Sam let out a laugh when the other man said that there might be a possible age cut off to make a request to Santa. "You know what, good point. It's probably easier to deliver toys in big batches than a, uh, holiday trip to a sunny vacation spot," he said with a shrug, made sure to keep his voice low as well as a group of kids just ran past them, couldn't really think of anything much to compare to buying toys off the shelf. Sort of. "But, you know," he paused to make sure there was no small ears around that were eavesdropping on their conversation. "Big IF. If you could request anything, including a trip to space, what would you ask him?"

"Definitely, when it's something physical that can be dropped off. Adults would be wishing for cruises, bills to be paid, pantries filled with groceries -- and something tells me that would be a lot harder than just some toys or electronics." He figured it made it a lot easier for those once kids got older and realized the truth since then you could get a little more picky in what you gave. "Well first of all, I wouldn't ask for a trip to space, too many things go wrong and I'm not looking to end up out there stuck or worse." Making a face, "I would probably ask for something bigger than I should, maybe a nice house? Dream car? Something like that. Not the most creative but rather it be useful at the same time."

Hey, you have to do what you have to do when it's your kid, you know? I don't blame you for cutting back hours, there. Glad it's over, not that I have anything against the holidays, per se, and mine was incredibly quiet and pretty much just me and Ghost the whole time, but the rushing and hurrying and craziness is overrated. I volunteered to work. How was yours?

No, I know. I'm grateful that I'm getting all this time with him. He's only this young for so long and I want to see every bit of it. Missing out on anything feels almost gut wrenching. Which may seem a bit overdramatic but parenting, it's a wild ride. Ours was good, he definitely got spoiled in toys and ended up enjoying the smaller things more than anything. We didn't do anything too crazy though, was mostly just us two as well.

Jasmine nodded in acknowledgement and let Ari get back to what he was doing on his phone.

When the woman popped her head back out he glanced back at her. A laugh erupted when she stated she wanted to be prepared for baby's first mass-produced superheroes. "Well, I'm going to have to say that's easy, from my stand point, while DC might be a classic, it's Marvel all the way -- though I will agree Power Rangers are the superior way to start children on the superhero journey. But just so you know it's red ranger over the green ranger any day."

"Oh, no worries, I'm enjoying the cold," Trey commented, pulling on his coat. He wasn't exactly making it easy for people around him, after all. "I was gonna ask if you were jumping in, but I'm assuming they generally frown on babies going into the water." He waved at Archer, often unsure of how to interact with children quite so small, it was easier when he was able to roughhouse with them and could properly converse. He reached for a hot chocolate, enjoying the warmth in his hands for a few long moments. "Impressed you managed to get the little one bundled up and out so early."

"Pretty sure at this age, if I brought him in with me, he'd be taken away, so yeah -- frowned upon is probably a good way to put it. Though don't some of those colder countries like Norway and all those places let their very little babies nap outside or something? I swear I read about that once." Giving a casual shrug. Archer grinned, babbling and mimicking Trey waving back at him, it amazed him how much a baby not yet two years old picked up on. He had been waving since he had turned one but still, fascinated him all the same, plus his son loved attention. "Honestly since he's been with me a bit more often he's apparently a morning person? I never would have thought that, I was notorious for loving sleep even as a baby."

WHERE: Hideaway Market (Winter Holiday Market) WHO: Sam and OPEN

His work wasn't currently as busy given the colder weather, and he didn't have a ton of shifts as of late thanks to taking some time off to enjoy the holidays with his son so that meant he had more time to himself. Today was a day Archer was back with his mother and Ari could get some Christmas shopping done. A few gifts to send back to his siblings, and mostly getting things for Archer. At the question he couldn't help but laugh, "You know I don't know, even if Santa was real, would he have an age cut off to still get gifts from him?" Making sure not to talk to loud with too many kids running around.

WHO: Stelly & @aridhingra

Getting photos done with Santa now that his son was a little older was a bit of a crap shoot. He was more alert, more aware of his surroundings, but he was still under two years old. At this rate there was a chance he was going to not know what was going on, and another that was going to freak the fuck out. That was putting it nicely. When they were gestured forward he shifted Archer in his arms who was babbling away and looking at all the Christmas decor around the room. "Hi! Guess we have perfect timing. I didn't want to bring him until he had had his nap, or risk it being full meltdown mode if he's scared of Santa." he said glancing around. "No problem, I have him all day so we're not in a rush, though I'm guessing after a day filled of all kinds of kids you probably are."

"So..we pretty much pick our battles?" she asked with a laugh. "Name the vegetable, ignore the fat..I can do that." she nodded, a little choked on the food. But it was good, it was great. "I don't know..I'm more of a sweet treat girl but..salty has its moments for me, so I'm with you." Going back to the plate of fries, she grinned. "This was a great idea."

"Exactly! Pick your battles, there are far more important ones than this one." At least he was pretty sure that there were other things that weren't as serious as this. "Plus every body needs a healthy dosing of carbs, fat, sugars, etcetera so just take it as your daily or weekly ration." Ari reasoned, he was always someone that believed everything in moderation was the key. "It's hard if I eat something too sweet I immediately want something salty."

Who: Jasmine and OPEN @merrock Where: Page Turners When: Black Friday 2025

Ari wasn't someone who typically bought into the whole Black Friday shtick, truthfully he wasn't sure the deals you were getting saved you much money. In fact, he wondered if it did at all in the grand scheme of all the stress you put yourself through attempting to get said deals. Though in the smaller town of Merrock, it wasn't too bad. He had lived in bigger towns where the crowds and people who showed up outside of electronic shops and things of that nature were horrible.