Sharing some holiday festivity with you:
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| A somewhat classy light display, set to music. |
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| The over-the-top display, which you could walk through, as well as visit Santa in the garage. |
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| The side yard was full of nutcrackers. |
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| A snowman for everyone. |
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| Where do they store this stuff all year? |
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| You have to feel sorry for the neighbors . . . but Middle Child and I thoroughly enjoyed our holiday light tour. Some of you know that my son and his wife had planned a trip to Europe for the holidays. It was something they've postponed for a year, as they never went on a honeymoon or were able to have a wedding reception in 2020. With the rapid rise in Covid cases and the new variant, they had to make a tough decision, but decided to just go and make the best of what they were able to do. They've had to make adjustments from their original plans, but here are a few places they've visited thus far: |
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| Strasbourg, France. The Christkindlmarkts were shut down in Germany, so they added the Marché de Noël to their itinerary. What do you think, Theresa? |
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| The center square in Munich, Germany. My son lived and worked near here in the summer of 2016. He was excited to visit again and share it with his wife. They will be in Paris on Christmas day and then will travel to San Sebastian, Spain before flying home from Madrid. I'm happy that they are were able to go, though it's my first Christmas away from him. Thank goodness for grandkids! |
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Speaking of which, I scheduled a Santa stop through the Kiwanis Club for my grandkids. The elves call you five minutes prior to arrival so that you can throw on coats and run outside. Due to you-know-what, there was no sitting on Santa’s lap and you can see the face shield Santa was wearing. They received treat bags from a bucket that he lowered with a big candy cane. The kids don’t know any better, but it was a bit sad to me.Here’s to better days ahead! Merry Christmas and may your new year be full of hope and joy! |
That was bold of them to go to Europe and just hope for the best. Looks like they're having a good time. Yes, seeing Santa isn't quite the same when he has to observe a few safety measures. I like the idea of lowering the treat bags with the candy cane! Happy Christmas, Bijoux.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nick. It will be a Christmas miracle if they don’t get Covid on their trip, but they got the booster a few weeks ago and decided to just do it. Their photos of Paris yesterday looked lovely and they are having good weather, too. I hope you and Jenny had a nice day!
DeleteI hope you and your loved ones have a wonderful Christmas!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Joey.
DeleteThese Christmas displays are A-MAZING!!!!! And I thought the same exact thing as I was scrolling through them, "Where do they store this stuff all year?!?!? And what must their electric bill be?!?!?LOL! But honestly, I applaud them for the time and energy it took to do all this!
ReplyDeleteAnd good for your son and his wife for going through with their plans because I saw on the news how everyone was postponing their holiday travel plans. The airports looked a mess.
Beautiful photographs! Germany has always been a place I wanted to visit because of the history and the architecture.
That final photo of your grandchildren with Santa is PRICELESS! Oh, what a magical experience that must have been for them.
I'm leaving my comment on Christmas day, so I wanted to wish you and your family a VERY Merry Christmas and a 2022 filled with hope, joy, and unity.
Merry Christmas, dear friend! X
You’re right, I bet the electric bill is sky high. That was our first visit to that house, but I know they’ve been doing it for at least 15 years. It must give them a lot of enjoyment. We are happy for our son and his wife to be living their dream vacation right now. They are really into food and wine and love adventure. Yesterday, they rode the giant Ferris wheel in Paris. The views looked amazing! And they listened to a choir in one of the big cathedrals, but I couldn’t tell which one from the photo. Maybe Sacre Coeur? We had a crazy day yesterday with the grandkids, but will recuperate today! Ha! I hope you had a day of peace and joy. XO
DeleteWow. They sure went all out indeed. Electric companies probably love those displays lol
ReplyDeleteLooks like soooo much work to me though, but great on them for doing it.
The kiddos have no idea about anything further thanks to covid, so it is still a joy for them to get that close.
Yeah, the kids really don’t know the difference. Everything is so much easier to accept when you’re young, and everyone just tells you what to do! I wonder if the light people do the same set up every year or if they mix it up? It was a sight to see!
DeleteThose are certainly some colorful displays, Bijoux, and thanks for haring them in this post. Hope your son and his wife have safe travels for the rest of their trip. Too bad the Santa tradition has been somewhat sidetracked by you know what, but nice that your grandchildren and others did get to see Santa in his sled.
ReplyDeleteSanta in his sled was quite a sight and my grandson even enjoyed the police car with lights that escorted Santa around town. I hope your Christmas weekend is going well!
