Lights, Action!
When I was small, my family had a Christmas Eve night tradition. We’d pile into the car, and drive around town looking at the Christmas lights. Looking back at my youth, I enjoyed all the pretty lights, even though in retrospect my parents spent most of their time driving in circles trying to find those really cool neighborhoods they’d heard about.
I’ve wanted to take the kids out looking at lights the past few years, but I’ve been reluctant. I didn’t think the lights would hold their very well in their previous mental stages of infant attention spans. Last night, we finally braved it and continued the light tradition with a few key differences. One, we didn’t go out on Christmas Eve. We’ll be out of town on Christmas Eve. Maybe we can drive around our parents’ towns on Christmas Eve watching the lights, but last night was our chance to see the lights in our hometown. Two, we cheated.
People don’t decorate for Christmas as much as they used to. I don’t know if that’s true or if it’s just my crotchety old man imagination acting up, but it seems like fewer houses are decorated today than they were 20 years ago. Half the houses on our block are lit up, and that’s better a better ratio than the quarter of houses that are lit up in our neighborhood.* This in spite of the abundance of LED strands, giant inflatable Santas, and lighted wicker deer available in stores these days.
Since lighted houses are so hard to find these days, we traveled to a campground filled with lighted displays. Cutty’s hosts a Festival of Lights filled with dozens of lighted displays. Maybe hundreds. They had an animated squirrel climbing a tree, a nativity scene, and one menorah for equal time. We crammed hours worth of lighted holiday cheer into an hour of 10 mph driving thanks to this festival.
The kids’ favorite display was a tunnel. This was a 40-foot long tunnel with lights flashing in sequence as you drove through. I opened the moon roof, and the kids gaped in amazement as we crept along while the lights danced all around.
We also stopped at their winter village with Santa and a few other highlights. This was their first exposure to Santa for the year. The boys warmed up to him immediately, hovering around his red suit. Abbie resisted, crumpling to the floor and threatening to throw a tantrum when I suggested she talk to him. She recovered when I mentioned he had candy, and walked up to his side for a piece of candy. As she approached, Santa asked what she wanted for Christmas. Abbie took a piece of candy from his outstretched and, and replied, “trick or treat.” At least she understands this is a holiday.
The winter village gave everyone marshmallows on a stick as they left, and invited us to roast them over their roaring fire. Mommy and I held a combined five sticks worth of marshmallows over the fire while watching the kids. We directed them to keep that delicate balance between not wandering away, but not standing too close to the fire. I decided the marshmallows were roasted enough after a minute of simultaneously worrying that someone will wander into the street and into the fire.
We packed the kids into the car and left, giving each a marshmallow on a stick for the ride home. The boys finished their marshmallows before I started the car. Abbie held onto her marshmallows, a surprising action for a girl who loves sugar. The boys screamed the entire way home, furious that marshmallows were within sight, but not within reach. At least they weren’t screaming from boredom.
* Yes, I counted.
I’ve wanted to take the kids out looking at lights the past few years, but I’ve been reluctant. I didn’t think the lights would hold their very well in their previous mental stages of infant attention spans. Last night, we finally braved it and continued the light tradition with a few key differences. One, we didn’t go out on Christmas Eve. We’ll be out of town on Christmas Eve. Maybe we can drive around our parents’ towns on Christmas Eve watching the lights, but last night was our chance to see the lights in our hometown. Two, we cheated.
People don’t decorate for Christmas as much as they used to. I don’t know if that’s true or if it’s just my crotchety old man imagination acting up, but it seems like fewer houses are decorated today than they were 20 years ago. Half the houses on our block are lit up, and that’s better a better ratio than the quarter of houses that are lit up in our neighborhood.* This in spite of the abundance of LED strands, giant inflatable Santas, and lighted wicker deer available in stores these days.
Since lighted houses are so hard to find these days, we traveled to a campground filled with lighted displays. Cutty’s hosts a Festival of Lights filled with dozens of lighted displays. Maybe hundreds. They had an animated squirrel climbing a tree, a nativity scene, and one menorah for equal time. We crammed hours worth of lighted holiday cheer into an hour of 10 mph driving thanks to this festival.
The kids’ favorite display was a tunnel. This was a 40-foot long tunnel with lights flashing in sequence as you drove through. I opened the moon roof, and the kids gaped in amazement as we crept along while the lights danced all around.
We also stopped at their winter village with Santa and a few other highlights. This was their first exposure to Santa for the year. The boys warmed up to him immediately, hovering around his red suit. Abbie resisted, crumpling to the floor and threatening to throw a tantrum when I suggested she talk to him. She recovered when I mentioned he had candy, and walked up to his side for a piece of candy. As she approached, Santa asked what she wanted for Christmas. Abbie took a piece of candy from his outstretched and, and replied, “trick or treat.” At least she understands this is a holiday.
The winter village gave everyone marshmallows on a stick as they left, and invited us to roast them over their roaring fire. Mommy and I held a combined five sticks worth of marshmallows over the fire while watching the kids. We directed them to keep that delicate balance between not wandering away, but not standing too close to the fire. I decided the marshmallows were roasted enough after a minute of simultaneously worrying that someone will wander into the street and into the fire.
We packed the kids into the car and left, giving each a marshmallow on a stick for the ride home. The boys finished their marshmallows before I started the car. Abbie held onto her marshmallows, a surprising action for a girl who loves sugar. The boys screamed the entire way home, furious that marshmallows were within sight, but not within reach. At least they weren’t screaming from boredom.
* Yes, I counted.
posted by Matt at
11:45 PM
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