Enjoying Christmas in the WILD

Christmas in the WILD at
Lowry Park Zoo

I love going to the theme parks during the holiday season. It is beautiful to see everything decorated and all the sparkling lights. This year we decided to go and see the Christmas in the Wild at Lowry Park Zoo. We went the first weekend it opened. You couldn't have asked for a better night. The weather was perfect!

Carollers performing
Christmas songs.

We have been to the zoo quite a few times, especially when my two girls were younger. They are 10 and 12 years old now and this was the first time my husband and I took them to a night event at the zoo.  It was a different experience because it was dark, but there were twinkling lights throughout the park with Christmas music playing. It was also different because you don't see as many animals as you do in the day time, but we still saw quite a few animals.

Randi feeding the giraffe!

One of the girls favorite parts of the night was feeding the giraffes lettuce. In my opinion, giraffes are some of the most interesting and beautiful animals. When you feed them at Lowry Park Zoo you are right up next to them on a platform and they eat right out of your hand.

Checking out some of the animals.

There are several animal encounters you can attend throughout the night. They include one called Presents for Primates with the Bornean orangutans and one called the Elephant Enrichment Social with the elephants. There is also one where you can say good night to the penguins.  And the one we really enjoyed was the Christmas Show. This was a show outside with some of  Santa's elves who brought out different animals for the kids to see including a snake, bunny, goose, turtle and goat.

Ready to ride the roller coaster!

The rides are also open during the night, so the kids were able to have fun going on the roller coaster and merry-go-round.

Riding the roller coaster!

Here's a money saving tip if you are planning on purchasing food or drinks at the park, the best way to go is with the couples or family dining plan. You can save at least $10 for five meals or refreshments or $34 on a ten meals or refreshments plan.   

Randi and Graci having fun with
one of Santa's elves!

Our highlight of the night was seeing Santa. They have a new location for him this year under a hidden tree canopy in the zoo called Santa's Tree Top Lodge. We tried to see him right when we got there, but the wait was about 45 minutes, so we decided to go back later in the night, which was a good idea because the line was shorter and about a 25 minute wait. We were greeted by a funny little elf who took us to see Santa inside a beautifully decorated house. The girls were each able to talk to Santa and give him their wish list. It was fun and we had a family photo taken with Santa and all the festive decorations.

Here's another tip...the photos with Santa are cheaper than the other photos in the zoo. At least they were the night we were there. Another nice thing about the zoo is the parking, it's free to park. So, if you are looking for a place to take the kids this holiday season I recommend the zoo. You can get some great holiday photos and it's a fun time for the whole family.

The zoo is still open during the day. The Christmas in the WILD runs select nights until December 30 from 4pm to 10 pm. To find the exact dates and  more information about Lowry Park Zoo visit their website at www.lowryparkzoo.org

Merry Christmas from our family
to yours!!!!

Family elf returns to North Pole

For many families, the Elf on the Shelf is Santa’s helper during the holidays. The elf, about 8 inches in height and made of felt, comes in a keepsake box with a hardcover book by the same title.

In our house, he has only been a source of fear and trepidation.

The book that the elf watches each day to make sure the boys and girls are being good. At night, while the children are sleeping, he reports back to Santa about how the kids were that day.  When the kids wake up the elf is usually in a new spot somewhere around the house. It is a family tradition for many and the fun part for the kids is finding out where the elf is hiding.

Three years ago, a friend gave us the book along with the elf. I think my girls were 3 and 5 when we got him. We read the book, named the elf and registered him online. That night the elf started playing the hide and seek game. Well, it didn’t last long and my girls were frightened of the “Elf on the Shelf.”  We ended up telling the girls the elf had to go to the North Pole to help Santa and wouldn’t be back that year. The girls were happy he was gone.

Since than we haven’t had the elf back to our house, that is until this year.

The girls were helping me put up the Christmas decorations and found the elf packed away in a box with our Christmas stuff. They begged to have him out again and for us to re-read the story.

 My kids are older now, so my husband and I thought maybe this year we could have some fun with it. In school this year, both of my daughter’s teachers have an “Elf on the Shelf” in their classrooms. Their teachers told the students the elf would be watching the class, so the kids needed to be good.

My 8-year-old daughter became a little obsessed with our elf. At first she was skeptical about the elf being “real” because she told me he’s just a stuffed animal with a tag. But after her teacher brought out the elf in school and told the kids the elf was “real,” she wanted her elf at home to be “real” too. She decided she would leave her iPod out and ask him to make her a video. She had seen other videos online other elves had made. She also wrote him a note.

That night she couldn’t sleep. She kept waking up to see if he moved, to see if he wrote her a note back or if he did a video. She was a little afraid and excited at the same time. She hardly slept. The next morning, the elf was in a different spot and wrote her a note. She was so excited and couldn’t wait for the next night.

The next day and night were worse, as far as my daughter’s obsession with the elf. All she could think about was this elf and where was he going to move and how he moved.

If that wasn’t bad enough my 6-year-old daughter, who by the way didn’t really care one way or the other about the elf, played a trick the older one. She moved the elf during the day, wrote a note from the elf and even made a video with the elf moving. This really had older daughter nervous. Even though the younger daughter admitted to moving the elf, my 8-year-old couldn’t sleep that night.

Finally, my husband finally had to box up the elf and ship him back to the North Pole. Maybe we will try again next year. The girls kind of miss the elf, but for now they are glad he isn’t in the house.