DeleteMerry Christmas! Glad you son and daughter-in-law are able to make their honeymoon trip. Prayers for safe travels. Living out in the country, I miss the Christmas decorations forks have, even the over the top decorations.
ReplyDeleteHttps://fromarockyhillside.com
Thank you! I’ve tried to find different light displays to visit every year with our Middle Child, as she still enjoys them. Hope you are having a wonderful Christmas weekend.
DeleteGreat holiday decorations!! I too often wonder where people store things. I've come to the conclusion they must have a storage unit somewhere. I am glad your son/DIL were able to go on their trip. Looked like they visited some great places! I think we're going to have to learn how to live with Covid and that includes doing things that might be out of one's comfort zone. How cute with the Kiwanis arranging the Santa visits; sorry it couldn't be what we normally would have experienced in years past! Merry Christmas and may your New Year be a good one for you and yours!
ReplyDeletebetty
You are probably right on the storage unit! Unless their basement is just devoted to Christmas decor. We never knew about the Kiwanis Santa until my next door neighbor arranged it for their grandkids the last few years. Prior to Covid, you could drop off a gift to Kiwanis and Santa would then hand it directly to your child. That must have been quite an undertaking to coordinate! Happy New Year to you and again, GREAT to have you back!
DeleteLove the lights. Looking at them, not putting them up.
ReplyDeleteThis was our first year we didn’t do any holiday lights at all. We had a big landscape project with new outdoor lighting, so we figured that was good enough!
DeleteSo glad your son still got to go on his trip with his wife. How fun it must have been to revisit places he's been before and to show them to his wife.
ReplyDeleteThe lights at that house were out of control!!!
That's really neat that the Kiwanis club does Santa stops! Never heard of such a thing! Sweet that your grandies don't know the difference. Someday when they can have a "more immersive" Santa experience, it will be that much better for them then. Sweet of you to have arranged that for them.
I can’t wait till I see them in person to hear about their trip. They thought Strasbourg was like a fairy tale. I’ve never been to Europe, so will live it vicariously. My daughter with the kids told me that the latest thing for parents her age is to do away with the “Santa Lie.” There is no magic left in the world, I tell ya! Lol!
DeleteI love all the lights. I hope you had a nice Christmas.
ReplyDeleteI did, Mary. I hope yours was a good one.
DeleteThe Christmas displays are fantastic. My sister and I went on a holiday light tour this evening in Brooklyn .
ReplyDeleteI'm happy that your son and daughter-in-law decided to go ahead with their trip and I hope they have a great time.
The Covid Santa is a little depressing, but, as you say, the kids don't know any better.
Merry Christmas, Bijoux, and all the best for the New Year!
Oh, I bet the Brooklyn tour was fun! Wishing you a bright week and a healthy new year!
DeleteI wish I never had to hear or read the words "virus" or "variant" again ... after all, these things have been around for our entire lives, without comment. Oh well. We ignore all such things at our house and although Erica was under the weather yesterday, she rested up and is perfectly fine today. We are grateful. More Christmas joy will arrive at our house tomorrow in the form of Andrew, Brittany, and little Ember! Your idea to call the Kiwanis elves was really cute and I'm so glad your son and his wife went to Europe. What wonderful memories. xoxo
ReplyDeleteI’d like to ignore it, but I currently have 6 friends who tested positive. Of course, the 2 that weren’t vaxxed have been very ill for two weeks now, but they knew the risks. My son-in-law worked a year in the Covid ICU and he couldn’t wait to get a new job. Still has Covid patients in rehab, but at least they are no longer on their death bed. Yes, these viruses have been around forever, as my grandfather almost died of the Spanish flu, and from what I’ve read, it morphed into today’s ‘flu.’ Hopefully, Covid turns into a common cold virus and we can forget about it!
DeleteHave fun with your family tomorrow! Time for some joy!
I love those light displays! And the Kiwanis Santa visit was sweet for your grands!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad your son/dil got to go and see a bit of Europe. Our son's wedding was postponed, but hopefully in a few months it'll happen and they'll be honeymooning.
I’m sorry about your son’s wedding. It’s very frustrating and disappointing. We gave up in 2020 trying to plan my son’s reception (they were married at a courthouse in Dec 2019) and we still have never met his in-laws (they live in China).
DeleteI'd say even though they missed the Christkndlmarkts, the Marché de Noël does look lovely. I'm surprised France didn't shut those down as well, as they've been really policing everything to prevent the spread of Covid this past year.
