I love the holidays, but every year, I find myself so bogged down in all the details and minutiae and obligations and preparations that sometimes I forget to sit back and actually, well, enjoy the season. And every December 26, I find myself wishing we’d had the time to squeeze in that last Christmas event or activity that had ended up at the bottom of the list, bumped in favor of yet another trip to Target for stocking stuffers or a mad rush to the post office.
So on Saturday, my family and I headed into Boston – even with a snowstorm on the way – for a full day (and night!) of holiday fun. First up?
A date at the theater with this handsome guy.
Thanks to the fantastic people at the Boston Ballet, Buddy and I attended the matinee performance of The Nutcracker – a production I hadn’t seen since I was a little girl. I admit I was a little nervous how a rambunctious, active 7-year-old boy would do sitting through 1.5 hours of ballet (especially since he was still skeptical going into it that boys could be ballet dancers). But as soon as the lights dimmed, he was glued.
Every so often, I stole glances at him, smiling as he giggled at the silly bear and the bunny (a new character!) during the party scene or cheered during the Nutcracker’s battle with the Mouse King or clapped enthusiastically after the Russian dancers’ incredible performance. At intermission, we shared a giant bag of M&Ms and talked about how it’s “so cool” that dancing and music can tell a story without the need for words. Even now, I’m still kind of amazed I had that kind of “grown up” conversation with my little boy.
Sure, I could see his attention starting to wander and waver in the second half during some of the more “girly” scenes, like the Waltz of the Flowers, but otherwise I was so impressed with — and proud of — him.
Afterwards, we were invited on a behind-the-scenes backstage tour, which was so exciting! We got to see the props and sets used in the performance, Buddy discovered the “snow” that falls during the Land of the Snowflakes scene is actually little pieces of paper, we learned Clara has a magnet in her hairdo to keep her crown secure while she’s dancing during the Homeland and Celebration scenes, and Buddy got to unleash his inner dancer on the very same stage we saw classically trained ballerinas perform just minutes before.
But we weren’t the only members of our family enjoying a special afternoon in the city. While we were at the ballet, Dr. G. and Mimi enjoyed a Daddy-Daughter visit to he Boston Children’s Museum, where Mimi took quite a liking to the bubble exhibit.
When we left the theater, it had clearly been snowing for a few hours, so Buddy and I took our time walking through the Boston Common (with him catching snowflakes on his tongue the whole time) to jump on the train to Copley Square – our family’s rendezvous point. We finally met up around 5pm, at which point, about 2-3 inches of snow had already fallen.
Knowing we had about 15 minutes until our dinner reservation at Max Brenner, we ran around and chased each other in the little square just beside the entrance to the Prudential Center on Boylston Street , the kids giggling and shrieking and laughing and throwing “snowballs” (“Come chase me, come chase me!” Mimi squealed.)
Once we’d worked up an appetite, we headed down the street to Max Brenner – a must-dine destination for my fellow chocoholics. I admit I’m not usually a hard alcohol kind of person, but I couldn’t resist this chocolate martini, which came highly recommended. And trust me, it didn’t disappoint. Amazing.
For dessert, the kids split a “chocolate pizza,” which was immediately followed by a Mimi breakdown, fueled by exhaustion and overstimulation and sugar. Thankfully, it was short walk to the train to grab our car, and even with the less-than-ideal driving conditions, we were still home by 9pm, the kids passed out before we had even left the city limits.
At some point, Dr. G. turned to me and said this was a day the kids would probably remember for a long time. But they’re not the only ones. Because this busy mama got to soak up hours of quality time with her son, experienced a much-loved holiday tradition, enjoyed the beauty and the fun of a fresh snowfall and reveled in a delicious and chocolately dinner, surrounded by the people she loves.
I couldn’t have asked for anything more.