A GRAND Holiday

Tonight we went to the Grand America for their 1st annual holiday festival. I love this hotel. It's beautiful. It's definitely a 5 diamond hotel with the service they provide.

Some of the events tonight were:

The unveiling of the Gingerbread Village (handcrafted gingerbread wonders on display for silent auction in support of Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation)

Teddy Bear Town (cozy collection of teddy bears arranged in our holiday suite sponsored by local companies in support of Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. If you bring a new teddy bear with tags to donate to local children, in return you receive a special ticket your child can redeem for a special gift in the gift shop.

The lighting of the Angel Tree in support of local families in need. If you want to give to a family this year, please click the link for details. I was pretty emotional at the Angel Tree.. I wish we could take every name off the tree.....

Children could write their letters to Santa that were getting sent off to the North Pole tonight. Toa just scribbled his wish list. You could also decorate gingerbread cookies.

Pictures with Santa Claus (we didn't want to wait in line, so we took a picture with a statue of Santa)

You could also eat and drink as much hot cocoa, cider, scones, and cinnamon roasted almonds you wanted!!

Such a wonderful night for my little family. I think it's extremely important that Toa learns to give back to those in need, not only during the holidays but throughout the year and to support things of cause, even if right now he has no clue what's going on. I'm glad we found yet another holiday tradition for our family to participate in every year and I'm happy we were able to start it on Toa's first holiday season!! I love my little family. Happy Holiday's everyone!!