Christmas Festivities

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We went down to San Jose for the night to enjoy a variety of Christmas festivities. The first thing we did was go to a great Christmas Tree farm out Hwy 17 towards Santa Cruz. Unlike a lot of farms where you cut your own tree, the trees at this farm are not planted in neat rows. They are scattered all over the place without any order so it really feels like you are walking through the forest. The other great thing is that all the trees, no matter what size were $45. We have always gotten 5 or 6 ft. trees to keep the cost down, but this year went for a tree that is about 10 ft tall.

Later that night we drove through one of San Jose's parks that is completely lit up with Christmas lights. For $10 a car, you drive through the park's 1.5 mile road with your lights turned off so you can see all of the lights. There were tons of displays each sponsored by local businesses. Most of the displays had moving parts that were quiet impressive. The kids really enjoyed this.

The next morning we woke up bright and early to head down to the annual San Jose Holiday Parade. We left the Buccellato's house at 7 am in order to walk down to the light rail station and catch the train to downtown. Bryce really enjoyed the train ride. Once we got downtown we had a bit of a problem finding a good spot to sit and watch the parade, but finally found a great spot in from of some news stands. This gave us something to lean against and a natural barrier for the kids to stay within. Juli brought bagels, juice, donuts, chocolate milk and fruit for everyone to eat since we didn't have breakfast before we left. The parade lasted for about two hours and was a lot of fun. I think the best part was watching Bryce and Mandy dance to the music. Bryce kept saying, "they are playing music for me". Faith was an angel and slept through most of the parade, which allowed me to enjoy watching it and Bryce. Downtown there is a display of Christmas trees each decorated by different community groups. Trey's scout troupe decorated a tree and we were able to find it and take his picture next to it.

After the parade we went back to the Buccellato's house and the kids opened their annual Christmas ornaments from Nanny and Pawka. Bryce got a John Deere tractor ornament and Faith got a "Baby's First Christmas" shoes ornament.