East-West Marriage Fest

Baby-Sitters Club Super Special #12, Here Come the Bridesmaids! has a misleading title because there is only one BSC member who is a bridesmaid in this story: Stacey. Yes, Mary Anne was supposed to be one too but in the end never was one. And Dawn was the Maid of Honor. Not that I'm trying to be too picky about the title, all I'm saying is that maybe they could have come up with something better. 

So I always thought this book was the last Super Special I read before I deemed myself too old for the BSC, but while doing some research, I discovered this book came out between #80 - Mallory Pike, #1 Fan and #81 - Kristy and Mr. Mom and I stopped reading the BSC around #76 or 77 (before I picked it up again years later!) But I'm pretty sure I've read this before...not everything was familiar, but I just figured that was because it's been over 20 years since I last read it! Or maybe I just knew that a Super Special existed where Dawn's dad gets married the same day Mrs. Barrett is getting married to her boyfriend. Half the BSC are in California while the other half remain in Stoneybrook.

Dawn wants everyone involved in the two weddings to keep a journal. She ends up calling it "A Tale of Two Coasts." Other names included "Christmas Wedding: Sea to Shining Sea" (Mary Anne's suggestion, and ugh); "Holiday Vows" (Shannon's suggestion, and boring); "Bicoastal Bells" (Stacey's idea, and I like the alliteration); ""I Do x 4"" (Claudia's idea, and meh); and "East-West Marriage Fest" (Kristy's idea, and it made me laugh and I named my entry after it). 

Dawn is living in California when her dad gets married to his long-time girlfriend, Carol. This is when she moved there temporarily and returns to Stoneybrook on Christmas Day, about ten days after the wedding. Of course, she will end up moving to California permanetly about eight books later, so what was the fucking point of moving back to Stoneybrook? She had to transfer her school records to her Cali school, then back to SMS, then back to California. Good God, that sounds exhausting and annoying. If I were Sharon, I would be irritated just with dealing with that! 

Dawn wants to invite her BSC friends to the wedding, but because some of them will be involved with Mrs. Barrett's wedding, only Mary Anne, Kristy, and Claudia make it to the SoCal wedding. Okay, I have to be honest: it makes no sense that any of Dawn's Stoneybrook friends are invited to her father's wedding. Let me give you a list of reasons why:

1) They have only met Jack and Carol once: in California Girls! (Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure this is the second book where other members of the BSC go to California).

2) The wedding appears to be small and intimate, so why would Jack want his daughter's friends from all away across the country to attend? I can understand Sunny and the other girls from the We Love Kids Club since I'm sure Jack and Carol have met them several times, but the BSC? Uh-uh.

3. I understand that Mary Anne is Dawn's best friend and stepsister, but her being there is especially weird considering she is the daughter of Jack's ex's new husband. It gets even more weird when Mary Anne is almost *in* the wedding, but I'll discuss that more when we get to Mary Anne. 

Look, I get why some of the members are there because it wouldn't feel like a BSC Super Special if Dawn were the only member at her dad's wedding, but it just doesn't seem realistic to me, that's all. It would be more realistic if they were all at Mrs. Barrett's wedding since she's a big client for them and they know her and have baby-sat for her kids several times.

Dawn is going to be a bridesmaid at the wedding. Really, she is going to be the Maid of Honor since she and Jeff are the only one who will be in the wedding party. Dawn doesn't know this yet while she is shopping for dresses and also buys one for Mary Anne. I was so confused by this scene. She was with Sunny, Jill, and Maggie shopping for the dresses and from what I gathered, she picked out the dresses herself. Is this a thing? Doesn't the bride usually have a say what the Maid of Honor and bridesmaids wear? I guess if you're a progressive bride, you can just tell your bridesmaids to pick out whatever they feel most comfortable in. However, the dress Dawn chooses both looks and sounds absolutely atrocious: 

The bridesmaid's dress was a satiny material with shirred, off-shoulder sleeves, a fitted bodice and a flared mid-calf skirt. The soft fuchsia color was just right for a wedding on the beach. 

