Holidays in our Home: Christmas Activities - Out and About

Our family loves Christmas! I'm not sure who loves it more - Matt or me! Either way, it is one of our favorite times of year, and we have many family traditions that help us celebrate. So many, that I'm going to break up writing about this holiday into different sections: Christmas Activities, Christmas Books, Christmas Music and Christmas Movies. I may forget something and have to go back and add it in later, but I want to share things our family loves about this time of year.

Christmas Activities - Out and About

There are so many amazing activities available to families at Christmastime. It can be hard to strike a balance between making memories and running the family ragged. We are trying to find that balance. That means not participating in every fun opportunity that comes our way. For us, it may mean following an "every other day" approach. I'm not sure if it's my personality, my kids personalities or a combination of both, but we seem to like a day of hustle and bustle followed by a day at home. We don't do well with too many days in a row of either variety! 

We've tried many Christmas activities, and though most were lots of fun, not all of them fall into the "not to be missed" category. We've loved the Festival of Trees, Christmas at Stone Mountain and seeing the Rockettes, and when we can participate in those things we will. Some activities we are hoping incorporate into our traditions as our children grow a bit older. For instance, I am dying to take Sophie to The Nutcracker, and I am thinking that next year will be the perfect year (for now we watch it on PBS). But some activities are so special, we intentionally carve out time on the calendar to be sure we don't miss them. Here are some of the activities that have "made the cut" that we have attempted to incorporate into our annual celebration. ..

• Visiting Opryland Hotel - A Nashville tradition...We love seeing the decorations at the Opryland Hotel each year. I am always amazed by the elaborate lights and decorations, and I've learned to plan trips when crowds are lower so we can truly enjoy the sights and sounds. (I actually missed this last year because I was not anxious to walk around the massive hotel 8 months pregnant with Will...)  
• Riding the Pink Pig - An Atlanta tradition... This tradition began Sophie's second Christmas after we moved to Atlanta. Each year we head to Lenox to see Santa there and Ride the Pink Pig at Macy's. Sophie loves seeing all the pink and getting to pick out a new stuffed pink pig for her collection. We are looking forward to our fourth trip next week, and I wonder what Will will think about all the pink!
  
• Visiting Santa - We typically wind up seeing Santa a couple of times each year, but the Santa at Lenox is one of our favorites. This year we loved the Santa and Mrs. Claus that came to The Georgian club house. He was so sweet to our children and gave Sophie so much time and attention. 
• Looking at Christmas Lights - I remember driving around looking at Christmas tree lights as a child, and once my dad even surprised us with dinner in a limo and a tour of lights around Franklin and Nashville! We enjoy continuing this tradition with our children.
• Building Gingerbread Houses - Each year, since Sophie was 17 months, we've built a gingerbread house together. Until this year, this was a tradition in our home, but this year our neighborhood is hosting a gingerbread house day, and we are looking forward to decorating a gingerbread house with friends and neighbors! 
• Attending a Tree Lighting - We try to attend a tree lighting of some kind each year. I love the excitement of watching the lights on a tree come on for the first time. Sophie's first Christmas we attended a lighting of a tree at a park in Bellevue, last year we attended the lighting of the tree in Atlantic Station, and this year we attended the lighting of the tree in our neighborhood. 
• Attending a Christmas Eve Service - We typically attend the Christmas Eve service at The People's Church. Last year, we were able to attend the service at Crossroads and make the 11 p.m. service at TPC. Sophie has actually made it through more than one 11 p.m. service! Big Will won't make a late service, so we will have to go to an earlier service this year! My favorite part of the service at TPC is singing Silent Night by candlelight. I remember being amazed as a child by the beauty of the lights that begins with a flame my dad lights and continues until the room is flooded with hundreds of lights as everyone sings together. I am as amazed now as I ever was - maybe more so, as I realize that my children are as blessed as I was to be learning Truth about the Light of the World!