Rebuild the Christmas Anticipation.

If your like my family we put up our decorations out the week after Thanksgiving. And if you are like me you start to notice the excitement in the kids eyes dwindle just a little bit over the weeks. So I compiling a list of ways to bring that spark back.

• Don't keep the presents under the tree. This is how my family has always done it. Now I'm not saying that our traditions are better but as a kid not knowing how many gifts you were getting, what size, or shape would put me in a frenzy of wonderment I almost couldn't take it anymore. Christmas Eve there would be nothing there. Then Christmas morning all the presents would be there. 
• Bake cookies for Santa together. Let your kids mix, bake, and decorate Santa's tasty treat. Then have them set it out Christmas Eve. They will be more excited that they made it themselves.

• Christmas Eve get on the NORAD Santa Tracker. You can look at it online or get the app on your phone. My little sister begs us to look at it the whole day and she rushes off to bed when it shows that he's even close to the U.S.A.

• While your kids are not around cut out snowflakes, paper chains, thread cotton balls, and make these beautiful snowflake ballerinas I found on pintrest. After your kids go to bed on the 23rd Use these to decorate a room or two. When they wake up Christmas Eve a whole new wave of excitement will come rushing in. If you have and Elf on the Self you can blame it on him.

• Christmas morning my dad would practically touchier us. We weren't allowed to wake him till 5am. Then he would take forever to get moving. He would go get coffee, shift the presents around, sometimes he would take a shower. We would sit there for what felt like 20 minutes.

If you give these things a try you may be able to rebuild the excitement.

Fountain Inn Carriage Rides

Fountain Inn, SC has been doing carriage rides for the Spirit of Christmas Past Festival for several years now. For me the carriages and Christmas go hand in hand! Jeremy was nice enough to take me this year. And its only $7.00 per person!

That's Kevin! The awesome draft horse that pulled us along.

Some of the lights were out on the top making this look more like a lit-up bush. Still very pretty.

There are many other things going on in Fountain Inn for Christmas. Like the train exhibit or ice skating. We would have done those but the largest skate size they had was a 12 and Jeremy is a 14-15 and the trains had closed for the night by the time we had got there. So we went down to In The Oven. Great bakery. Best hot coco I've had in a long time.

The whole Fountain Inn Christmas experience is wonderful and is great to take the kids or a date. It goes on till the 16th for 5-9pm. Have fun!