Holiday Fun ’08

We took the children Friday night to see all of the holiday lights. It was so great this year because Emily enjoyed it as much as Ethan. We ooh-ed and ahh-ed as we drove through the neighborhood and came home to enjoy a little cocoa after coming in from the cold winter air.

As a side note: the look of glee on Ethan’s face as we drive by Hobby Lobby could only be replicated by my own look of glee. That store is EVIL! I could spend a ton of money in there!

Saturday morning, we headed to downtown South Bend to enjoy a visit with Santa. This Santa is way better than the mall Santa because they let you see him and take your own Santa pictures for free. Each child is given an “I Believe” sticker that they can show to the South Bend Chocolate Cafe to get a free chocolate candy bar.

Ethan was excited to see Santa, but Emily…not so much. We didn’t repeat past years and just let her see him from far away. As we inched closer she would say, “Santa’s scary.” Ethan got in his visit though and a request for a fancy sled this year.

We then headed over to the College Football Hall of Fame to see some really beautiful gingerbread houses and get a chance to sample some yummy food. They had tables set up for the kids to color and to decorate and eat some Christmas cookies. All of these activities- FREE! You have to love that!

Our evening was spent at Ryan’s holiday party. I had him take a picture of what I wore so you could see just how thrifty I can be. The blazer was already in my closet, an inexpensive purchase bought this fall for $14.99 at Forever 21. The pants are a black jean trouser pant made by theory found at Goodwill for $5.00. The camisole top was found deeply clearanced at rue 21 for $5. The long strand of pearls were bought at Target for $7.99. And the shoes? Longtime readers might remember them from my ode to red post. Those were purchased at Payless and are perfect for all holiday occasions!

The dinner was free and the babysitter worth every penny.

The wild and crazy dancing done by Ryan’s wife for all his coworkers to see…priceless!