Colonial Christmas activities

We have been spending the past week or so getting into the Christmas spirit in all the ways Williamsburg has to offer. A couple evenings after work we headed down to CW to enjoy some of the Christmas decorations without the crowds that are around during Grand Illumination.

Last week we tried our hand at "ice" skating on a synthetic surface (not ice!) for one of Chris's work parties. It was a very odd experience since I'm obviously used to real ice. This stuff wasn't cold and didn't provide quite the same sensation as traditional ice skating does. It was pretty interesting though! We both had Secret Santa/Yankee Swap gift exchanges at work during the week, as well.

We went to the annual Christmas Concert, Hope is Born Again, at our church - something we didn't get the chance to do last year since we were in the midst of the move the weekend it was going on. It was great, especially because they had some fife and drum to tie in the area's colonial roots.

Last Saturday we headed down to Yorktown to check out what we thought was going to be a Christmas market, but turned out to be just a regular Saturday market. I was a little disappointed, but it was fun to go anyway. One of the things I miss the most about Germany is their Christkindlmärkte but it seems I will have to go back at Christmas to find something as authentic. On a brighter note, they did have alpacas!

We also went to Yule Log on campus - a tradition that is very dear to the W&M community. The president of the college comes dressed as Santa Claus, and there are stories, singing, and cookies. Afterward, a tradition from Chris's college days occurred; something he worked very hard on this year to bring back: a bunch of guys get together to go to Mongolian buffet and compete to see who can gain the most weight during dinner. The tradition is complete with strict rules, electronic scales that measure to the tenth of a pound, and while it seems pretty gross in my opinion, they always have a lot of fun.

Christmas can be such a busy time of year, but because of that it really makes you focus on your priorities. For us that means our faith, family, and friends. Hope everyone is finding some peace during the holiday craziness.