We see Dawn (and Mary Anne) wearing it on the cover and a few black and white illustrations of it in the book. God, what a fugly dress! Also, I'm no expert with colors, but fuchsia for the beach? Really, Dawn? Also, the dress is described as "off-shoulder" and when Mary Anne first sees it she describes it as "a satiny, bare-shoulder dress", but all the drawings do NOT show bare shoulders of the wearers of this dress! 

At her wedding, Carol is described by Dawn as wearing "a flowing Indian-print dress that shimmered in the breeze." But the dress she wears in the illustration looks like it came from Laura Ashley (and we also see Dawn in her hideous dress). It just looks like a boring floral dress. Also, Carol is a brunette in the illustration. I could have sworn in California Girls! she's described as a blonde. (Because you know, every caucasian person from California is a blonde *rolls eyes*). 

Jeff is whining about wearing a tie to the wedding and Jack tells him after he kisses the bride, he can take it off and throw it in the air, so it's a cute moment when Jeff does that. 

A lot of Dawn's storyline also involves Mary Anne, so I think would be a good time to go more in depth about the dress/bridesmaid drama. Like I mentioned earlier, Dawn also buys Mary Anne the same dress because she wants both of them to be bridesmaids. This will come back to bite Dawn in the ass because she never asked Mary Anne if she wanted to be a bridesmaid, but most of all, she never talked to Carol or her dad about this. I'm sorry, but why the fuck would Carol want Mary Anne to be a bridesmaid at her wedding? Inviting her is one thing, but why would she want the stepdaughter of her new husband's ex-wife in her wedding? Isn't that a little weird? Okay, so let's go through the whole ordeal. A lot happens in a span of a few pages.

Dawn shows Mary Anne the dress, telling her they're both bridesmaids which is news to Mary Anne because she had no idea since Dawn never told her. And Dawn just tells her she guessed she just assumed she would be one? WTF, Dawn? Why would Mary Anne assume she would be a bridesmaids at YOUR father's wedding. Your father, who she's only met once and who her father is now married to his ex-wife. Does anyone else think this is weird? Bueller? Bueller? However, Mary Anne seems to be more concerned about having to stand up front where everyone will be looking at her because she hates being the center of attention (despite the fact that everyone is paying attention to the bride and groom and when Dawn points this out to her, Mary Anne has the gall to get offended). I do think Mary Anne should not be thrilled about this, however, she's not thrilled for the wrong reason: she should not want to do it because it's just weird for her to be a bridesmaid at her stepmom's ex-husband's wedding. I'm just shocked nobody thinks this is a tad inappropriate. But she's just going on about she doesn't want to stand in front of forty or so people who will be in attendance. 

Mary Anne isn't thrilled about a beach wedding and would prefer a "normal wedding, at a church." You know, while re-reading these books, I've found Mary Anne to be very judgy. She also says she had never heard of a beach wedding which was a bit surprising to me. I don't live anywhere near a beach and even I've heard of beach weddings! I've never attended one, so they could be a terrible nuisance for all I know, but I think Mary Anne is being a bit whiny about the whole thing (the bold is my reactions): 

Where do you sit at a beach wedding? Are you supposed to stand the whole time? I'm assuming there's folding chairs, Mary Anne. Or yes, maybe you do stand if the ceremony is only a few minutes. What if sand gets in your shoes? Or do you go barefoot under your nicest outfit, holding your shoes in one hand? Maybe people wear flip-flops? I'm assuming most people going to a beach wedding would wear beachy dresses that go with flip-flops. Or nice sandals. And if you get sand in them, just take off  your shoes and let the sand out More questions: How can you see the bride if you're squinting in the sun and the wind is blowing your hair around? Well, that's what sunglasses are for and maybe tie your hair back?? That's what I would do if I were going to a beach wedding as someone in the wedding party or a guest! What do you do if surfers and tourists start gawking? Who really cares? IDK, I think it would be kind of cool that you're involved in something that everyone else is curious about.  And what about the music? Does someone bring an accordion? A harmonica? Who says it needs to be live music? 

