Busch Gardens Christmas Town

We managed to throw a fun little mini vacation into our Christmas holiday.  Grandma and Grandpa Buis sent us a little money to buy the kids some gifts.  The Mr. & I decided it would be better to purchase one large gift with it than individual gifts.  A friend had told me about Christmas Town at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg and how much our kids would love it, so we decided put the money toward two-day tickets to the park.  We used our Priority Club points toward a hotel stay at Holiday Inn Express and only had to pay for one of the two nights.  The park wasn't open till 3pm each day, so we ate our free breakfast at the hotel and brought a cooler full of food for lunches both days.  So we only had to pay for dinner at the park, which can be crazy expensive for six people.  We had burgers the first night, ordering 3 meals and splitting them in half.  It ended up being plenty of food because the burgers were huge.  Dinner for day two was a simple corn dog for the kiddos and the Mr. & I split a ginormous turkey leg.

I snapped pictures whenever I could.  I shoved my iPhone and a video camera in my coat pockets & got the kids to pose for pictures throughout the park.  The kids got sick of it halfway through day two so I was happy just taking pics of them on the rides when I wasn't riding them too.

It was in the low 30's both days, so we splurged for hot chocolate after the sun went down because it was the only way we could keep warm.  We cozied up in our winter coats, hats & gloves to fight off the chill.   The kids got smart and wore 2 pairs of socks on day two to keep their toes cozy.

The kids braved rides I thought they'd shy away from and the Mr. rode VerBolten all by himself - in the dark, in the front row and all by himself.  I don't care much for roller coasters.  I prefer my feet on solid ground.  So does Hailey.  She is not much of a thrill seeker either.  Carter and Tatum were much braver and wanted to ride everything in sight.  They remind me that sometimes I need to be brave and just do things even if it scares me.

Noah was just tall enough to ride most of the rides we went on and if he didn't meet the height requirement, there was a kiddie version of the same ride so he went on those instead.  It worked out perfectly.  He was my partner on most of the bigger rides and we had fun yelling "wooohooo!" together.  There were times when I knew he was scared but we were already on the ride and it was already going so I acted like I was having a really fun time so he'd feel more comfortable.  It totally worked.

This was such fun little trip for us.  We had the best time.  Thanks Grandma & Grandpa Buis!