ok mamas, i know christmas is a loooong way off, and i know there will be some who will tell me i'm wrong for doing the "santa" thing - what the heck i'll ask anyway. i am happily daydreaming this weekend of CHRISTMAS IN FLORIDA!! woo hoo! i am so excited. no, we're not doing Disney - my inlaws live in another part of FL and we will be visiting them. probably be spending a few nights in a hotel, and they will probably stay with us. either that or we'll stay at his elderly grandfather's house. but it is looking like a hotel at this point. i'm soooo excited :) we have never spent christmas with my husband's family. we did seaworld orlando with them last summer and had SUCH a good time - but hubby wasn't able to go. so this time it will be ALL of us, truly TOGETHER, for the first time in a LONG time.
anyway! i am already visualizing what "christmas morning" will look like in a hotel lol. can't wait! we will take all his Santa stuff and presents from us with us, in the car, so it will be necessarily a small christmas this year. and i am thinking of getting one of those miniature trees to set up in the hotel room (i have already told my son, santa can find you anywhere - but i'm pretty sure the rule is you have to have a tree *wink*). how many of you mamas have done this? anyone have any tips for me? when first starting my family i never thought i'd be willing to give up christmas morning at home - but for some reason (we have had 5 now, this will be #6) i am so into this. i can't wait! thanks for any and all stories/anecdotes/advice!
(thanks ladies so far - he will be 6!)
haha, thanks ladies! great words of wisdom and stories - Malia - last year we heard my son rustling around in his bed christmas morning - and my husband did the sleighbells and HOHOHO!! - it got soooo quiet in his room! he stayed in there and finally after about 10 minutes we went in and got him - he was freaked out - and was NOT coming out lol!
We go to my Grandparents every other year and she puts in her letter to Santa that she will be at Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa's house, and he always finds her.
Is there any way you could do the presents from you guys beforehand, so you can minimize what you have to take down?
Kudos to you! I'm still in the mindset that "There's no place like home for the holidays..." and I get so many ill-comments from the inlaws! UGH!
Anyway-
Have you thought about shipping the tree to the hotel so that it will already be there when you arrive? Maybe they would even put it up for you if you asked...You could always ask them to tell your son on arrival that Santa made sure he would have a tree...
Just my two cents...:) Enjoy your visit...Sounds like your inlaws are lovely people...
Sounds too fun. I think everyone should do what THEY want to on Christmas.
You could ship the gifts to your inlaws so they can get them to the hotel for you.
. Or ship them to the hotel.. I used to ship things to and from the hotels i stayed at when i was working. They are great about making sure they are safe.
I have also seen the inflatable Christmas trees.. We took a paper one to Grand Caymen one year for Christmas.. we had a blast.
I'm excited for you!!! We did Easter in Gatlinburg!! Even tho my kids are teenagers, I still hid a few eggs in the hotel room. I refuse to totally grow up!! lol!!!
It's funny because my kids and I just told my hubby/their dad that we are planning a trip for Christmas. We're all sick of both sides of our families and really want to get away this year!!! My parents are gone; I'm sick of one of my sisters; my kids are sick of their grandfather, etc.!!! lol!!! Only problem is we don't want to leave our dog!! We're not sick of him....yet!! lol!!
If you can't ship stuff ahead of time either to the hotel, in-laws or grandparent's house, I would put the stuff in a suitcase. Kids are usually less curious of what's in a suitcase rather than a box - at least my kids were! That way it won't be the elephant in the room!!
And YES, by all means, DO THE SANTA THING!!! Don't let the grinches get to you!!!
Good luck, have fun and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
You don't say how old your son is, so you may want to add that. I would just take a few things and tell him you left a note for Santa at home, telling Santa you are going on a special trip and will be at a hotel so maybe he can leave him a few things there and deliver the rest of the stuff while you are gone. Then only pack one or two things (I'm sure he will get presents from the in laws, right?) and then he can open more stuff when he gets home. Have everything already wrapped and ready and when you leave your house, take him out to the car, then one of you run back in, leave everything under the tree, so when you get back, its the first thing he sees when he goes in. I think that would be so exciting AND so much easier than trying to take everything (including a TREE??!!) to the hotel. I hope to get some good suggestions and find something that will work for you. Have a great trip!
Check out a craft store for a small fake tree and get some mini ornaments. You can also set up a tree at your home and leave any large presents there and tell your son that Santa knew they were too big for your car. My daughter will be 6 this month and still believes in Santa and I hope she does for a while.
I would not visit any of the theme parks here (in the Orlando area) the week before Christmas through to New Year’s Day. That is the busiest time here, even busier than the summer months. The parks fill to capacity and close. We usually travel up north on Christmas day and come home on New Year’s Day, it is cheaper on the holidays and not busy.
Good for you. It will be fun!
-mini trees can be found at craft stores, open-all-year Christmas stores,
online etc.
-get some mini ornaments too
-from home take your stockings & any special "santa-must-haves" like
the cookie plate etc. (make a list so you don't forget anything)
-do most of your major shopping early & be sure it can fit into your luggage, car etc. Take the presents with you.