Look, I get Mary Anne is a traditional girl, but good God, she's so whiny about the whole thing. The only thing I can sort of empathize with her about is that if she's "not totally covered from head to toe, and wearing a floppy hat, I end up looking like a carrot with hair." (Funny, didn't Mallory compare herself to looking like a "tomato with hair" when she blushes in SS #10?) I've been to a few church weddings in my time and while nice, I always just find them so formal and stuffy. I've always preferred outdoor weddings with a beautiful garden or body of water as a backdrop. 

While they're arguing about Mary Anne being a bridesmaid, Mary Anne lets it slips that she's not thrilled about the idea of a beach wedding and says, "I thought the wedding was going to be, you know, normal." Sheesh, way to be sensitive, Mary Anne. This, of course, makes Dawn incensed. But, like, literally two paragraphs later they make up. I don't know, if I were Dawn, I would have stayed pretty angry at Mary Anne for at least two chapters! 

Mary Anne later realizes that she should be honored to be a bridesmaid in the wedding of the man who used to be married to the woman who's now married to her father and who she has only met one other time in her life. She's now excited about it and vows to be the best bridesmaid. The fuck?

Later, while Jack and Carol are going over how the wedding will work, both Dawn and Mary Anne find out that they are only having a Maid of Honor and Best Man: Dawn and Jeff. The fact that Dawn didn't know this much earlier is a bit baffling to me. We get this weird narration from Mary Anne:

I was in shock. What was going on? First I wasn't a bridesmaid. Then I was. Now I wasn't again. Had Dawn made her plans without even talking to her dad? How could she do that to me? To tell you the truth, now I'd kind of gotten used to the idea. It would have been fun - standing up there with my sister, sharing her special day. Didn't I deserve to be a bridesmaid? Why hadn't Mr. Schafer asked me?

I'm sorry, but what the fuck is Mary Anne smoking and why is she acting so entitled about a wedding she really doesn't have any business being at in the first place? I almost feel like Mary Anne is caught up in the excitement of seeing Dawn and going to California (which I don't blame her for) that she doesn't realize just how weird it is for her (and Kristy and Claudia) to be at this wedding. Why the fuck would Mr. Schafer want her in the wedding? And really, wouldn't it be Carol deciding on her Maid of Honor and bridesmaid? And, no, Mary Anne, you do NOT deserve to be a bridesmaid at this particular wedding. I feel like a broken record, but why would she be asked to be a bridesmaid at a wedding where she's only met the bride and groom once and is only connected to them because she's the stepsister of the groom's daughter. Get off your high horse, Mary Anne. 

So Mary Anne gets angry at Dawn (again) because of this whole mix up. I do agree that Dawn should have known all of this before getting Mary Anne excited about being a bridesmaid (and I'm shocked that there wasn't a family meeting about this way before), but she is being absolutely ridiculous. She accuses Dawn that her dad doesn't like her (he's only met you once, your dimwit!) and claims, "Now it turns out no one cared about me in the first place." Oh, my God. It's moments like this when I really can't stand Mary Anne. She has this woe is me mentality that really grates. 

Dawn apologizes the next morning and says that she was so excited about them sharing this moment together that she "got all spacey." Then we get this weird WTF-ness from Mary Anne:

You know what picture popped into my mind? Sunglasses in an oatmeal canister in our house in Stoneybrook. Sharon had left them there. Dawn's mom. I thought about the ways my dad and I are alike - both super-organized and quiet and serious. Dawn was like her mom, too, in some ways. It was only natural. It didn't make what she did less hurtful. I mean, leaving sunglasses wasn't the same as messing up wedding arrangements. But thinking about that connection made me less angry. 

