So Much Room For (Christmas) Activities!
Jesse and I have this impressive habit where every year we say we’re going to go do Christmas activities, and then we don’t go do Christmas activities. This year, however, we’ve truly outdone ourselves and have conquered 3 whole Christmas activities!
Our first activity was Winter Lights at Newfields. I was a little hesitant on this one because you have to reserve your spot so if Boogs was on the edge as he often is at 5 in the pm (the earliest start time) we couldn’t just wait for a better night (like 10 years from now). But since I got free tickets due to my fame (read: one of the sales people took pity on me and gave me free tickets), we decided to just pick a day and if it was a disaster, we’d bail since we wouldn’t really be out anything.
It started out promising – Boogs woke up from a nap about 10 minutes before we left, he didn’t fight getting in his stroller when we got there, and once we got outside to the lights, he was beyond himself with excitement at being outside. Where it all started to unravel was at the bench. It wasn’t even a special bench – just some random bench on the grounds of the IMA – but he would be damned if he had to leave that thing. He pitched a legit fit when we told him it was time to move on with our lives. Jesse picked him up while he screamed and tried to Houdini his way to freedom, and when we thought we were a safe distance from the bench, put him back down again only for Boogs to make a u turn and head straight back to the bench. We went through this same routine with the toy Christmas tree and the ledge of death.
In hindsight, I would have done a few things differently. First, I wouldn’t have told Boogs we were going to the museum to see Christmas lights. In his mind, the only museum is the Children’s Museum, and I think he may have been a little mad that he was lied to about where we were going and that there was no carousel. Second, I would have gone for the spiked hot chocolate or glass of wine. Yes, it was overpriced, but it would have made the multiple tantrums more tolerable. And most importantly, I would have left Boogs at home. Don’t get me wrong – it’s a great family activity, but only if your children can hang past 5 in the pm.
Our second Christmas activity was breakfast with Santa at the Children’s Museum. Let me give you some backstory. Last year, we decided to start a tradition of going out for a nice family Christmas Eve dinner. Then we remembered we had a one year old and decided to start a tradition of going out for a niceish family Christmas Eve lunch that may one day turn into going out for a nice family Christmas Eve dinner. We made a reservation for Biaggi’s at Clay Terrace and thought we’d be brilliant and take Boogser to see Santa while we were there. This turned out to be the worst idea we’d ever had. We figured we’d be in and out with Santa because what kind of parents wait until Christmas Eve to take their kid to see Santa? Lots as it turns out. We put our name on the list, went to lunch, and by the time we got back, the Santa line hadn’t moved. We were looking at another 3 hours easy. Since Boogs had no idea what was happening, the decision to bail was the easiest decision of our lives. So now you understand why when I got the email from The Children’s Museum in August saying members could reserve a spot for breakfast with Santa, I signed up that day. This is now the only way we’ll be doing the Santa thing.
Pregaming
I’m not even kidding when I say they don’t even have to feed us and I’d sign up again. We were there for maybe 30 minutes before it was our turn to see Santa, and the early access to the slide and Jolly Days are worth the price alone. I’m not getting paid to say any of this; I just want the world to know what a genius I was on the Santa front this year.
We also half assed the new Christkindlmarkt in Carmel which was a damn nightmare because we’re idiots and decided to go the Saturday after Thanksgiving when the weather was nice. But it looked like it would be super cool if you were there at midnight when the place was empty.
I’d say we’ll attempt more Christmas activities since it’s only the 22nd and there’s still time, but let’s be real – this house is filled with bubonic plague and most of the activities left are after it gets dark activities which we’ve already learned don’t end well so that’s not going to happen. Unless you count watching Christmas movies. Then we have sooooooooo many more Christmas activities planned.
Soybeans, Too 