Friday, December 19, 2014

A Gaylord Christmas Family Weekend

Back in September Hubby and I made reservations for our children, their families and us at The Gaylord Texan for this past weekend.  We have been there 3-4 times at other times of the year but we had never been there for the Christmas festivities.  It worked out for all of them to take last Friday off and we could all meet there in the early afternoon.
What would a fun family weekend be without a "goodie box" in your hotel room?  Since packaging is something that I thoroughly enjoy, I'm always looking for opportunities to wrap and tie something.  I filled the tent boxes with snacks and beverages that I knew each family liked.  
  The decorations alone are breathtakingly beautiful.  The biggest issue was the crowd!  By 6:00PM last Friday the place was a mass of people.  And, lots and lots of them were NOT staying at the Gaylord but were "locals" coming to get in on the festivities.  We decided that the Gaylord should have some kind of control over how many outsiders can come in but as we know, the almighty $$$ is ruling their decisions.  And, the more folks that come through that place the more $$$ they make.  But, it just doesn't seem quite fair to me that those who pay to stay there have to fight such massive crowds.  The other times we have been to the Gaylord this has not been the case. The adults were the only ones bothered by the crowds, Hanna Beth and Clancy were too enthralled to be concerned. ~big grin~
 
On Saturday morning after breakfast we decided to go snow tubing.  Yes, it is all inside and they had this very well orchestrated and the lines moved very quickly.  Hubby and pregnant DIL did not participate but did get some really great photos of us. ~as you can see~   It was soooooo much fun and of course, squealing all the way down was half of the fun.  I was crossing my fingers that it did not get my back out of whack and it did not.  ~thankfully~
 After snow tubing we took off to go through the ICE exhibit.  This years theme was Frosty the Snowman and it is about a 30 walk thru in 9 degree ~yes, 9 degrees~ of ice sculptures.  There are thousands of pounds of ice that have been sculpted depicting scenes from Frosty.  The Gaylord flies artist from China to sculpt the ice.  All that sounds quite impressive until I tell you how long we had to wait in line to see this exhibit........1 hour and 45 minutes!!!!!  Do you know how long that is and it wasn't the two kiddos that got weary and worn, it was the 6 adults.  Truthfully, by the time we got in to take the tour we didn't want to do anything but get through it and go sit our "hiney's" down for a spell.  You can see that we were all bundled up for the tour and I stayed plenty warm except for my hands and they nearly froze.  I had on gloves and kept them in my pockets but they were still COLD!  Again, we felt like the Gaylord should give some sort of pass to those that stayed there so they would not have to wait in line as long as those that were not staying there. ~just sayin'~
It was a special time for our family and Clancy and Hanna Beth were definitely "the icing on the cake" for all of us.  They were captivated from the time we got there until the time we left.  Clancy told his Momma that "it had been the best day of his life."  I imagine it will remain in their memory for a lifetime and that made it all worth it.
Just before this photo was taken Hubby and I were out walking through the atrium of the hotel with the kiddos.  They saw the reindeer and immediately climbed upon him.  A young lady walking by looked at us and said, "now they are the cutest kids I've ever seen, y'all get over there with them and let me take your picture."  She was so nice and we took her up on her offer and it ended up being one of our best pictures. 
Indeed, family times are the best of times and we are so thankful for times such as this.
 
Lea @ CiCis Corner
Lea @ CiCis Corner

Hi there! My name is Lea. I've been wife to the best Hubby for 44 years....Mom to a son and daughter....CiCi to 4 precious Grans....lover of family and friends....enjoy laughter and a good time....shopper....picture taking maniac....maker of delicious fudge....organizational enthusiast....memory maker....Southern Belle...and most importantly.....a Child of the King! Welcome to my little corner!

5 comments:

  1. What an incredibly fun thing to do! I can see why the kids loved it. I would have been just as frustrated with the crowds (but then almost nothing in So. California comes without crowds!) but the time spent with both my kids and grandkids would TOTALLY overshadow that. Glad you got to enjoy it and everyone had such a good time. That last picture is darling....a framer! Enjoy your week-end!

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  2. What a lovely setting for a family time together!! A Gaylord Hotel is under construction here in Denver. It will be a part of the terminal at Denver International Airport. I am so excited to have this kind of fun come to my part of the country!

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  3. A few years ago, we visited the Gaylord, but that was in the Fall season. I enjoyed seeing it at Christmas,
    Your family celebration looks like so much fun! I love seeing the pictures and the sweet smiles on the faces. What a lovely family you have!

    Merry Christmas to you and your family!

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  4. I think I would have been frustrated by the crowds and long waits ... but it would have been worth it to see my grands enjoying it (as I'm sure it was for you, too).

    I love that picture of you and your hubby with those two sweeties of yours.

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  5. What a wonderful time you had. I have been to the Gaylord Palm in Orlando a few times and I just love that place. Merry Christmas to you and yours.....Happy New Year too!

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So glad you stopped by and hope you enjoyed your visit. I love your comments and read each and every one of them and I always try to reply to them. Blessings to you this day!