We had a lazy day on Friday, but by afternoon, the balmy temperatures lured us to an empty campus for a walk with no coats. I brought my tripod so we could take some family pictures, we had a makeshift snow fight with potato flakes, and soon enough we were all craving some cocoa. With plans to head downtown for our annual Holiday Hoopla later that night, Beau suggested we head down a little earlier since we had nothing else going on. I love when simple suggestions like these evolve into this perfect little unplanned adventure. We found ourselves at a cozy table at Cup of Joe just as the sun was fading. The kids sipped the sweetest little cups of cocoa, I discovered that Christmas might just taste like a chai latte with marshmallow creme, and we played Sorry together, tucked away in this little corner while the streets filled up outside. Our little family of four, doing what we do best. I loved that as we packed up and got ready to leave to meet Jordan's family, an older couple asked if they could have our game of Sorry. They were there to meet their two sons, both home from college, and reminisced about playing their own games of Sorry when they were our age. They thought it'd be fun to surprise them with a walk down memory lane when they got there.
It was a Holiday Hoopla for the record books, the streets filled with families of all ages, this year with few layers and even bigger smiles it seemed. We squeezed in a booth at Pump Haus with the Henrichs clan, then found our spot on Main to await Santa's surprise arrival, this year on a SWAT car.
I smiled to myself as I held the kids' hands and we paraded down Main for the fireworks and tree lighting. Having just returned from Disney this summer, our own Main Street USA rivaled the people, the lights, and all the magical pomp and circumstance that Disney brings. Downtown Cedar Falls does Christmas well, and we love getting to experience the magic year after year with our babes.
After a great view of the fireworks show and an emergency detour to Singlespeed so Mila could go potty, we headed home for our first official taste from the hot cocoa bar. Those Christmas jammies and tippy toes are what these sweet Christmas memories are made of.
Saturday was for shopping and tree decorating. With coffees in hand, Jamie and I hit the town early, taking advantage of the eclectic mix of small businesses in our town. I found a couple of pillows for the reading nook at Fig and Frolic, we tried on some sweaters at Twirl, sipped on mimosas and found some fun gifts at Hatchlings and Hens, and then headed to downtown Waterloo to celebrate with a whole lot of creative friends at Goods. popup shop.
After sneaking in a whole lot of pretty packages, we spent the rest of the afternoon home bound for one of my favorite days of the year. Our Christmas tree(s) are very special to me and the stories and memories told through almost every ornament makes for a special treat of an afternoon. We have a process. We push the loveseat out of the way so we have ample room to unwrap every single ornament and lay them all out before we start hanging them on the tree. We tell the same stories, remember favorite ornaments we had forgotten about, and add a few new ones each year. This year, a Cubs World Series baseball, a Mickey ornament from Disneyland, and a few Magnolia Market treasures from our trip to Waco. Ten years ago, we started with nothing but a couple of ziploc bags of our old childhood ornaments, along with a cute Shrek ornament that I'm pretty sure everyone in our families purchased for us (we went to Shrek on our first date). Now, both trees are chock full of sweet ornaments that remind us of milestones and memories of a decade of life together. And a lifetime to go.
I think we're going to need another tree.
With trees aglow and our home merry and bright, we settled in for a long winter's night of Arthur Christmas and ice cream. These are the days.
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