Elf on the Shelf

We had a few elf friends come and join Blitz at our house this year.  I didn't get a picture of all of their shenanigans, but here are a few things they were up to.

KFC Christmas and Illumination

For Christmas dinner we decided to order KFC.  It is huge for Christmas here in Japan!  When I went to preorder it two weeks early some times and meals were already sold out.  I guess the people here know that Christmas is an American holiday and KFC is classic American food so it is really popular.  The franchise also promotes it and has special Christmas meal items.

We live pretty close and parking isn't great, so just before our pick up time some of the kids hopped on their bikes with me and we rode over to pick up dinner.

It was a little pricy for the Christmas dinner, so I just got one family size even though I knew we would need more and then we supplemented our dinner with other food.  Below is a picture of only the KFC dinner. 

Christmas cake is also a thing here, so of course the meal came with a piece of cake.  This one was chocolate, but in the stores it seems like the majority of "Christmas Cakes" are white, with strawberries.  We also got a commemorative plate with the meal.  It is already broken.  We aren't the decorative plate type of family I guess.

After dinner we headed to Enoshima Island for a winter illumination.

Calista really wanted Bob to carry her up high so she could reach the lights.

On our walk back through the town we stopped for a squid chip.  They pick up the squid and squish it with batter into what looks to me like a flat waffle maker right in front of you.  Everyone seems to like it, because they were fighting over bigger pieces.

That's a wrap for our Christmas 2018.

Holiday Fun

I love the Christmas season and taking the kids to various Christmas events.  Last Saturday we had three things going on.  First up was my favorite the ward Christmas party.

I love that the kids got to participate in a nativity play.

 Tucker narrated, he did great.  He didn't know the word Herod and whispered into the microphone, "whats that word," to the other narrators.  It was cute and funny to the audience.   Penelope, Scarlett, and Leon all got to be shepherds.  At first Penelope was upset that she didn't get to be an angel.  I convinced her that it was cool to be something different this year.

 In the past we have always had ward Christmas dinners but this was a pajama breakfast.  I decided to make macthing pajamas for us all.  I didn't even make Calista's and it took forever.  Why did I have so many kids again?

Bob had to work, but he managed to sneak out for an hour.  I'm glad he got to come, even if it was only for a little bit.

 The kids also made some cards and decorated pinecones.  It was a fun morning.

The next stop was the thrift store.  They were having a special event where children could go in without parents and pick out three different gifts to give.  They each got a helper and I filled out a sheet to help them have ideas.  They even wrapped them and everything inside.  They loved it!  And it was different for me to not be involved in knowing what every single present is.

After that we headed to the festival of trees.  Santa even came.

I never make a bid deal about Santa.  Our kids don't believe in him and Bob and I don't pretend he is real.  It is still fun to see him and participate and the tradition of taking a picture with him.

The festival is pretty much the gym filled with Christmas trees decorated by different groups.  We have fun checking them out and picking our favorites.  Last year we went at night and I think it was better.  Less crowded, and the trees looked prettier in the dark.

We had a super busy day.  After that I needed to go to the store and take Tucker to a birthday party.  It was so fun though!

Tokyo German Christmas Village

After an early Christmas dinner we hopped in the car and headed to the Tokyo German Christmas Village.  It was recomended online for being a great Christmas illumination.  Here in Japan people don't decorate their houses with lights for Christmas.  Instead they places all around town will do big light displays.  We got there about 30 minutes before dark which was perfect because we were able to get a parking spot.  It was crowded but not unbearably so.

They had music that the lights flashed to and these dancing balloon bears.  I have no idea what they were about but the kids thought they might be a good halloween costume for next year.

It was cold.

Next to the bikes it said "Human Power Generation."  When the kids peddled huge bubbles came out.  These bubbles were white and held really well.  When they popped a mist sort of came out.

The there were a few shops and restaurants in the village area.  We got a couple things from the bakery.

The Japanese people are very polite and organized so instead of people randomly taking pictures they nicely formed lines and it seemed to be the custom for the person behind you in line to take your picture.  We got in line for this next picture and waited for us to get to the front for about 20 minutes.  It was a decent sized line.  The funny part was that no one got in  line behind us.  A few people looked like they were going to but they never did.  We think no one wanted to take our picture.  When we got to the front there was no one there for us.  We had to find someone.  I noticed after we left a line had once again formed.

This little house was so cute.  I went in it and there was a tiny model skating rink.

After walking through the whole thing for about an hour we saw people were walking up the hill across the street.  I figured they were getting a view of it from above so we followed suit.

I was amazed at how great it looked from afar.  So many of the pictures I didn't realize were picture when I was right next to them.  It was pretty cool.

I miss looking at lights on houses but I have to say this kind of blew any zoo lights I've been to out of the water.