I believe in Santa and toilet paper.

Today my husband and I took the kids to ride the Polar Express. We didnt tell our 3 year old where we were going at first. The Polar Express is one of his favorite movies and we wanted to surprise him. He did question why we dressed him up in his pajamas and robe before we left the house. As is the usual routine when you have a freshly potty trained child, we made him use the potty before we left. Then when we got there we took him to the restroom before we boarded the train. He didnt have to go then. We warned him there were no bathrooms on the train. Then we got on the train and there was an announcement made again that there were no bathrooms on the train.
We pulled out of the station on our magical adventure. It was really cute. There were tap dancing waiters holding trays of hot chocolate and cookies, and they read the story to us on our journey to the north pole. We were talking to our son and asked him if believed. We were being dramatic and leaned in really close and said, "Well? Do you believe?? Do you???" And he leaned in right back at us and got really serious and said. "Well....I belieeeeeeve....theres no bathrooms on the train!"

When we got to the "North Pole", we had to wait for the engine to disconnect and go around to the back of the train and reconnect to pull us back home. So we were sitting there for a bit. Of course, on a train FULL of kids tanked up on hot chocolate and cookies, it was not quiet. Restless children were bouncing in the seats and sticking arms and heads out of the windows. It was like being in the monkey cage at the zoo. Monkeys in flannel pajamas. But slightly domesticated monkeys, as there was no poo being flung. As we sat with our monkey children looking at all the other parents who were sitting with their monkey children, my husband says to me, "I dont remember this in the movie."

Santa boarded the train and rode with us back to the station. He went to all the kids and handed them a little bell. As he was approaching, we told our son that now was his chance to tell him that he has been a good boy. (Despite what we tell him every time he does something ornery to his little brother. Daily.) He looks up ahead at Santa, then looks back at us and says, "Well...."
He begins his most thought out statements like that. "Well..why dont you just tell him that Ive been a good boy."
"Uh uh! We arent gonna tell him!"
(and I mumbled to my husband, "Im not gonna lie to Santa.") "You have to tell him yourself!"
He of course didnt say anything, being the stranger hater that he is. But he did accept the bell from him, which he then shook and shook and shook until we were ready to chuck it out the window. Then juuuuuust as the train pulled into the station, he said he had to pee. Eeek!
Luckily we scrambled off the train and got him to a bathroom in time.
We jingled all the way back home (damn bell) and hopefully gave our son some happy memories.