I know, I know… I promised you I’d be back with a rundown of our holiday happenings, and traditions, and then, well… I didn’t.
Holidays can be tough no matter how you slice it. We’re extremely lucky to have two wonderful families that we love to spend time with! In our case, we want to spend every holiday with everyone, every year! Since that’s not possible, we somehow have settled into a little alternating schedule. We switch up Thanksgiving and Christmas each year. It was working really well, with one snafu. One of TT Dad’s sisters and her family were on an every third year schedule. This means that while we spent a lovely Christmas with them in NC in 2015, when my kids had just turned one- our next scheduled Christmas with them would be in 6 years. Cousins A & A would mostly likely be over hanging out with the babies by that point.
In an effort to get one more big family Christmas in NC with all the cousins, we decided to change things up. A Lot. After a lot of brainstorming and discussion, we settled on ‘Christmas Vacation.’ Instead of staying here, in CT, or heading to NC, as planned… we packed our family of four (well, Five- Marley went to a doggy hotel) up and headed north.
We knew we’d miss our big extended families and their traditions, but we are also looking to start some traditions of our own, and the idea of a Christmas Vacation was a tempting one. As it turns out, TT Dad had always dreamed of a sort of non-traditional tradition.
Being that this was his dream, I let him choose the basic idea. He wanted a ski trip. So, we put our heads together, and planned the best possible ski trip for our little family. I knew we would miss our extended families, but in our quest to find new traditions, the possibilities were endless.
Of course, before we could head out- we had to deal with the logistics. While TT Dad was really hoping to get out west, we ultimately decided a trip to VT would be easier, and probably a little tamer for our littles. We were hoping to get them out on skis once or twice. Most ski resorts have programs for kids 3+ that end up being full day lessons and fun. Our kids are still napping, and more importantly, they can’t handle not napping. A full day program for more than a day or two would end in disaster. I wasn’t willing to chance it. We found a wonderful solution at Smugglers’ Notch, in Jeffersonville, VT. Their daycare includes three-year-olds, and starting at 2.5, they will offer a very basic introduction to skiing or snowboarding. The kids are still allowed to nap, and the instruction is offered in very small doses. Their interest level is monitored, and the staff ends the instruction before the kids get bored.
One other main issue was Marley. While my folks had offered to watch him, ultimately, with their busy holiday schedule, it just would have been too much. We explored a few other options, but found exactly what we’d been looking for ever since the incident back in 2012. The Woof Pack opened up in nearby Bristol, and it was perfect. They were staffed 24/7, and the dogs were kept in packs, instead of in cages. Since Marley’s trouble started when he was crated overnight, with no humans around, we felt this was a much better fit.
Vacation planning at Smuggs could not be easier. We booked our stay online, opting to try another one bedroom for the four of us. We would bring their inflatable beds this time, instead of pack and plays, but we’d all fit just fine. Smuggs offers a few different packages, should you choose to book more than the lodging-only option. Ours included the ski camp for kids, and the booking agents we spoke to over the phone, and through email all reminded us of this as we enrolled the kids in Treasures- the day care- which would cost us an additional charge.
With everything vacation-wise planned out it was time to think about those we weren’t going to see- and our gifts to them all. This was the first year that the kids really knew Christmas was coming, and understood what was about to happen. Stay tuned to find out more about our usual, and brand new traditions!