Downtown Festivities

We traditionally go downtown the weekend after Thanksgiving to dive into the holiday spirit. We lucked out this year and had great weather and very little crowds. Every year we have gone, it has been super cold and brisk. This year it was in the 40's and not very windy; tropical for Chicago this time of year. We headed straight for Marshall Fields, I mean Macy's, and put our name in to eat at the famous Walnut room. I have always wanted to eat there but never got a chance and I was determined to do so this year. We had about an hour and a half wait for lunch so we decided to go downstairs and wait for Santa. Marshall Fields, I mean Macy's, does a nice job of having something to entertain the kids while they wait. They wind you through their Cozy Cottage and there are a lot of interactive thins for the kids to play with which makes the long wait go faster. Paige was not interested in sitting with Santa alone as you can see from the photo below. I started out with her and then slipped away and she started to cry. We all joined her and then she decided to smile. The photographer gave her a stuffed polar bear to hold which was nice but she didn't want to give it back. Santa was watching so she did.

All of us with Santa. Same Santa as last year and he is a bit creepy looking. I wouldn't want to be alone with him either.

Paige and Daddy looking cute while waiting for Santa.

The tree in the Walnut Room. It is three stories high and beautiful. Right after we were done with Santa, our table was ready for lunch. We got to sit right next to the tree so it was a nice treat. The food was fantastic and not nearly as expensive as I had anticipated. We even topped off our meal with a Frango Mint Ice Cream Pie. Marshall Field's is known for their Frango Mints and ever since Macy's bought them out, they decided to keep the mints. A bit of a piece offering for us Chicagoians that aren't happy that Macy's now owns the historic landmark of a store.

The Walnut Room had two fairy princesses walking around and sprinkling fairy dust on the little girls. Paige was enthralled from the moment she spotted her from across the room. She thought she was Cinderella for a while there. She came over and spent quite some time with Paige and even let Paige sprinkle fairy dust on her since she could tell that Paige was a princess herself. Boy did she eat that up. The princess still sprinkled fairy dust on Paige and she was thrilled. If you ask her about it, she will tell you, "Princess said close your eyes and sprinkled it on me!" So cute.
After all that, we went outside to look at the windows. A big disappointment I must say. Marshall Fields used to choose a holiday story every year and tell it through the window decorations. Now, Macy's just puts up a few things and calls it a day. So sad. I'm sure they will recieve their share of complaints this year. People in Chicago really look forward to that. We were happy to let Paige take part in the giving that goes along with Christmas. She enjoyed donating to the Salvation Army while we were there. We think it is important that they know Chirstmas is about giving too.

After all that fun, we headed up the street to the Chriskindlemart to shop and get mulled wine and roasted nuts. It was fantastic and not that crowded. We couldn't have asked for a better day downtown. Now, off to decorate the tree tonight.