Trail of Lights 2011

Every year, we get free passes to Denver Botanic Gardens' Trail of Lights and Blossoms of Lights. We usually opt to go to Blossoms of Lights downtown. It's really lovely, but the lines are long and the event is crowded, so it's not ideal for taking little kids. Last year was the first year we took Oliver, and we chose to go to Trail of Lights. It was less spectacular, but it had more of a rugged, "Colorado" feel that we enjoyed.

We decided to bundle up the kids and take them to Trail of Lights. I was cold--close to freezing--but it didn't feel uncomfortable when we left. Here's Jo, ready to head out and check out the holiday display:

We arrived at the Chatfield location, and, like last year, were amazed at how busy it wasn't. There were about a dozen cars in the lot, so we parked close. Almost immediately after stepping out of the car, we regretted our decision to go. The open fields provided no protection from the wind, and it felt bitter cold.

We hiked up to the entrance where there was a large fire pit. It was quite cozy, and we were able to stay warm.

We enjoyed the lights from afar and opted not to go through the trails. Ten minutes or so in, I decided it would only get colder outside and decided to take Joanna back to the car. Oliver cried because he wanted to go see all of the Christmas trees I'd promised him, so Andrew took him over to a nearby bush to count lights as Jo and I made the cold trek back.

I felt disappointed. It took about half an hour to get our kids bundled up and ready to leave the house, and it took about 20 minutes to drive to Chatfield. We only spent 10 minutes there. We didn't want the outing to be for naught, so we decided to stop at Starbucks on the way home.

Oliver and Jo were a hit at Starbucks. The tables were filled with women who were, presumably, taking breaks from Christmas shopping. They gushed over our kids in their snowsuits, and I sipped my latte feeling like I had the most adorable kids who ever existed.

Even though the night didn't go as planned, I enjoyed getting out of the house and spending time with my family. Next year, we'll try again, and I'm willing to bet things will go a lot better!

Trail of Lights 2010

Each year, Andrew and I go to The Denver Botanic Garden's "Blossoms of Lights." It's an event at the Gardens (free for members on opening weekend) that entails drinking hot chocolate, listening to carolers, and walking through paths of over one million LED Christmas lights. Starting three years ago, they added in a similar "Trail of Lights." We went once, and while it's still nice, we didn't enjoy it quite as much as the Blossoms of Lights.

This year, we opted to go to Trail of Lights because we had Oliver, and Trail of Lights is not as crowded. In past years, we've had to drive around for close to an hour to find parking for Blossoms of Lights! Anyway, we mistakenly thought the event started at 5pm today. We arrived at 4:45pm to try to beat most of the crowd. Beat the crowd, we did. The sign said it didn't start until 5:30pm! There were two other cars in the entire lot. It was getting very cold, and Oliver was mad because he was in his snowsuit. We decided we'd walk down to the entrance and enjoy the lights from a distance and then head home. Sometimes, you have to cut things short with little ones!

We were surprised to find no people at the entrance, and it wasn't blocked off at all. Additionally, all the lights were already on. I reasoned with myself. I'm a member of the Gardens, so the event is free for us. It's not like we'd be skipping on paying and stealing... So, we entered.

Even though the sun hadn't quite set yet and so the lights weren't as spectacular as they would have been later in the evening, the walk was perfect for us. We were able to navigate the stroller well, stop when we needed to, and take pictures. A few times, we ran into employees. We said hello and waited for them to kick us out, but no one even questioned us. It was nice having the event to ourselves!

We stayed for about 20 minutes. Oliver settled down and even started to enjoy his snowsuit. It was cute to see him pointing at everything with his gloved hands. At one point, we found a little barn filled with sheep and geese, so he even got to see animals. It was a wonderful night (even if there were no hot chocolates and carolers for us--that's what we get for sneaking in)!