I'm sorry, but WHAT THE FUCK? When has Dawn ever been scatterbrained? She is probably the most organized of the group. In fact, I think she would have made a better secretary than Mary Anne because her handwriting is easier to read (IMO!) This makes absoluetly no sense. And Mary Anne knows this about Dawn. I think what actually happened is that Dawn got really excited about the wedding and took some matters in her own hand when she probably should have talked to, you know, the bride and groom first before making all these plans. Although, really, Jack and Carol, being the adults, should have talked about the wedding with Dawn and Jeff BEFORE it was two days before the wedding! 

You might be wondering why Mary Anne is wearing the pink nightmare of a bridesmaid dress on the front cover if she's not a bridesmaid. Well, she asks Dawn if she can still wear the dress because she likes it (Really, Mary Anne?) and Dawn loves the idea. Mary Anne did mention she packed a plaid dress for the wedding and while plaid doesn't really scream "beach wedding", I'm sure it was a hell of a lot better than that fuchsia monstrosity. 

We find out that when Dawn invites Claudia to the wedding in California, Claud says yes without getting her parents' permission first and they aren't very happy because it is expensive to fly across the country. They tell her she can't go, so she unhappily tells Dawn she can't go. Then Dawn calls back and tells Claudia that her dad wants to hire her for the wedding for her "artistic talents." He wants her to be a wedding consultant and she'd "be in charge of picking the flowers, decorating the house, maybe styling hair." Jack is even offering to pay half the cost of a round-trip plane ticket. I laughed when Dawn tells her, "You can stay at my house." Well, duh, no shit. I don't think they were planning on staying in a hotel! 

But, I'm sorry, no. No fucking way Jack Schafer is hiring a thirteen-year-old girl who he has only met ONCE to pick the flowers for the wedding, decorate the house, and do hair. If I were Carol, I'd be like, HELL NO. Dawn does tell Claud that Jack and Carol want friends and family involved "instead of hiring a lot of strangers." But isn't Claudia a stranger to Jack and Carol? They barely know Dawn's friends in Stoneybrook. I just can't see Dawn' dad going out of his way to hire Claudia and pay for her ticket. So fucking ridiculous. But it works and Claud is allowed to go to California with Kristy and Mary Anne. 

I was horrified when Claudia is taking pictures of the reception party that's held in Jack's backyard. But then she says Jack and Carol had hired a professional photographer and they asked Claud to take some candids. Whew! For a second there, I thought they had hired a thirteen-year-old to be the wedding photographer!

Claudia does Dawn's, Kristy's, and Mary Anne's hair for the wedding. I can't seem to find it, but I swear I read that Carol has her hair done by someone else (a professional or a trusted friend, I assume). 

Claudia's spelling is pretty atrocious in this.  Person = "persin" (oh, my brain hurts!); valuable = "valubile", skills = "skcills" (this one especially baffles me!); enormous = "enormis"; buffet = "buffay" (okay, I can let her get away with that since the "t" is silent!); taste = "taist"; chocolate = "chocklit" (heh, I'm pretty sure that's how I spelled it when I was 7/8);  

Kristy also attends the California wedding, but doesn't really have anything to do with it. Instead, she's helping Sunny plan a good-bye party for Dawn. Kristy, Mary Anne, Claudia, Dawn, Maggie, Jill, and Sunny are all hanging out at Sunny's hose under the guise of a We Love Kids Club meeting (pretty sure they don't even book any jobs during this time) and Sunny makes Dawn go down to the kitchen to get some healthy snacks. While she's out of the room, Sunny tells the East Coast girls that she's planning a surprise going-away party for Dawn on Sunday. Even though she's not leaving until the next week, Sunny is doing it for that day because she wants to make sure the BSC girls are there (even though they're not saying goodbye to her, but that's just my little nitpick; in fact, you could say they're saying hello to her. As in, "Say hello to your friends!") and Dawn will be too busy with last-minute stuff. Sunday happens to be the day the Stoneybrook girls are going back and why would you want to go to a party the same day you have to get to the airport and leave? Sunny says they'll have the party early, but I still wouldn't want to go to a party the same day I'm traveling home. 

