It's so easy to get caught up in the pressure to travel for the holidays. As school was winding down before Christmas break, I was attending various parties at school for my kids, as well as adult neighborhood parties (including a dirty santa party!). I kept overhearing everyone's glamours travel plans for the holiday break and frankly, feeling a bit envious. With my kid's still being young (my youngest is still 4); there being 4 of them and just one of me; and our rather tight budget at the moment, traveling was out of the question for us.
I'm not going to say that I wouldn't love to be sitting on an exotic beach somewhere, sipping a sickeningly sweet drink out of a fancy glass with a pineapple garnish or sitting fireside in a chic ski lodge watching beautiful people pass by in the latest ski fashions. But alas, I am home with my four kids for 17 days, so the most adaptive thing to do is make the best of it.
We have been having a great time, just being here. We have done a lot of fun outings in town. We went to the LA Zoo Lights show and dinner at the original Bob's Big Boy (which brought back such fond memories of my childhood). We went ice skating at one of those beautifully lit-up with holiday lights and playing charming Christmas music. We are going to see Frozen 2 tomorrow (it will be my four-year-old's first time seeing a movie in a theatre) and having lunch afterward at CPK. We went to the incredible evening of Christmas festivities at the Reagan Library (which included a scrumptious dinner; open admittance to the entire library and all its exhibits; a viewing of the stunning Christmas trees, each one elaborately decorated to the different countries that President Reagan had visited while in office; and of course a walk-thru the fabled Air Force One). We are still hoping for a day-trip to the snow, if I can muster-up the energy to make the drive. The week is young, so we will see what is in store. The great thing, is we just play each day by ear and do what we feel like doing. No rushing and no pressure.
We have been enjoying our beautifully decorated house, which is nice, since it took me a lot of time and effort to decorate for the holidays. We have been staying up way past our bedtime and sleeping in late (what a treat for a night-owl like me). We have been staying in our PJs until late and have meals at really odd hours - like brunch at 11 and linner (that is what we call lunch and dinner combined, at 3 or 4 in the afternoon). I even get to skip making dinner that way, which is awesome! We have the Christmas trees on during the day and burn fires to keep warm. We are drinking lots of hot chocolate (with marshmallows and whipped cream, of course) and eating all the candy and cookies we received as gifts. We watch movies in the middle of the day, take walks with the dog and enjoy being together as a family, with no where to rush off to.
I highly recommend a holiday staycation. I think you'll be surprised at how nice it is to enjoy your own home, city and life, without the everyday rush of work and school . Let me know how it goes!
Comments