Christmas Time!

There's a lot to do in this area around Christmas time. I wanted to share some of the cool things there are to do around here at Christmas (and things I've been able to do this season). :)

ZooLights- I got a group of friends together and we hopped on the metro and went to ZooLights. It was fun! It required a lot of walking, but I'm always okay with that. :) It's free to get into and I would recommend the metro since parking can be a pain.

Mount Vernon Candlelight Tour- I've been to Mount Vernon before but only during the daytime. When one of my friends invited me to go with her and another friend on the candlelight tour, I couldn't pass it up. It was really cool to see the grounds lit up by candlelight and be able to see the house decorated for Christmas. Once we were inside the house, there were people dressed in period costume who would tell us about an aspect of living at Mount Vernon during the time George Washington did. And how can you not like seeing Aladdin the camel on the grounds?! It was fun! It costs money, but it was worth it!

Christmas concert at the National Cathedral- The National Cathedral has amazing acoustics so the concert was awesome! There was a brass band as well as a couple of choral groups and it was so good! It cost some money, but it was worth it.

Holiday Market- I've been working in downtown D.C. for a couple of days a week for the last two weeks. I thought that I would do something fun after work while I was working downtown. One of the days I went to the holiday market near the National Portrait Gallery and walked around. They have some pretty interesting and fun things to look at! I may or may not have bought some stuff while there. :)

The National Christmas Tree (near the White House)- On the same day I went to the holiday market, I walked to the Ellipse (near the White House) to see the National Christmas Tree. They have the big main tree and they have little trees to represent every state and territory of the U.S. with ornaments that represent something special about that state on it. There are train sets set up around the main Christmas tree and it's kind of fun to just stand there and watch the trains.

The temple lights and visitor's center- How can you go through Christmas time and not visit the temple?! The lights are beautiful and the nativity scenes inside the visitor's center are always unique!

The National Botanical Gardens Christmas exhibit- I did this after work one day and it was lovely! I'm having a hard time describing this one, but it is really cool! It's free to get into and it's beautiful!

Merrifield Garden Center Christmas shop- I already did a blogpost about this one, but if you like looking at or buying Christmas things, you should visit this place!

Cookie Making and Caroling- I feel like cookie making and caroling is a part of Christmas for me. For FHE, one week we got together to make cookies one day and then the next day went caroling to people in our ward and brought the cookies with us! What's better than bringing Christmas cheer to others with music and treats?! :)

Happy Christmas Eve friends!