Tuesday, December 11, 2018

Christmas Dates

Back in the Fall I had this idea that I wanted to start a tradition of taking each kid on a one-on-one date to something really special and fun.  I looked at all kinds of local events that were happening in our area, picked dates/times that matched up with what I felt like each of them would really love to do and bought the tickets.  I'm pretty sure that I've been more excited than th kids about these dates as one-on-one time can be hard to come by in our house. 

First up was Mason's date.  He requested pizza as his meal of choice and so we headed down to Fireside Pies in Dallas and got a spot right by the fireplace.  It was nice and toasty and Mason and I spent most of our time playing rock, paper, scissors and talking about crazy dreams that he's had :) 




He wanted to pay for dinner "like daddy does" (sweet boy!) and so he asked for the check, gave the waitress my card, filled in the tip amount (I told him what to write) and even signed the bill.  He was on cloud nine. 


We shared Fireside's meatballs (AH-MAZING!) and then he had a cheese pizza and I had the Texas Bibb salad - so good!


After dinner we headed to The Music Hall at Fairpark for Elf the Musical!


He picked out his snack, we found our seats, and then spent the time before the show watching the musicians get set up and warm up in the orchestra pit.



The performance started at 7:30 and I was worried about Mason crashing hard during the musical but he was laughing and RAPT the entire show.  The musical was really cute and fairly "true" to the movie so it was recognizable to him and he loved making the connections between what he was seeing and the movie he's watched 6000 times. He wanted to "be like a grownup" again after the show and was pretty much beaming as he handed the attendant our valet ticket and got the key. 

This was him when we pulled into the garage later that night.  


We had SUCH a great time and had to get an ornament to commemorate our special date.  


The cutest part was hearing him retell alllll the details of our night out to Luke and Griffin the next morning.  "Guys.  It was the best.  It was just like the movie - but better.  And IIIIII got to pay for dinner.  AND I got to pick a candy and didn't have to share with anyone... well, except for Mommy"

Next up was Luke.  His requested meal was Italian Food and so we enjoyed ourselves THOROUGHLY at Carbone's.  Luke LOVES tomato basil soup and so we HAD to share a bowl to see what we thought of theirs and we gave it an A++.  Luke suggested that he and I try as many different tomato basil soups as we can to determine who makes the very best one and I approved this plan of action :)


After dinner we headed over to The Meyerson to hear the John Williams Christmas concert put on by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.



We had great seats...


... and Luke was enthralled.  I'm not sure if I paid more attention to the stage or to his little face when they started playing Star Wars, Harry Potter, Elf, etc. 


"Mom!", he whispered, "it feels like we're INSIDE a movie!"


I think most of y'all know this - but I played bass trombone from 6th grade through college and so obviously I have a love of concert music.  It was so fun to get to introduce a little bit of that to Luke and even more fun because I actually played at the Meyerson as part of the Metropolitan Winds when I was in high school.


The building is BEAUTIFUL and so we got to check that out a little bit during intermission...




... and we wrapped up our night by plotting some elf on the shelf ideas on the way home.  When I asked Luke if he thought Mason would like coming next year (my plan was to switch their events around so they get to experience something different) he was pretty much aghast at the thought of not coming back himself.  I'd call that a success!

And you know we had to mark our trip with a little memento as well...



Last up was Griffin's date to see The Nutcracker.

When I asked her where she wanted to eat and she said Snug I could have cried because I love their ham and cheddar melt so much :) hahaha  She loves their breakfast plate and mac and cheese just as much so we were both pretty excited.


After lunch we did a little window shopping and then headed to The Eismann Center . 




Griffin is ALL ABOUT bubble gum right now and she was anxious to get into her new pack :)


Y'all.  I'm absolutely wishing I could bottle her up at this age.  All the twirling, stuffed-animal loving, glitter obsessed girliness.  




We were there a little bit early and I'm cracking up because out of this WHOLE theater our seats were directly next to those people in the front.  What are the odds!?!?!


I wish that I could have taken a photo of her sweet little face when the curtain opened.  She was wide-eyed the entire time and wants to be the Sugarplum Fairy when she grows up :)

It was such a sweet time with my girl and a memory I'll treasure forever!


Y'all... I can't even begin to explain how special these "dates" were.  It reminded me of how important one-on-one time is and we'll definitely be making that more of a priority (on a smaller scale) throughout the year.  Dave has plans to do something similar with each of the kids in the Spring (around their birthdays) but we talked about doing dinners, etc. with each kid individually on a monthly basis.  

It REALLY is the most wonderful time of the year and I'm so grateful for these memories with my kids!

19 comments :

  1. LOVE this idea- so special! I also love that those sparkly heels have made another appearance :)

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  2. This is wonderful! And I have to say, I think Luke is on to something with the tomato basil taste testing! My recommendation: PATINA GREEN. SO FLIPPING GOOD.

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  3. I absolutely LOVE this!
    As a mom to 5 boys I know firsthand how important one on one time is, I’ve been doing this with my guys ever since my second one was born , we typically do once a month and then a larger ( more expensive/time consuming) event for/near their birthdays .
    Some ideas we’ve done; movies, slurpees and the park, bike ride and ice cream, a stage play, museum, drive thru to get a milkshake wearing our pjs, Farmers Market....
    I can’t wait to see what you guys do!!

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  4. I want to be one of your kids!!!! In all seriousness, I loved this idea so much when you shared it with me. Your kids are going to ALWAYS remember this!!!

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  5. This is such a great idea! Your kids will cherish these memories, and the ornament will be a reminder of your special time together. One-on-one dates also make it more affordable to do "big" events. My daughter and I have been going to the Nutcracker for the past 15 years...time flies!

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  6. Love, love, love! What a special thing to have one-on-one time with each of your precious kiddos.

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  7. What a wonderful memories you are making with your children

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  8. So precious! I want to take the kids to see the DSO Christmas concert next year-it looked amazing!

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  9. This is such a fantastic idea! It looks like all of you had a wonderful time and made many sweet memories!

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  10. I am going to have to borrow this idea! So sweet. Also, where did you get those SHOES in the picture of you and Luke? They are perfection!

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  11. We have added monthly one-on-one time with the kids each month for next year's resolutions as well. We plan to switch kids every other month for the outtings. I love all the shows and that the kids got to pick where they ate. What a fun memory for each kiddo!

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  12. Awesome idea and perfect for this time of year when things can be so crazy!

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  13. How sweet! Love this idea, and they will cherish these dates!

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  14. Oh my, I don't think I could love this more! Such a good idea. I might have to give this a try even though it's closing in on the end of the season!

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  15. This is amazing and so many wonderful memories! I'd love to do the same for our family but have a question. Were any of the kids upset at not being able to do what the others were doing? Maybe it's the twin thing or age thing but they never want to do things without each other (will be 6 in January) so I'm curious how you handled that (if it was an issue at all).

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  16. Loooove this idea! Such sweet dates you had with them! Also for Luke if he loves tomato basil soup you need this recipe - http://perksofbeingajap.com/2016/08/12/best-roasted-tomato-basil-soup/ I make it all the time and the best part is I like, quadruple the recipe and freeze it, its fantastic!

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  17. I love this idea!!! How perfect to get an ornament to commemorate each date!

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  18. Such a sweet idea! You will never regret taking the time, money and effort to make memories with your kids. The ornament for the tree is like a cherry on top, love it!!

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  19. where did you get Griffin's little purse? Super cute

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