One of the things I told Richard I really wanted to do this year was take advantage of all the fun things going on around DC at Christmastime. So to kick off the holiday season, last Saturday we went on the Mount Vernon candlelight tour. We (somewhat sadly) learned that Christmas decorations were very simple in George and Martha's colonial world, so there are no Christmas trees in the house. They were a German tradition that didn't become popular in the United States until the 19th century. But there were plenty of beautiful trees in the Education Center.
As we waited for our tour to begin, we listened to period Christmas music, very different from what we listen to today.
Mount Vernon by candlelight is absolutely beautiful, but it's tough to capture that in a photo. We'd been in the house once before, but I enjoyed going back again to see it decorated with greenery and all the sweet treats the Washingtons would have enjoyed.
At the end of our tour, after picking up some hot cider and ginger snaps, we went over to meet Aladdin the camel. George Washington actually purchased a camel one year for his personal amusement, and Mount Vernon acquired Aladdin about five years ago. He was sleepy, but I still loved getting to see him.
We also picked out a tree Saturday night and went with a tall and skinny one this year. It's not quite fully decorated, but it sure does make our house smell good!
On Sunday night, we joined Max and Ashley and little Anderson for Zoo Lights at the National Zoo. It was an unseasonably warm night, but seeing the lights put me in a Christmas mood. And we discovered Anderson's love for kettle corn- he was obsessed!
always love the elephants
Panda Claus actually looked a little sad
Smithsonian made out of legos
Anderson making a stuffed friend
Richard's favorite part of Zoo Lights...all the trains
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