If the parents were planets, the kids were mad moons, orbiting and careening as excitement rattled their frames. It’s a phenomenon you can often see at the toy-shop end of South Deerfield’s Yankee Candle. But on a recent Saturday, a line stretched from near the toy shop through the huge store’s central room, and spilled into the blue of the far distance. Most parents, many flicking at their phone screens, looked glum among the scatter of kids.
It was one of those days when parents steel themselves for those kids’ sake: the “Winter Sisters,” bearing a marked resemblance to a pair of sisters in a recent kids’ movie phenomenon of a rather chilly persuasion, had come to town. And so the moms and dads waited — and waited and waited — there amid the strains of kids’ songs and the smell of pretzels. They waited for their kids to get face time with the Sisters. Grumblings all around spoke of three hours or more. Eventually, the persistence paid off for the stalwart. The Winter Sisters really were there, decked out in sparkly dresses, one in a royal cape.
When “Princess Anna” reached out to hug one young girl, the girl vibrated and smiled, barely able to keep all the circuit-popping excitement inside. Cameras flashed; parents grinned. There on the stained and well-trod bricks, among the endless products glowing for attention, small moments of joy unfolded.
—James Heflin
