Christmas Getaway Weekend

When Scott and I were going over our "hotel points" we realized that we had until the end of December to stay overnight. Perfect! I ran to my old Yankee magazines and found what they called "A Christmas in Portsmouth New Hampshire; a timeless Christmas" And so our Christmas getaway weekend was born. Ohhhhh I was so excited I went over the top. I didn't just pack jeans and sweaters; I packed red leggings and silver sweaters. Instead of grabbing the girls headbands; I put in the suitcase their red and greens. Oh this would be the most Christmas saturated weekend ever; my dream come true! It was only one night but one night smack dab in the middle of December; well that could be magic.

I like surprising my girls. Little things mostly. They (okay me too) love their Jingle and Bell dolls, movies, and books. And since this was a Christmas Getaway my rule for your family was only Christmas! They brought Jingle and Bell and I stocked the car with those movies and every Christmas movie we have. One little surprise waited for them on their seats before we drove off. Little clothes for their friends!









And while we drove they barked along with the movies. And Scott and I kept looking at each other with that "yeah, we're making Christmas magic for our girls right now" looks.

We could have driven no where; it was Christmas enough in our car!

But we did drive somewhere. What is it about hotels? They love lounging in the lobby. Checking out every drawer and pen. Even brushing your teeth is more fun in a hotel! But it's also swimming in the hotel pool way past bedtime and sleeping in the same bed as your sister.





That evening we went to the towns tree lighting.





And walked through the sweetest shops. When Yankee Magazine said that "no one does Christmas quite like Portsmouth" they were right.



Brick side walks and little shops that reminded me of "the shop around the corner" from You've Got Mail.

It was too cold to take on and off my gloves but I sure wish that I took more pictures of store windows all dolled up for the season. The girls wore ski type masks to keep warm and had hand warmers inside their mittens.

I love Christmas in NYC and even though this was really the opposite, I loved it even more.

And after the tree lighting and a little parade they had trolley rides to another section of town. And we meandered our way through an 1800's Christmas Village. The Candlelit walk took place in and out of homes that were build in the early 1800s. They were all decorated showing Christmas pasts. Just perfect for my Little House on the Prairie loving girls.



The girls got a chance to use a weaving loom, watch pottery being made, sip on hot cider, and enjoy carolers.











Back at the museum entrance for tea and cookies.



And although we loved our night... my favorite part was yet to come. New Christmas jammies, reindeer mugs, hot cocoa and marshmallows, Rudolph slippers and a Christmas movie. Ahh! This was what I was really looking forward to!













And we snuggled until we just couldn't stay awake any longer.



And the next morning we took our time, walked around town, had lunch, explored the shops









until the girls looked like this





So we grabbed a hot cup of tea for the road and were on our way home.





Christmas could have been over that day and I would have gone to sleep with a huge smile on my face.