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From cars to dolls
…how a father’s Christmas tradition changed
Kaieteur News – Those of you who know Somal Sharma of Innovative IT Solutions know that even at Christmas, there is nothing keeping him back from his cars—not even a piece of black cake or pepperpot—so every year, during this time, it is not uncommon for him to ignore all the Christmas traditions at home and spend the day on the road with his Honda S2000 and EVO, which he affectionately calls his “babies”.
Somal Sharma and his baby girl, Arielle
This however, came to an end in 2020 with the birth of his actual “baby” girl, Arielle—his new obsession. Now at Christmas, guess what he does? He plays with dolls, comb their hair, dressed them in their fancy clothes and then he would sit and help his daughter cook in her tiny kitchen—and when she shouts, “dirty, yucky! Clean it!” he uses her mini vacuum to clean—and this is how this former “car lover” spends most of his days.
Christmas Eve
Wanting his little girl to have an unforgettable time during the festive season, it has become a tradition for this father to take her to see Santa Claus. Last year, she bravely stared and waved at Saint Nick as he stood in a glass cage. This year, it was a bit different, she played peekaboo with her new friend and asked that he send her some chocolates and cookies.
Arielle’s father, along with her mother Romila, want to ensure their daughter understands the importance of sharing and caring for those in need. As such, yesterday, after seeing Santa Claus, they took her shopping for gifts and sweets for children in the community. They then drove around and had little Arielle share them with little children—this she enjoyed doing as she met with many of her friends and even wanted to stay and play.
Once she got home, she told her aunt, Alisa, all about her new friends. In the evening, Arielle and her father helped Romila with the baking and preparation for their first gingerbread house—a new Christmas tradition for this family. Before the 21-month-old retired to bed, she got help to set a glass of milk and a plate with cookie on the table for Santa Claus. After that, she was happy to join her father with whom she watched some Christmas cartoons on his phone until she drifted off to sleep.
Somal Sharma, a race car enthusiast now embodies what it means to be the father of a little girl.
Christmas morning
This morning, the family got up and wished each other a Merry Christmas. Arielle was too excited to hug anyone. She hopped off her bed and ran to the Christmas tree to see what Santa got her for being good.
This is how the rest of the day is expected to go based on last year’s experience:
The father and daughter duo will open presents and play for a while. As customary, Arielle will call her grandparents: Prema, Sunny and Rafeek, to wish and thank them for all the beautiful presents she receive.
Arielle and her parents will go out to have breakfast and when they return home, they will decorate their ginger bread house. Little Sharma will be allowed to watch Christmas cartoons and play with all her new toys. Later in the day, she will visit her grandmother, Nalini and aunt, Becky, to open her second set of presents and then she will visit her cousin, Aahil, to exchange presents.
Once she gets home, her father will take her for a walk in the neighbourhood and then they will make time for some more exciting cartoons. It is expected that again, Somal will have no rest and no time to take his cars for a spin this Christmas—the day now belongs to his daughter. Merry Christmas everyone!
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