Hey Mama Hey!!!
Is your Christmas tree up yet? I’ve seen some of you that already got your homes in full holiday swing. There are others who might be more like me. I have Donny Hathaway crooning in the background but, other than that, we just don’t have it together around here. Well that is all about to change! I saw Santa this weekend and after gathering the pictures for this post I am fired up!
More specifically, I saw “Soul Santa” this weekend. Soul Santa has been called by many names, “Clarence Claus”, “Brother Clause”, or my favorite “Soul Saint”. All of these are code words/terms to let you know the Santa at the event will be Black. Some of you might be in shock and asking yourself “Isn’t Santa white?” Well, first of all…..Santa is a fictitious character (I hope I am not dropping that bomb for the first time on anyone reading this). So in this case Santa can be anything you want. So, just so we are clear, YEP my Santa is Black. Like James Brown, coming straight to Bronzeville Black.
When I was approached by the Southeast Chamber of Commerce to participate in their Small Business Saturday event, I responded with a resounding Yes! This event not only drew attention and traffic to the independent businesses in the Avalon Park and Calumet City neighborhoods but also kicked off the holiday season. That is why Soul Santa came to town.
Fresh Mamas, Papas, Granddads, GiGis and more brought their little ones to see Soul Santa. When we first arrived ObieQ was NOT going. He was unsure of Santa and wanted to take a minute to warm up. Luckily the team at the Chamber had foreseen this issue. They had Santa’s cooler, younger brother, “Uncle C” there to mingle with the kids and take an “elfie.” ObieQ loved Uncle C and hung out with him dancing and and singing classic Christmas carols. After many delicious mini cupcakes, provided by teen entrepreneur Babicakes, ObieQ was finally ready to sit on Santa’s lap for a picture. Y’all look at the result! Not exactly Christmas card material, lol. Even with funny faces, shy smirks and all out cries, these are some of the cutest pictures I have seen in a long time!
Thank you to all of the families that came to meet me on Saturday. Meet Mama Fresh events are some of my favorites because I get to hug, hang and meet you in person. For more pictures to get you in the holiday spirit, head over to my Facebook page.
I have had Mamas hit me up asking for another Soul Santa and you know Mama Fresh has you covered! My favorite coffee shop, Currency Exchange Cafe, is hosting a toy drive and pictures with Santa event December 16th 9a-12p. Megan and the team over there have a such a cool eye for style with their events. ObieQ and I will be there, so when you see me say, “Hey Mama Hey!