A Guthrie Holiday Tradition

Santa was a huge hit this year. After waiting in line to see him, both boys sat right down on his lap without incident. Owen was super cute as he examined the jolly St. Nick and tried to figure out why he was sitting there. Ben turned in to this shy, quiet kid that I didn't even recognize. After the pictures were taken Santa whispered into Ben's ear. Ben whispered back, but I couldn't quite make out what he said. As we were walking away, Jeremy asked him what he said to Santa. Ben apparently told him that he wanted a dinosaur and a race car! (And yes, I will be returning the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.)

Growing up, my parents would round all of us kids up to go shopping together before Christmas so that we could get gifts for each other. We would then drive through the Olney park to see the light display. Dad would roll down the windows so we could hear the Christmas music and we would have a blast pointing out all of the familiar characters like Snoopy, E.T. and the Chipmunks. At the end we would stop to visit Santa. Anytime that I have a chance while visiting my parents, I LOVE going through the park and seeing the exact same displays that have been there since I was a kid.

When Jeremy and I started our own family, we decided to recreate this tradition with our boys. The year that Ben was born, our first outing as a family was to the park in O'Fallon, MO to see the Christmas lights. Two week old Ben screamed the entire time. Determined to stick to tradition, we did the same thing about a month after Owen was born. Ben liked it but was concerned about Owen, who was screaming the whole way through. This year was the first year that they both really enjoyed it. Owen was saying ooh and wow and pointing out his window while Ben was in awe watching the lights move and excitedly pointing to and describing the next display. I switched the radio station over to Christmas music, sat back in the passenger seat and enjoyed the show. Persistence definitely pays.