One of our holiday traditions...Visiting the Reindeer

Traditions and rituals....What would our holidays be without them? I think the tone in which we celebrate our Christmas holidays is set when we are young. For instance, some families open their gifts on Christmas Eve and other families gather around the Christmas tree early Christmas Morning. What we experience as a child, as far as family rituals, tends to stay with us. So many of us repeat the things that we did as children with our parents with our own kids....whether it is going to Christmas Eve church service or Midnight Mass, baking Christmas cookies to give to friends, co-workers and neighbors, or driving through the neighborhoods to look at Christmas lights. Whatever we did as a child becomes our idea of what a "normal" Christmas is. There is no right or wrong ritual and each family has their own way of celebrating the holidays.

The first Christmas (December, 2008) after my parents passed away felt very strange....not only were my parents gone...but, also, some of our holiday tradition. I always travelled back to the little town in which I grew up in Florida to spend the holidays with my parents. My own family and I missed very few Christmas Eve and Christmas Day celebrations with my parents, my siblings and their families and my aunt. Each year, Christmas was celebrated in the same house that I grew up in from the time I was four years old. Suddenly, I had no parents and no family home to go back to. I was very sad to be without my parents at Christmas that year, and I still miss them dearly....especially at Christmas. But, I knew I had to make Christmas, 2008, a joyous time for my two sons, Brandon and Elliott, and for my husband and myself. Suddenly, it was up to me to set the tone for the holidays and to somehow continue the Christmas traditions. I knew that my Christmas would be different from this time forward.....but that the torch had been passed to me and that I would need to create some new traditions, too.

I wanted to make the holidays fun for my family, so began searching out some holiday events in our area. In my quest for things to do to celebrate the season, I discovered that a local plant nursery not too far from our home featured two beautiful reindeer each year. On certain days, they would have a sleigh set up and the local community could visit the deer and have their photos made with them. Like so many people, I love reindeer! With our own camera in hand, husband, my son, and I drove over to view the reindeer. I fell in love with them! We made several photos of these gorgeous creatures and, of course, HAD to have our photo made in the sleigh! Since this first visit, we have returned every year at Christmas time to say hello to the reindeer and make photos. One of our new traditions had been born!

In 2008, we were living in a home next to a wooded area in Silverdale, Washington. Each year, several beautiful deer would walk up to our home in the early morning or evening. Many times, in winter, we would walk outside to see the footprints of deer in the snow next to our home. Here is a photo I made one year of a deer's hoof-prints in the snow....

Even though we saw a lot of deer at our former home, none were as beautiful as the reindeer! I would like to share with you some of the photos that my son, Elliott, and I made this year during our Christmas, 2011, visit to see the reindeer...

Just look how beautiful they are!

You can see their green feeding trough next to them...

These deer have plenty of hay and a very large travel cage with lots of room to walk around....and also to jump! We noticed one getting very excited and jumping up when feeding time came around. I was told the reindeer are part of a big farm. The man who owns the farm brings the animals in each year so that the community can enjoy them.

While my son and I were making photos and admiring the reindeer, some local children also came by to pay them a visit.

Look at those antlers!

This year, there was also a camel on display....

I made a few photos of my son, Elliott, in front of the camel...

The camel was very interested in us and tried to get a closer look...

The camel looks very "teddy bearish" when you see his face.

Of course, I had to have my photo made with camel, too...

I think this camel was posing for us in many of the photos :)

We were almost ready to leave when a nice lady inside the office of the nursery yelled out to us. "Hurry, they are getting ready to start the snow fall inside! Don't miss it!" So, Elliott and I scurried inside the building to see what was going on. Normally, they have a variety of things inside the building at the nursery. They have holiday decor, a few gift food items, and plants. But, this year, they had turned part of the building into a gingerbread house wonderland....

complete with falling snow!

Several parents had brought their children to see the reindeer, the camel and the falling snow. The kids were really enjoying themselves and taking it all in....

Elliott and I took turns having our photos made with the displays.

Me and the giant toy soldiers....

There were several "flocked" Christmas trees displayed with ornaments which were for purchase...

Elliott and one of the bear displays...

After the fun of the snow and browsing, we selected a couple of Christmas ornaments for our tree and then walked back outside to say goodbye to the reindeer. While we were inside watching the snow display, someone brought some food in for the reindeer.

The reindeer were busy enjoying their dinner as we said goodbye...

Seeing the reindeer always makes me think of one of my favorite holiday movies... "Prancer." Sam Elliott plays the Dad in the movie about a little girl who loves Christmas so much that she plays Christmas music all year long. She finds a reindeer in the woods that she believes is Santa's reindeer, Prancer. This little girl's spirit brings a town that has fallen to hardtimes back together and strengthens their hearts and spirits at Christmas. Is the deer really Prancer? Watch it and see! Watching "Prancer" each year is another one of our traditions at Christmas time. What special traditions do you and your family enjoy?

Thanks for spending time with me today on my blog. I hope you and your family are enjoying your holiday season! New Year's Eve is fast approaching. I hope you have a great day! xoxo Kim

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Kim,
The reindeer are incredible! The girls just saw Santa's reindeer at the magical Disneyland, and all through 'main street' gingerbread snow fell over them. I just love those giant toy soldiers! It's funny that you wrote about traditions, because me and my sister were just talking about traditions that we had while growing up. And you're right, they carry on when we have our own families. Going to see the reindeer like you do every year is a wonderful tradition, and I also LOVE LOVE the movie Prancer. I want to thank you for your friendship this year, and I do hope the New Year brings you much joy. I look forward to another year of your wonderful posts. Oh, and that camel is something else!!
~Sheri at Red Rose Alley

Posted by: Red Rose Alley | Wednesday, December 28, 2011 at 05:23 PM