ReplyDeleteThe light displays look so fun! We didn't drive around and look at any this year (I've been in a scrooge mood) so it's nice living vicariously through your pics.
The Santa thing makes me sad as well. Jason took the kids out last week and they stopped downtown and went over to say hi to Santa. He was in his normal Santa hut, but they walled the entire front off with plexiglass so you couldn't even touch him. He just waved from inside :( (By kids though, I mean my 22 and 18 year old so they weren't sad, but I bet the ones who still believe were). I'll have to find the pic they took so you can see the ridiculousness of it. I mean, I get why it needs to be done, but I miss the days before all of this virus nonsense.
They LOVED Strasbourg, from our brief texts. They found it to be like a fairy tale. They are having an absolute blast in Paris and rode the Big Wheel on Christmas Day. I’m very happy for them, but of course concerned that they make get Covid and not be able to fly home. They are supposed to depart Jan. 2. I get the Scrooge mood. I really wasn’t feeling it this year, despite the grands. That is just pitiful about the plexiglass Santa. Was it outdoors? That would have really made me mad!
DeleteIt's disappointing when COVID changes your plans, but sometimes things turn out better. You end up exploring things you would have normally overlooked for a touristy hot spot. You also get to enjoy less crowds. Here's to a great honeymoon for them!
ReplyDeleteThat was such a sweet surprise for the grandbabies! I'm glad that they didn't realize the difference.
Merry Christmas!
I do know they swapped out Venice and went to Strasbourg and San Sebastián instead, where it is currently 70 degrees, so I’m very happy for them right now! The grandkids were thrilled with Santa this year. My grandson got the cleaning set he was asking for. Not kidding! Lol!
DeleteI love the over-the-top displays. I'm guessing these generous and festive folks have a storage unit for all of their decorations. They are committed!!
ReplyDeleteYay for your son and wife finally taking their trip. I hope they have a lovely time. The sights look amazing.
Yes, sad about how the kids have to celebrate this year, but like you said, they might not know any better.
Cheers to a better year to come!
You do have to be either generous or crazy to put up that sort of display for 15 years! I’m dreaming of a healthy new year for all!
DeleteI aspire to a holiday display like that. Seriously. One of these days!
ReplyDeleteI have two other friends who also said screw it and took off for Europe within the past week. I'm glad they both did it. I just hope they make it back home without incident!
I’m too much of a minimalist for that sort of display. I spent yesterday cleaning out our kitchen desk and junk cabinets above and throwing things out. Feels so good! I hope your friends have fun on their trip and find a flight back!
DeleteGood for your son for living his life right now! I wouldn't have postponed that trip anymore either! I hope they don't get the virus but if they do at least they are vaxxed! Beautiful displays and glad your grandkids got to visit with Santa!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jeanette. I enjoyed the photo of your grands with Santa, too. My son is having a fabulous time, at least from the photos his wife is posting on Instagram. I’m excited to hear all about it. They got the booster about four weeks ago, so decided now was the time to just go.
DeleteBeautiful photos! I hope you and your family had a great Christmas holiday.
ReplyDeleteWe did and thank you!
DeleteI love the idea of the Santa visit! That's so cool!!! And it's great that they found a reasonable COVID safe workaround.
ReplyDeleteI hope your son and D-I-L enjoyed their trip.
Happy New Year!
It was a neat thing to see Santa coming down the street. My grands did wonder where the reindeer were! My son and DIL are having a wonderful time. They made it to Madrid and only have another day left till they leave for home.
DeleteNice colourful pics. Santa wearing a protective face mask is a new thing.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteOkay you asked the question that I always ask: "Where do they store this stuff all year?" It seems insurmountable to me.
ReplyDeleteIt’s more stuff than I currently own!
DeleteOh my word, those decorations. I dread to think what their electricity bill was!! Magical for little ones though. That truck does look a bit sad, but at least they got to see Santa. In the small town I lived many years ago the Round Table charity used to drive round with Santa on a gorgeously decorated flatbed truck. My girls were grown up and left home but I always went out to wave at him! Happy New Year to you and your family Bijoux.
ReplyDeleteYes, the Santa sleigh wasn’t glamorous. My neighbor told me last week that there are 4 or 5 of them that go out on that day to our city. I had no idea. Happy 2022! We made it!
DeleteLove all of the photos, Bijoux. Thank you for sharing. Happy New Year!!
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed!
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