It turns out Sunny hasn't done any planning for this party at all. She doesn't know what time it's going to be and she hasn't thought about food, drinks, decorations, or activities. We find out that Sunday is only two days away which means the BSC girls aren't out there too long. (I think this is the first or second day they're there). It also means it only gives Sunny less than 48 hours to plan this party that she's not organized for. Since Kristy doesn't have to help with the wedding, she ends helping Sunny organize the good-bye party for Dawn. Hmm, do you think Sunny would still have this party if she knew Daw would move back to California about eight books later? 

Kristy thinks Dawn knows about the party since after the wedding reception Sunny tells her, "See you at the party." But later, we find out from Dawn she was totally surprised. The plan is that they're all going to Sunny's house where they are all meeting to go to brunch. But, of course, there is no brunch. There's a surprise party waiting for Dawn! Besides the WLKC girls (and half the BSC), there's also some other kids from Dawn's school and the kids she baby-sits for, who we all met in California Girls! I had to laugh when Kristy notes how Dawn and everyone else is sad and crying and Kristy narrates, "I was sad, but I couldn't cry. I mean, I was going to see Dawn in Stoneybrook the next week." 

There's even a cake that's made to look like Dawn's face - complete with blonde hair, sunglasses, and freckles. Wait, Dawn has freckles? Heh, this reminds me that when I moved to a different state when I was 7, I also had a going away party with friends (not a surprise party, though) and I, too, had a cake made into my face and God, was it just atrocious! I still cringe thinking about it. 

It's a banana cake with frosting and shockingly Dawn says that she loves it. Of course, she could be saying that to spare Stephie Robertsons' feeling as she was the one who made the cake with her dad. I personally am not a fan of frosting as it is way too sweet and I am not a health food nut like Dawn, so I call shenanigans that she would actually like the cake. She was probably frantically brushing her teeth when she got home! Speaking of cake, it is mentioned there is a carrot cake for the wedding cake. But just because it's carrot cake, is it really all that healthy? There's still frosting and sugar. 

Kristy is especially obnoxious besides she brings her referee whistle and uses it the morning of the wedding when everything is frantic and everybody is getting ready and after she blows the whistle, she tells everyone to get in the car. Good fucking lord. If I were Jack or Carol, I would have to restrain myself from strangling her with the cord. Not only is Kristy just being plain rude and using her whistle INSIDE the house which she is a GUEST in, but there are caterers who are also at the house getting things ready for the reception after the wedding. Just so fucking obnoxious to do that and there was absolutely no need for it. Yes, things were hectic, but I'm pretty sure they didn't need some thirteen-year-old child they've only met once to blow her loud-ass whistle and direct people to the car. 

She will use the whistle again during the farewell party when she has to get everyone's attention to tell them it's time for the BSC girls to head to the airport. At least she had the good sense not to use it at the wedding or reception, but still, so obnoxious using it in those instances. 

That's it for all the BSC members who were in California, but before I head back to Stoneybrook, I should mention that Jeff narrated a couple of chapters. He is worried about Mrs. Bruen, their housekeeper. He thinks once Carol moves in, his dad will no longer need a housekeeper. I was a bit surprised when Jeff tells us his dad hired Mrs. Bruen because he (Mr. Schafer) is a slob. I always had it in my mind that he was pretty organized and that was a huge reason why he and Sharon got divorced, because he couldn't stand her scatterbrained-ness. I always assumed he hired Mrs. Bruen because he needed someone to watch Jeff while he was at work and cook meals when he got too busy. Sure, the extra housework was a bonus, but I never got the impression that Mr. Schafer was a slob. Jeff is also worried because Carol has so much stuff that she will be bringing with her when she moves into the house and most of her stuff is "ugly". 

It turns out that Jeff doesn't have to worry about either thing because Mrs. Bruen is not leaving; in fact her hours are getting doubled. By the way, how old do you think Mrs. Bruen is supposed to be? Have we ever been told that? I would guess early-mid fifties. It also turns out the moving van containing all of Carol's possession was stolen and found halfway to San Diego "stripped and completely empty." Carol doesn't mind because she never liked the furniture in the first place. So why didn't she just sell it if she didn't like it, especially since she was moving? Duh. 

