Tweaking a tradition

 

 Those who read here regularly may remember that a few years back we began a fun Christmas tradition with three of our local grandkids.  Briefly, it included going out for breakfast at a local McDonalds -- one that's a favorite because it includes a gas fireplace and a talking moose head.  Following that, we took them to a discount store to shop for gifts for their parents.  And finally, we took them to a fun candy shop that offers an ice cream buffet.   The number of participants has now risen to four, since their little sister turned 5 last year and so was included for the first time in 2019. 

This year it became obvious that we would have to tweak the tradition if it was to work.  Sadly, I got no photos of the event, so these from previous years will have to do.   But I'll tell you what we did.

Breakfast by the fireplace

All of our local McDonalds are currently only offering take-out and drive-through options.  So here's what we decided to do: Grampa and the kids picked up breakfast sandwiches to go.  Meanwhile I was preparing accompaniments here at home: hash brown casserole: 

(Even better, use my homemade soup substitute for cream of chicken.)

A coffeecake (made by Mr. T the night before):

 

grapes, and homemade hot cocoa.  It actually worked out very well.  It definitely saved money and was even more tasty.  But we did miss the fireplace and the talking moose!

Coffee by the fireplace -- that is Grammy's spot!

Sam at McDonalds some years ago

 

 

Julia shopping (again, quite a few years back

We always liked topping off a sundae with an American flag!

For the ice cream portion of our outing, we were pretty sure the ice cream buffet was not going to be a go.  We didn't know how the shop was handling things, but it seemed simplest and less expensive to do this portion back at home, as well.  We had the kids choose ice cream flavors ahead of time.  Our local Market Basket had Hood ice cream on sale 2/$5.  I set out toppings like caramel sauce, whipped cream, strawberries, and hot fudge:

Wish I could remember what Ari said about the hot fudge sauce as I whipped it up in the microwave.  Something like, "This is the best chocolate smell EVER!"

The Christmas room is a wonderland!

And the player piano is always a huge hit.  Pretty sure that would have been cordoned off with crime scene tape this year.

Some felt Christmas trees in the Christmas room, in a previous year.

These lake-themed dishes are so pretty!

Josiah poses with an elf

Fireplace in the Christmas room

And so a tradition is tweaked.  Not sure if, or how, these changes will affect next year -- we sure hope the candy shop will again be a viable option -- but at least we have proven that traditions can adjust if needed.