Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah! We’ve been celebrating Christmas since the day after Thanksgiving, but I haven’t shared any of the festivities, so it’s now or never! It feels like we’ve been all over the country this week but are finally holed up in Charlotte with a day of dog-walking, Christmas cookie-making, and Christmas movie-watching ahead. Then tonight we are celebrating Will’s mom’s birthday with dinner and The Nutcracker at the Charlotte Ballet. Tomorrow we go to the Panthers game with Will’s dad and Jenna, and then it’s Christmas in Pinehurst! Maybe next year we will be able to take this season a little more slowly, but this year it has been great seeing everyone we can.
/ONE/
Mount Vernon with Mom and Dad
I think I already mentioned this, but we had the best day at Mount Vernon with my parents over Thanksgiving. It was a great day learning about George Washington and kicking off the holiday season. The museum is quite extensive, and I learned so much I didn’t know about George! We also had a delicious lunch at the Mount Vernon Inn restaurant. We were there all day long!
Apparently George Washington brought in a Christmas camel to entertain his guests, so the Christmas camel is at Mount Vernon in December!
The grounds are quite extensive! We didn’t know we’d be hiking, but it was fun!
This guy was really blacksmithing!
/TWO/
Old Town Alexandria’s 46th Annual Scottish Christmas Walk Weekend
Oh my gosh, we had the best “day date” at the Scottish Christmas Walk on December 3rd. Each clan wore their family tartan and paraded through in their traditional costumes, but there were also dog clubs with dozens of the same breed of dog! Pippa was scared of the cannons, but we still had a great time listening to all the bagpipes. Old Town was just buzzing with Christmas shoppers and holiday festivities and decorations, as if it could get any more charming.
/THREE/
Christkindlmarkt at the Heurich House Museum
I had no idea there was a preserved German mansion in Dupont Circle, and it was marvelous! I went to the Christkindlmarkt with the Mostellers and got some Christmas shopping done, and then we toured the mansion. They have it preserved just like it was, and it is very elaborate. We also went to see A Christmas Carol with the Mostellers, Porters, and Irwins after church and Pi one night, and it was so much fun. There are so many great songs in that show!
/FOUR/
Small Group Secret Santa!
Haha, look at Pippa’s crazy eyes.
We had the best night with our besties having homemade pad thai (so Christmassy!), opening our secret Santa gifts, drinking eggnog, and singing Christmas carols before everyone went home for the holidays. We even read the Christmas story from a script with individual parts!
The neighbors loved our sing-a-long.
/FIVE/
The Hometown Reunion that Wasn’t
Well, this originally wasn’t as joyous as it looks. I had been looking forward to our weekend in St. Louis for months with my hometown friends celebrating our friend Maggie’s wedding and Monica’s baby shower (which I was co-hosting). We so rarely all get together anymore as it gets harder and harder with husband’s families and babies and whatnot. Well, we were supposed to be in St. Louis by noon on Saturday for a 4:00pm wedding, and we woke up at 4:30am to a canceled flight. Still hopeful, we changed to a different itinerary that would mean we might miss the ceremony but could make it to the reception. Well, long story short, we spent 19 hours in various airports watching our flights get delayed and canceled, and there were eventually tears shed in the Orlando airport food court. There were ice storms in both DC and St. Louis, and they eventually couldn’t even get us out until Monday. So what do you do with an unexpected day in Orlando? Get really upset about missing precious time with old friends and then suck it up and go to Epcot.
There was a record high that day of 87 degrees and sunny, and we had packed for 20 degrees and possibly snowing, so I stuck it out as long as I could in my sweater. With all the gifts and baby shower supplies, I had to check my bag and you’re looking at the only outfit I had. Will was lucky he had his carry-on with some gym clothes, and I would have had the same if they weren’t in St. Louis!
We went on some rides like Soarin’, Test Track, and Spaceship Earth and then spent the rest of the day in the world showcase. One of our favorite parts of the day was an amazing a cappella group singing Christmas carols in the “American Adventure” building.
Venice!
Germany!
I eventually caved, folks. I hate paying for over-priced merchandise, but I was dying, and even my purse was in my checked bag. 🙁
We even ran into friends from home, the Dumeys! So it was almost the same as being home, right?
We ended the day with dinner in Morocco and the most amazing fireworks show we’ve ever seen! It wasn’t the same as being in St. Louis with old friends, but it certainly wasn’t the worst day.
How were your Christmas festivities?
