Dia del Niño takes place every year here and it's kind of a big deal. This year it fell on Sunday, July 21st. In years past I've gone to Parque Omar, one of the largest parks in Panama City, where they've had free activities for the kids, like face painting, amusement park rides, games, etc.
This year I made the mistake of taking the kids to the mall. The plan was to eat pizza, buy the kids a toy, and go to a movie. Most of the stores have sales on Kids' Day, like 20% off all toys. We went to Metro Mall, and it was packed. The center of the mall was filled with families watching the events taking place.
The mall was a madhouse
A stage was set up with costume-clad hosts and animators putting on a show for the kids. Batman, Cat Woman, Superman, and Supergirl were dancing to salsa, reggaeton, and techno. They threw prizes out to the kids and invited some up onto the stage to assist with the show. A bouncy house and video game stations were set up, familiar characters from cartoons were walking around, and snacks were handed out.
During the festivities, I decide to go up stairs to the movie theater and purchase tickets for a later show. I knew if I didn't get them in advance, I might not get seats at all. I wound up standing in line for well over an hour to get movie tickets. It was crazy.
Enjoying Kids' Day at Metro Mall
I think it's great living in a country that celebrates children. We all have a birthday and we all celebrate Christmas or New Year or whatever your holiday is. We've always celebrated Mother's Day and Father's Day, but what about the kids? Sure, you could argue that every day is kids' day, but seriously, out of 365 days in the year, it's only right to give one to the kids.
Did you know Panama even has a Grandparents' Day? Seriously, Panama has a Grandparents' Day.
Just a funny side note. My sons go to a preschool called a Coif, which is basically a very inexpensive school set up for the children of government employees. My wife and my in-laws work for the government, so we got hooked up with this school. So, the school sent out invitations for the grandparents to attend Grandparents' Day at the Coif. I think it was Friday of last week.
My father-in-law is a very serious guy. He's a lawyer and it's rare to hear him speak in a reasonable tone. Most of the time he's yelling about something. So, he received the invitation, and without telling anyone he'd attend, he just showed up at my sons' school. My wife just happened to decide to keep the kids out of school that day for some reason, and my dad-in-law didn't know about it.
He arrived at the school to find that my sons weren't there. The teachers and the school staff wouldn't let him leave. They made him play all of the games, eat lunch, and dance with the kids. I guess he was a good sport about it, but when he got home, he was pretty pissed that the boys weren't in school that day.
That's all I've got for right now, but I've got all kinds of blog ideas, so you'll be seeing more from me soon.
Thanks for reading,
Chris
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