-If you get to do any addtl shopping there, great.
-just remember to pack any special, major traditions (advent calendar etc)
-if you put cookies out, bring a couple in a ziplock baggie, bring along some hot cocoa packets, candy canes etc
-don't forget your camera
-you can dress up the hotel room w/some decorations to make it feel more like Christmas
Have fun & enjoy!
I think it sounds wonderful! Though I'm a big fan of being at home on Christmas, let's face it - MOM is the heart of Christmas. If you're up for it you will make it fun for everyone else.
One other thought . . . maybe check VRBO.com and see if you can get a little house rental for close to the cost of a hotel room. That might even be more "home-y"!
Good luck and hope it all works out great! I think Florida is alot of fun at Christmas time.
So lovely to see you excited about seeing the inlaws for Christmas! (We see so many posts that are just the opposite - it warms the heart to see yours!)
We didn't actually do Santa in a hotel as we flew a few days before Christmas to stay with family, but we did go to an island before Christmas one year. 80 degrees with a cool breeze coming off the ocean, drinks with little umbrellas, a water park for the kids to enjoy, night time shows with buffet dinner at the hotel, and Christmas carols being piped in over the speakers. The smaller trees around the hotel were decorated for Christmas. One of my most memorable Christmases, I have to say!
I don't know how old your child is. If he's really little, I wouldn't worry about the tree. If he's older, I understand. I have no idea how you would do that, though. I just want to say, more power to ya, and enjoy the wonderful Florida weather!
Dawn
Hi! We are in the Kansas City area too--and we're going to FL for Christmas. Both of our families live there. We have 3 kiddos. I usually pack a few things in the car. I'll order stuff online and have it shipped to my mom. Plus, the kids get tons from grandparents, aunts/uncles, etc. Just make the trip to FL the big gift and have Santa bring a few small ones. Maybe get him stuff he can use in the car on the way home (books, DVDs, etc). We're always at my mom's house or my in-laws house, so they provide the tree. I'm sure you can get one cheap somewhere. Or, see if you can buy a small inflatable palm tree (like from Oriental Trading) and put that up as your "FL Christmas Tree".
So glad you're excited about it!!!
When our children were little, we frequently went to our parents for Christmas.... so... we had Christmas "early" .....
We did different things.... Santa came one time while I was giving baths to our little ones... and the oldest (maybe 4 at the time) was TERRIFIED! She was afraid to come downstairs because Santa had been there... (While I was upstairs giving the kids their bath, we heard Santa... "Ho, Ho, Ho"... and sleigh bells jingling.) We left the next morning, so there wasn't a problem with them telling other kids in the neighborhood that Santa had already been there.
Another time, when kids were older (and all but the youngest knew about "Santa"), we went out for dinner... and had the youngest go back and check for something in the house... (that way, he could see that nothing had been left by us to say that Santa had come...) by now, they all knew that if we were going to be out of town for Christmas, Santa came early.... anyway, we went out for a nice dinner, and guess what? Santa came while we were gone! (A neighbor came in and took care of putting out the presents, etc.)
That way we didn't have to take all the gifts with us, and they were usually receiving PLENTY at grandma and grandpa's houses to make up for the fact that they had to leave new things behind.
Anyway, that is what worked for us..... and it was fun!
Enjoy your trip!
We went to my grandparents' house every year for Christmas, so we did Santa just before leaving. We had a routine. The night before we left (for Kansas City!) my dad would take us somewhere, and while we were gone Santa would come. We would open presents has a family. Then my mom would go to bed and we got to stay up as late as we wanted. My dad packed up the car, and would put lots of blankets in the car (no carseats then, so we slept lying down) and carry us out there when it was time to leave. My mom would wake up and drive the first few hours (we usually left around 4:00 in the morning) while my dad slept. We would wake up at some point and stop for breakfast. We were usually there by noon. We also opened presents on Christmas day from my grandparents and aunts and uncles, but the ones from Santa and from my parents were opened before we left.
I can remember going to the mall to see Santa and asking my dad, "Did you tell him to come early? Don't forget, we're leaving on the 22nd, so make sure he knows to come then!" Every year, until I knew the truth, I would remind him.
Long story, sorry, but you could do a small Christmas before you leave and another Christmas in Florida.
Of course Santa can find you anywhere. He's SANTA, after all! :)
You can have a lot of fun with this. Be sure to write Santa a letter (if your son knows about the trip ahead of time) and tell him where you'll be. I love the idea of having a tree in the hotel room. Take the gifts and keep as close as possible to your "at home" Christmas morning as far as routine goes.
It might also be fun for your son to get a note from Santa that says there is another gift waiting for him at home (if you happen to want to give him something too big to take with you).
Remember to have your son take some Christmas gifts for the hotel workers. He will really get into the spirit of giving that way, and they will be delghted to get a gift from a little cutie pie while they have to work on Christmas Day.
