade" for next year...