Tis The Season

I cannot believe it's 2 weeks before Christmas already!  Here in Maryland it's 65 degrees and sunny and has been for weeks.  It's definitely not the norm!  We have done some Christmas crafts and decorated early for the holiday and it has helped get us in the Christmas spirit.  Last weekend we took our two sons and our 4 year old granddaughter and carried out our tradition of cutting down our own Christmas tree at Friendship Tree Farm in Chesapeake Beach, Maryland.  We found another "perfect tree", this one shorter and more round than our normal ones, and dad cut it down while the two strong boys watched...go figure.  Then we went in to have dinner at "our" Chesapeake Beach restaurant that I still don't know the name of, but got our usual excellent quality food and enjoyed every single bite.  Next was on to North Beach, just down the road, but we got a pleasant surprise when we realized that because we were a week earlier than usual we were just in time for the annual tree lighting there!  In the hour we had to wait we visited the ice cream shop for dessert and the kids hit the little small town candy store that the kids love so much.  He carries all the "old"  candy like dots on paper, pez, taffy candy pops, mary janes.....  The boys don't choose those, but they are there to look at and reminisce about.

We met a gentleman who greatly resembled Mr. Claus, dressed in a red overcoat like he wanted to remain anonymous, but not really.  He had the white beard and the twinkling eyes.  We engaged him in conversation and threw a few hints and my granddaughter, who was skeptical, had a jaw drop moment when he called her Natalie Brown.  He never did reveal his true self, but he earned a hug and ":I'll see you at 20:30" from her as we left, which is preschool lingo for Christmas Eve I think.  We got to see the an old time Christmas train garden as something new and then had a great "seat" for the tree lighting.  Afterward, two satisfied young men and a very tired little girl returned home, another successful tradition and many memories tucked away in their hearts and minds.

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