Christmas and the Boys: Christmas Activities for Toddlers in DC Area December 23, 2011

I put up our little Christmas tree, and it’s tiny–about 2 feet, as you can see in another post not too far back. Both boys managed to pull it down once, but after that, they’ve had little interest in knocking it down. They love the lights on it and they like taking some of the jingly ornaments off the tree. One day I decided to risk some internet time while they were awake. It was really quiet in the other room, and then I discovered that they had unwrapped all the presents (4) that I had put under the tree. So I rewrapped them, and Gil and I have embarked on a multi-day wrapping-unwrapping extravaganza.

(Right now S is behind me on the couch saying, “Here’s little kitty book. We’re going to read it to Gilbert. He likes it.” And Gil’s saying, “Book” and now S is reading to him.)

DC Area Christmas Activities We Did this Year:

• Scottish Parade in Old Town. This was fun, as parades go. Highlights were the bagpipers and big pipe and drum bands, and the dog clubs who would walk by with a bunch of dogs of the same breed. We went with friends who had a place for us to park. Otherwise parking would have been a nightmare. The boys like the music and so did I
• Santa at Tyson’s Corner Mall. This was fun, but G absolutely hated meeting Santa. Correction: he liked meeting Santa, but he did not want to sit with Santa. Seamus did want to sit with Santa, and he had a pretty good time. This was a good excursion for December because the play area for kids in Tyson’s is GREAT. It has a lot of soft climbing and sliding equipment and loads of kids running around in socks. The boys loved it and played there forty minutes before lunch and then an hour after lunch. They took very good naps that afternoon.
• Marymount Christmas Dinner. We went up for the student dinner, and it was very fun. I think I wrote about it earlier.
• Miniature Train Display at Union Station. This was cool, but it was a diaster for us. Aimed for slightly older toddlers 2.5-4.5. There is a pretty good display but a lot of it is at adult height, so difficult for kids to see. There is one that is easy for them to see and S was enthralled with it. The diaster was that we took the Metro to Union Station, and Gil’s ear must have been hurting from the underground, so he pretty much lost it on Metro. Then he fell asleep in the stroller, and thank goodness, because he slept on Metro on the way home, but that meant he did NOT take a nap that afternoon. Lucky for us, we had plans to go see The Descendants, so we left G with a sitter for his no nap afternoon.
• Falls Church Santa Fire Engine. This is awesome! The fire station decks out a fire engine in lights and then has Santa sitting on the top, drives around waving. The first night we saw it, it was 9:30 and we seriously debated getting Seamus up for the excitement. However, he was very much asleep. It went by at 5 and 6 a few days later and the kids thought it was so cool. (So did we!)
• Oxon Hill Farm and Park. Not really a holiday activity, but we decided to take the boys out to the farm, and it was the best activity we’ve done in a while. I’m going to give it its own post.
• Cape May Trolly. We rode the trolly at Cape May (not really a DC activity) to see the Santa lights. Pretty fun. Seamus like the steamed up windows, and it was cold!
• Getting a Christmas tree. S & G accompanied Grandude to get a Christmas tree and poinsettia.  They liked seeing all the trees and helping to pick one out. S really enjoyed decorating it with Grandude a few days later.
• Zoolights. We’ve had plans two separate nights to go do this, but we haven’t managed to! We did go to the zoo during regular time and the lights on the elephant sculpture were pretty cool.
• Christmas lights in the neighborhood. This is fun. We load the boys in the stroller and then walk in any direction and point out the light displays. They like the Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy lights. But they also like inflated Frosty or Santa, and they like reindeer who turn their heads. If we say, “Look Frosty is waving!” both boys immediately start waving energetically at the display.
• Hot chocolate. One night we rode bikes to Whole Foods five miles away and it was cold, so I made the boys some hot chocolate. Neither one of them would drink it even though it was just warm milk with a tiny bit of chocolate syrup. Weirdos.

Moral, if you’re looking for activities with kids in DC, simpler is better. Every time we tried something big, it wasn’t really worth it, except for the ability to get out of the house. It has been a pretty nice December though, so that’s made it nice.

 

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