Being a parent during the holiday season can be tough. SNL does a great job of showing us the lighter side of these struggles.
As parents, we’ve all been there. We yearn for that Hallmark pretty family Christmas photo with kids perfectly posed, everyone looking straight at the camera, with big smiles, decked out in adorable holiday-themed outfits. Girls in their sparkly party dresses, boys in a shirt, and maybe even a tie. We buy them clothes that (we) love thinking how cute our kids will look in that flouncy red tulle skirted dress, a corduroy romper, and adorable reindeer onesie for baby! Then reality strikes hard. The kids hate the clothes you just spent a fortune on, endlessly complain they’re uncomfortable, and beg you to let them please take it off.
Macy’s sale on holiday outfits!
And the Saturday Night Live team captured this scenario perfectly in a December skit spoofing a Macy’s holiday sale commercial. If you haven’t seen it yet and need a good laugh, then go Google it! The ad at first has you convinced it’s real, with happy adults dressed up in cashmere sweaters and blazers, all on sale at Macy’s. Then the kids come in and it’s classic SNL.
It’s too hot…
“Macy’s has the festive fashions that will have them saying,” the voiceover goes, then a child interjects in a whiny voice, “it’s too hot,” followed by another complaining, “it itches.” Then it cuts to a baby crying as he squirms in his uncomfortable holiday sweater vest. “It’s the season for wrestling your wriggly little monster into thick winter clothes,” the voiceover continues. Then we see a frustrated dad trying to get a tight sweater over his son’s head, “If you stopped squirming it would be on already,” he yells.
Half off shiny shoes…
And then for little girls, it’s half off “shiny shoes that hurt,” where we see a mom tottering in heels and a well-dressed little girl complaining “the shoes hurt.” The pained mom (played by Kate McKinnon) snaps back, “welcome to being a woman, Kylie.”
Bulky jackets
The scene that resonates most (and if you’re a parent you’ll probably agree) is when we learn that Macy’s has “kids jackets so big and thick, they won’t fit into their car seats anymore.” Then we see another father (played by Kenan Thompson) struggle to buckle his kid, dressed in a bulky winter coat, into a car seat. Frustrated, he closes the door, steps outside, and screams out an expletive.
Boots that will strain your marriage!
And the hilarity just keeps on coming, with snow boots “so hard to put on it’ll strain your marriage,” where an argument between a husband and wife ensues as each of them tries to get the boots on their kid’s feet(yes, we can all relate to this one!)
Precious winter onesies
Then there’s“precious winter onesies with so many buttons and snaps you’ll let your baby sit in a loaded diaper for hours just to avoid putting it back on.”The ad closes with this message: “We know it’s awful for them and for you but one day they’ll be too old to wear cute little clothes like this and you’ll miss it, so suck it up and get down to Macy’s. The clothes they’ll hate create the memories you’ll love.” This is comedy gold and if you’re a parent, you can definitely relate. Keep it up SNL!
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