Two weeks ago we spent Thanksgiving weekend celebrating and eating together and somehow in the midst of stuffing our faces with our delicious vegan feast we had time to drive down to Cedarburg and join in some holiday fun. Cole, Troy, my Dad, & I enjoyed peeking in the decorated windows while we stopped into our favorite shops. We picked out a few new ornaments for our tree at the German Holiday shop inside Cedarcreek Settlement while nibbling on some decadent caramels, cookies, and hot chocolate.

Cole got a major surprise when we stepped onto the trolley and he was greeted by Mrs. Claus and she invited him to sit and chat with her while we rode around town a few times. Later we stopped into Santa’s Workshop where Santa was put back by Cole saying his big want this year was a stop sign, lol! Probably hasn’t heard that from a 5 year old before. Cole wants a stop sign for his bedroom, so everyone knows it’s his zone only. A 5 year old needing privacy, what is my life going to be when he’s 13. Please send help! We had a good long conversation with Santa, snapped a Norman Rockwell esk photo and headed back home with good cheer in our hearts and being belted out of our lungs to holiday tunes all the way home.

As a parent, sharing traditions & starting new ones while watching them take it all in is the best part of any holidays. We try to turn our cameras off more and more these days, becoming more and more present in our lives and time with Cole. They grow so quickly. We don’t want to miss a second. What types of traditions do you partake in this time of year? Any new ones you’ve started?