This Christmas we took two vacation getaways! Here is the summary of our trip to Williamsburg and Hillsborough.
Vacation Getaways
I hope everyone had a great week with family and friends. We made two trips, one before Christmas and one after. I’m ready to get comfortable and settle into January now!
Busch + Williamsburg Gardens
On Friday the 22nd we took the children to Christmas Town at Busch Gardens. The theme park is decorated with tons of Christmas lights with the entire Christmas theme. This was the first time I went! In fact, I haven’t been to Busch Gardens even in the warmer months since I was in high school. We are already planning a return trip in the summer.
Arrival
The park opened at 2pm and we arrived just as the gates opened. We should have gone on one or two of the big roller coasters to avoid the lines, but instead we wandered around. Mazen and I waited too long to ride a 30 second Grover roller coaster 🙂
Pantheon
We noticed that the wait for the Pantheon coaster was short and Thomas had the best ride of his life. When it was over, the line was too long for me to go, so I’ll have to wait until summer!
Rides for children
Neither of our kids like thrill rides, but Birch went to the Himalayas and they did some smaller rides together.
Wrap
We were hoping for a “warm” day that would hit 50 degrees, but we also knew we would have to plan on wearing tons of layers. It was good from 2 to 6 and then it was very cold. Wool socks and hand warmers were a must. It had 4 layers.
Gourmet Dinner in Germany
We had a very theme park dinner of two pizzas and a beer while we watched a Christmas show and warmed up.
Games we don’t win
Tomas worked hard!
Train Ride + Light Tour
The highlight for me was the train ride throughout the park. The lights were spectacular!
Dessert Donuts
Accommodations in Williamsburg
We spent the night at the Williamsburg Lodge, which I got for free using a Marriott free night award I got by opening a Marriott Unlimited Card last year.
We had breakfast at the hotel: avocado toast for me!
Big Kid Pancakes:
Colonial Williamsburg
After breakfast we checked out of the hotel and headed to Colonial Williamsburg for a walk. We were able to see Thomas’ aunt and cousin who live a few blocks away.
Ice skating
The kids saw the skating rink and wanted to try it. Mazen has skated before and took up ice skating without problems. Birch did pretty well too! She also spent some time on the plastic bear sleds.
Find a pile of dirty snow = make snowballs
Santa Claus sighting
We ran into one of Santa’s helpers who was on his motorcycle handing out hats!
Lunch at the Cheese Factory
Video summary of our trip
through instagram!
Christmas in Cville
We drove home on Saturday and spent a day at home preparing for Christmas. We took the kids to see Wonka and they loved it.
We spent Christmas Eve with Thomas’ parents enjoying Christmas pizza!
Christmas creativity
Mazen really got into the Christmas spirit, making it special for Birch. She made this video after we all went to bed with our Elf family for sugar.
And he even got some text messages on his phone from Santa 🙂
Christmas morning
Christmas morning was great! The kids slept until 7 and we opened presents by the light of the fire. Birch received lots of Mandalorian-themed gifts and Mazen received Legos and an Xbox!
We have puzzles and new tires for our car. Phew!
Chocolate Brioche French Toast
Boy was he that good!!!
Home for the holidays
After tidying up the house and unwrapping gifts, we headed out for two nights in Hillsborough! My sister, her family, and her in-laws were there for our annual Christmas gathering.
We ate ham, brussels, rolls, pear brandy, corn pudding, and more. I wasn’t the best photographer, but I captured the kids’ table!
We had three cakes and lots of ice cream for dessert, yummmm!
secret santa
During our annual Elfster gift exchange, I got this beautiful cocktail shaker (mine is plastic!) and an Athleta gift card for something new from athleisure 🙂
The Christmas Mouse
To add a little excitement to bedtime, there was a Christmas mouse that roamed the perimeter of the living room! Thank goodness he was upstairs when I saw him.
prime time
Between pastries and cake, the cousins played and played.
We said goodbye to them on the 26th 🙁
We had a low-key boxing day. Thomas and I worked out and enjoyed a midday visit to the Colonial Inn while Mazen played with his neighbor friend and Mom and Dad played with Birch.
Orange County
Friends for life
In the evening some of my childhood friends came to visit me.
Birch loved Uncle Hugh and Uncle Larry!
