santa's house & bethlehem

We loaded up our sleigh van for a journey to Hickory Flat to catch up with Mr. & Mrs. Claus again this year. Of course, we {oh so delicately} dubbed visiting Santa's house as "let's go see Christmas lights" to calm Eliza Kate's fears. She was on guard as soon as she spotted Mrs. Claus.

We toured their country cottage decorated with Christmas collectibles. This pair loves Christmas. Every nook and cranny of their home is a child's dream. Mrs. Claus' table is all set for Christmas dinner. Popcorn was popping and the coziness of their home gave off the feeling of Christmas. EK viewed all of it from the safety of her daddy's hip.

Since we've already had a lengthy lap visit with the ole' man, we took a holiday tour of lights & sights. There were inflatables galore and little scenes set up outside to capture the children's interests.

Eliza Kate loves spotting her baby in nativity scenes. There's something about little girls connecting with baby Jesus in the Christmas story. Lots of "night, nights" and soft kisses on His head as we read the Christmas story before bed. I keep sharing with Miller, we'd have nothing to celebrate if it weren't for baby Jesus.

These two were up to lots of chasing games and antics. Lots of oohing & ahhing over the festive tackiness and lights at the Claus' home. There were so many details to soak in. They do enjoy a night out with family time as the focus.

On our way back home, we made a very impromptu stop at Walk Through Bethlehem. It was like stepping back into Jesus' day. Actors and children not only dressed the part, they used a memorized script to unfold different elements of the Christmas story. Miller connected to the pint sized actor's the most.

There were interactive booths that would have been similar to the town of Bethlehem. I enjoyed the inn keepers perspective on not having enough room in the inn while Miller busied himself stroking the head of the inn keeper's pet snake:)

Of course, seeing a real baby Jesus drew Eliza Kate into the living nativity scene at the end of our tour.

 

After attending the Johnson's Ferry choir performance on Sunday, we called it a weekend of celebrating the hustle and bustle of Christmas. Hanging in there & thankful for weekends of togetherness to celebrate the reason of the season.