Fun before Christmas

This year, Joe's sister was in town for Christmas and a few days before so we all wanted to do some fun pre-Christmas activities with Emilia. One thing that I've always thought sounded fun was the Heber Creeper's version of the Polar Express. We decided that Emilia's first Christmas would be a fun time to take a train ride so we bought tickets. We almost couldn't get any because it is so popular, but we managed to get on the 11 o clock train on December 23rd. We were served hot chocolate and cookies as the train took us out of Heber and toward the North Pole.

After we arrived at the North Pole, Santa got on the train and gave every kid a special Christmas bell. Emilia loved her bell and would not let it out of her hands the whole way back.

Another baby-friendly activity we wanted to do was a sleigh ride. There were a few different options, but we decided on the Sleigh and Dine package from the Homestead. We had planned to go the Saturday before Christmas, but there were problems with our reservation so we ended up going Christmas Eve, which was a lot of fun. 

We decided to go on an afternoon ride so the baby could be awake and enjoy it. There were deer everywhere and  everything was very pretty. I would like to go on an evening ride in the future- The sleigh paths are lit with Christmas lights when it gets dark.

After the sleigh ride, Emilia had a nap and got changed into a pretty dress to go to Simon's Restaurant. We decided to get the Holiday dinner which was seriously amazing: Appetizers of warm bread and fried cheese curds and then salad and platters of chicken, ham, green beans, pumpkin pudding, and mashed potatoes. Dessert was pecan pie. 

One thing that we have discovered since having a baby is the appeal of early dinner.We got to the restaurant right when they opened at 5 and got a table right next to the fireplace. It was a lovely place to spend the evening of Christmas Eve.