Lights!

One of my favorite things about having a young family is making our own traditions. As a child, I can remember loading up in the car one night after the sun went down, already dressed in pajamas, surrounded by blankets, listening to Christmas music on the radio as we paroled the streets for the best Christmas lights. I don't know if that was a tradition, or if we just did it once or twice, but it must stick out in my memory for some reason.
Last year, I began this tradition with Charlie, and this year Anna joined us as well. And thanks to a very festive family that lives in a neighboring town, I was able to take it to the next level.
About 20 minutes away from us, there is a family that has spent the last several holidays putting on a much-more-than-average light show on their front lawn. They have a local FM station that you can tune to, and every 30 minutes from 6-10 pm you can catch a "light show" in which the lights on the house are synced up to the music. The family collects donations and gives them to a local charity.
So, one cold and rainy night last week, I loaded the kids up (pajamas, blankets, and all), made a stop at the Chick-Fil-A drive thru for an on-the-road dinner, and headed to the light show.

The kids had a great time crawling around the car before the show began, and I think the highlight for Anna was getting to sit in the driver's seat of the van. Charlie, however, was enthralled with the lights from start to finish. Once the show was over, the person who owns the home came out and gave the kids candy canes and red-and-green festive light sticks. It was a great addition to my Christmas memories.