A Laid Back Month...Maybe

I know I just posted a couple days ago but I felt the need to do another post about how laid back this month has seemed. Maybe it's because Mike has pretty much had a vacation every week this month with the exception of this current one, but he does have a 4 day weekend.

I hate the hustle and bustle people seem to think has to come with the holidays. The holidays aren't about rushing from store to store looking for the best deals. That's one of the things I really do hate about Vegas because these people only have one speed the rest of the year which is frantic. There's no Christmas spirit to these people because they don't get to enjoy it.

That's the one thing I miss back at home. Every time we've gone back there, it seemed like time slowed down to a snail's pace. Christmas was Christmas and you could tell just by driving down the streets. To Vegas Christmas is just another day in the rat race...it's disappointing to someone like me who loves the holidays. The only places you see the magic of Christmas are the places you avoid (the malls) because of all the craziness that accompanies the ever frantic pace.

Let me show you what Christmas is to me (in borrowed/found online photos):

The Tunnel Leading into Our Lady of the Snows Shrine in Belleville, IL

An Entry into the Annual Main Street Gingerbread Walk

The Santa Claus house in downtown Belleville, IL

Sherman Hall @ Western Illinois University in Macomb, IL

Across the street from the Santa Claus house there's a huge Christmas tree lit up on the town square and horse-drawn carriage and trolley rides. The street lights on main street where the Santa Claus house is located are the kind that look like old-fashioned gas lights and the street is lined with storefronts that house the entries in the annual gingerbread building contest known as the Gingerbread Walk. Every neighborhood you drive into has Christmas lights and displays. The main streets through town have lit wreaths, candles, or some other kind of holiday symbols.
The Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows has a light display that they do every year that if you drive through it shows the journey of Mary and Joseph as well as the birth of Jesus and arrival of the 3 wise men. They have a live nativity scene at the visitors center. The shrine also houses the annual Nutcracker ballet performance by one of the local ballet schools as well as the Christmas trees from around the world exhibit.

This is Las Vegas at Christmas:

Blue Christmas Tree @ Caesar's Palace

I'd post more but it's all the same...the only decorations you really see in Vegas are in the malls and in the casinos. That's not Christmas to me. I have never seen an outdoor Santa's house here, they've only been in malls. That's not the kind of traditions I want to raise our future kids with.

Back to the reason behind my post. This month has seemed a lot less stressful, even though we are a bit sleep deprived from 2 weeks of visits from out of town and this week isn't going to get any easier because Mike's grandparents will be in from out of town. I think we're going to need that 4 day weekend to sleep. Maybe it's a good thing we had to take a break from TTC this month.