Kicking of Christmas Season

It has been quiet here on the blog for the past week but not because I didn't had anything to say (I always do!) but rather because I was busy fulfilling some peg doll orders. I enjoy making these little wooden peg dolls and each new character is a challenge (pictures to come soon). 

And then we kicked off Christmas season with a visit to a Christmas festival in Davidson on Friday night. I felt similar to a German Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market) with temperatures in the low 40s and stalls offering cookies, cotton candy, hot cocoa, and other food and some crafts. Furthermore, there were horse carriage rides, hay rides, and lots of Christmas decorations.

Mrs Claus read a story to all the kids and we heard a children's choir sing at the church.

 






We also visited Santa in his house but this time Elliot was not too fond about the jolly old guy.

Amelia, on the other hand, was a happy camper and even talked to Santa for a few minutes.

We finished the night off with a hayride thru town and by watching part of the Christmas play "The Grinch". The performance was really good but the kids were too tired to last thru the entire play. Nonetheless, it was a great evening filled with Christmas spirit and fun. 

On Saturday, we took care of some chores and prepared some food for the afternoon to watch the big game Alabama vs. Gators with our neighbor Mike, a big Alabama fan. We enjoyed BBQ ribs and potato salad and of course we wore our team's colors (Elliot wears his Gators shirt). Maybe next year, the Gators have a chance against the mighty Tides.

The next day was December 6th, which means that it was St. Nicholas Day (Nikolaustag). We celebrate in Germany this day by putting our cleaned boots in front of the door the night before and hope that overnight St. Nick comes by and fills them with some small goodies and chocolates. Luckily, St. Nick is a good man and even found Amelia and Elliot's boots all the way in North Carolina (maybe Eli, our elf, guided him this way). 

The kids were happy to find a chocolate Santa in their boots as well as a flashlight and a Christmas book. Eating chocolate all day long was for sure a highlight for them because not only at home they indulged some but they also ate lots of cookies and yummy treats at church after the service and a candy cane when we chose our Christmas tree at Lowe's.

 
As usual, we prefer to have a real Christmas tree and choosing one, is no simple task. Even though we weren't able to make it to a tree farm this year, we did find a good one at Lowe's. Mommy was pretty satisfied with the choice.

To celebrate, Amelia and I made our first batch of holiday cookies yesterday: Peppermint candy canes. 

And Daddy put up our outside lights. I think, he did a pretty good job.

Now, we just needed to decorate our tree and then we were finally done with all the Christmas decorations. So tonight, my little girl and I tackled the tree and I'm very happy with how it looks. I went for solid white lights (lots of them), gold mesh ribbons, red and some straw ornaments. We put up the train too and I'm sure Elliot will be delighted when he sees it tomorrow. 

This weekend, we definitely kicked off the holidays by finishing up our decorations and participating in one of the many holiday events this area has to offer. This week we will continue with the fun by watching the Christmas play at our church on Wednesday evening and then going to downtown on Friday night for some Christmas Holiday Spectacle. If you have not noticed but I love the Christmas season and I'm as excited as the kids. This year, it even feels more Christmas-sy as it is nice and cold outside  (or warm and cozy inside by our fireplace) and so it reminds me a lot about my childhood and celebrating the holidays in Germany.