Festival of Lights & a Big Confession
And do you want to hear the craziest not-so-well-kept secret?I used to be a grinch.Seriously, if my friends would even play the intro to any christmas song, I would go all Ebenezer Scrooge on their @$%. I wouldn’t get a tree, and if I did, it would sit unadorned, though sometimes I would put white lights on it. The only stockings hung by the chimney with care would be wet socks needing to dry, and don’t even get me started on wrapping paper and eggnog. Something has happened to me since then. Heres a new secret:I love the holidays.I am all merry-and-bright-santa’s-little-helper-let’s-deck-these-halls-already! now. I blame this complete and total 180 on Jackson. Seriously y’all, the holidays are so much more cheerful when sharing them with a child.
Hands down, my favorite thing about the holiday season is that it is rooted in tradition. I love that everyone has different traditions. I love that many families have traditions that are similar. I am thoroughly enjoying creating traditions for my own family. This weekend has consisted oftradition.We went to Gumdrop Square, which has been a long-standing tradition for this town. Tonight, we went to the Festival of Lights. This was a tradition for my family when I was younger. Basically you go to one of the state parks and drive, very slowly, through a winding path looking at all sorts of intricate, exciting Christmas light structures. There are themes throughout the park, such as the 12 Days of Christmas, Hansel & Gretel, The Wizard of Oz, and Peter Pan:
When I pointed out the pirates to Jackson & said “Hook!” he started shouting “Yo Ho!!!!” over and over. Fitting, since Jake & the Neverland Pirates is a very popular selection in this house.
My favorite part of the Festival of Lights was the Winter Wonderland. There are moving lights cascading down the trees, giving a feeling of rain/snow, surrounded by pure darkness. It is lovely, and of course, photos don’t even begin to do justice to the beauty:
Here are some photos from the evening:
At the end of the light show there is a carnival with a ferris wheel, funnel cake, mini donuts, and other cheesy carnival things. I am looking forward to taking Jackson back through the Festival of Lights each year. He absolutely loved it tonight, which was awesome, considering I was worried that he might not be that into it just yet. If you are in the Northern Virginia/DC area, you should totally check out the Festival of Lights. They hold it at Bull Run Park each year, and it is just dreamy. Website here.
What are your favorite holiday traditions? Do you loathe the holidays like I used to?