Meanwhile, in Stoneybrook, Stacey is a bridesmaid for Mrs. Barrett. It isn't as weird as you might think (okay, maybe it is). One of her bridesmaids had to cancel, so she asks Stacey to fill in. It seems weird that she would ask a thirteen-year-old baby-sitter who she doesn't seem particularly close to. I know Stacey was the one who went with the Barretts to Sea City, but I always think of Dawn as being the closest to the Barretts, but obviously Dawn couldn't be in this wedding so I guess Stacey was the next best thing. You know what else is weird? That Mrs. Barrett keeps getting referred to as "Mrs. Barrett". That's her ex-husband's name and the woman is about to get married. I understand that it would take too much time to refer to her as "the future Mrs. Dewitt" each time (btw, I should tell you that her fiancé and his kids had Harris as a surname in SS 10, but are now the Dewitts, the name I have always known them as. I should also tell you that one of his children, Ryan DeWitt, also has the same name as one of Dawn's baby-sitting charges in California. This is addressed in this book and Kristy tells us there is no relation between the two. I still want to know how this happened, especially since the Stoneybrook DeWitts used to be the Harrises. At least they're lucky that the two Ryan DeWitts live in different states) and since the BSC never refers to their clients by their first names, they can't call her "Natalie". IDK, I just thought it was weird, but maybe I'm making too big a deal out of it. I believe in future books she is referred to as Mrs. DeWitt, but her kids kept their last name. 

So Stacey is clearly the youngest bridesmaid, with the other three being in their thirties. Stacey comments how much the women make her laugh as they're getting ready and says "It was like a BSC meeting, only older." You poor thing Stacey, and you'll never get to make it to your thirties, a much better age to be then a 13-year-old, because you will always be stuck in the same age! 

We see a picture of Stacey in her bridesmaid dress and from what I can tell from the black and white illustration, it looks much better than Dawn's. It appears to be a black velvet dress with a gold or silver stash around her waist (okay, the pic is in black and white, but I'm pretty positive the sash isn't some bright jewel color). I think the dress looks pretty good, especially for a winter wedding in Connecticut. (Have I even mentioned this book takes place in December?) I have never attended a wedding in the winter, all of the weddings I've been to have been held between May-September. In the picture, Stacey is going down the aisle with a guy named Greg, one of the groomsmen (though she refers to him as an usher). She says they gave each other a smile, but is quick to tell us, "don't worry, he was my dad's age". I guess she had to clarify that for us since she pretty much falls in love with any boy with a pulse. I have to laugh because Greg looks very similar to Nicolas Cage in the drawing. 

While the wedding is going on, Mallory and Shannon are watching the children. Ryan DeWitt, the two-year-old, starts crying out for his dad. He's also been acting cranky and Shannon knows it's time for his nap, so she carries him, planning to take him to the nurses, which is off to the side of the church (you think it would be in the basement). While trying to get there, she ends up going down the aisle while Stacey and Greg are walking down it together. Stacey thinks she wants to give Ryan to her, which would have been hilarious. But instead, Shannon turns around and finds her way to the nursery. We get a chapter from her right before this one. 

But that's not the only mishap to happen during the wedding with the kids. When Mrs. Barrett and Franklin -(wait, why do BSC refer to Franklin by his first name, but can't call Mrs. Barrett Natalie? Screw it, I'm going to call her Natalie! BTW, I don't know if she's ever referred to by her first name in any other books, but she is called "Natalie" by Franklin, so kudos to the Neflix series for picking that up...unless it's in The Complete Guide to the Baby-Sitters Club). When Natalie and Franklin are at the altar, Marnie toddles up to them and throws her arms around her mom's leg, which is actually pretty adorable. She ends up staying during the entire ceremony, so I'm guessing it wasn't a very long one! 

Speaking of the Barrett children, they are moving to a new house and Suzi, who has a couple chapters, is worried that Santa Claus won't know they moved and they won't get their presents. Suzi decides to leave a trail of cookie crumbs from her old house to her new one. Yes, you read that right. She says she was inspired by Hansel and Gretel, but called them dumb because they left bread crumbs, which birds eat. Yeah, and you don't think animals won't eat cookie crumbs? I realize Suzi is only five, but kudos to Natalie for going along with her daughter's idea, because I sure wouldn't have. I would have told her that Santa knows everything, including when a kid moves and not to worry and if, for some reason, Santa didn't bring any toys, then I would take them to Toys R Us. Or something.

Mallory and Ben Hobart get into what might possible by the stupidest fight ever. It all starts when Mallory is hanging out with Ben and his brothers at his house and  Jamie Newton, Myriah Perkins, Nina Marshall, Jake Kuhn, Charlotte Johanssen, and Becca Ramsey come over. The kids (and yes, I'm including Mal and Ben as they are also kids!) are drinking hot cocoa and start singing Christmas carols. All the kids think it would be fun to go caroling and Mal and Ben agree to take them next Saturday, which is the Saturday before Christmas. Everyone is excited about it and that is that.

When Mal gets home, she receives a phone call from Claudia (this is before she went to CA) telling her that Natalie needs two sitters for the wedding. She was able to get Shannon, but hasn't been able to find anyone else so Mal tells her she'll do it. After she hangs up, she realizes that the wedding is on Saturday, the same day she and Ben are supposed to take all those kids caroling. Ruh-roh! She's about to call Claudia to tell her she can't do it, but realizes that would be unprofessional, so instead she calls Ben to explain what happened and he tells her to cancel it. Kind of an assy thing for him to do. And I've always liked Ben. It is just ridiculous how angry he gets over caroling. But-- GOOD LORD, WHY DON'T THEY JUST GO ON ANOTHER DAY? Maybe Friday or Sunday night? It's not that big of a deal. Just call those kids and tell them the new plan. NOT a big deal to get so pissy about. And that is exactly what happens. After her wedding sitting gig, Mal calls Ben to apologize, even though she has nothing to apologize for, IMO. Natalie needed two baby-sitters for her wedding, which, I'm sorry, Ben, is more important than taking a few kids caroling, so Mal said she would do it. What is so wrong about that? Ben even mentions that it wasn't a big enough deal to break up over and that they could have gone caroling another day. WELL, NO SHIT, SHERLOCK! THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN SAYING ALL ALONG! And guess what? They decide to go caroling the next day. You can't see me, but I just smacked my hand across my forehead. Good God, I just can't. I told you this was the stupidest fight ever. 

So they all go caroling, including Mal's siblings and everyone has so much fun and gets offered cookies and cake and hot cocoa by pretty much house they go to.

Jessi is the only BSC member who has nothing to do with either wedding. Even Shannon and Logan, who get chapters, are involved with the Barrett/DeWitt children whether it's watching them at the wedding (Shannon, as I already mentioned) or baby-sitting them (Logan). Instead, she ends up playing Santa Claus at Bellairs because the original one they hired got cast in a movie (how the hell did some nobody mall Santa from Stoneybrook end up being cast in a movie??). Stacey is the one who tells the girls since her mom works at Bellairs and since everyone beside Jessi will be busy/out of town next weekend, Jessi is the one who gets stuck at a gig. I find it hard to believe that Bellairs couldn't find anyone else and had to rely on the BSC to help them out. Give me a break. I also find it super weird that Jessi is Santa. Not because she's black. If Ben Hobart, a white male played Santa, I would also think it weird. Because he's an eleven-year-old child. And an eleven-year-old playing Santa, no matter what gender or race, is just plain weird. 

Jessi is worried about playing Santa, but in the end has a lot of fun and even stays at the department store longer as Santa. It's pretty clear the ghost writer (Peter Lerangis) had no idea what to do with Jessi and just tossed her this throwaway storyline. Honestly, it sounds like Natalie and Franklin could have used a third baby-sitter at their wedding!