From prepping for Thanksgiving travel, to booking activities… Family Entourage shares ways to get your family dialed in for the fast approaching holiday season!
ALL ABOARD! POLAR EXPRESS TRAIN RIDE
One of our favorite holiday activities as a family is riding THE POLAR EXPRESS! Set to the sounds of the motion picture soundtrack, it’s so much fun to relive the magic of the classic story as we are whisked away on the magical one-hour trip to meet Santa.
Kicks off Nov 11 and runs through Dec 23… TWO locations in North Carolina — North Carolina Transportation Museum (Spencer, NC) and one at the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad (Bryson City, NC) and nearly 40 more locations across the country (click here) so depending on where you live, or what family you are visiting over the holidays, you can all be magical transported to Christmas fun.
We all got our golden tickets and danced our way on board. Greeted by entertainers who presented the story through character and song, complete with Hot, Hot, Hot Chocolate and a delicious cookie served by the dancing chefs. A huge highlights is Santa! Oh yes, the big man takes time with each child and gives them a keepsake sleigh bell as a reinforcement to BELIEVE! So many wonderful memories made on this magical trip it’s not to be missed.
Of course we have to outfit our entire family, and extended family in matching pajamas just as the children in the classic children’s book with the same name, The Polar Express, by Chris Van Allsburg, are in their jammies, but you don’t have to. You can choose to dress festive or as a character and masks are optional.
HOLIDAY FASHIONS: COZY TO CAMERA READY
Oftentimes it takes a major holiday like Thanksgiving to get the extended family together so many think about using that week to capture a photo. Whether it’s for a Christmas card or just a keepsake… it’s a good idea to think ahead about wardrobe and select coordinating colors or plaids. Hanna Andersson has some great options to coordinate siblings and cousins. From holiday plaids and sweaters to tulle dresses, we like to give the family a color scheme or specific plaid and then each person can do their take on it.
And any opportunity for family matching pajamas, we’re in. From traditional Christmas, to favorite characters, or patterns… this is a trend we are thrilled has gotten bigger and bigger each year. We love it because everyone is comfortable taking pictures and then can lounge together and watch a movie. Hanna Andersson is our go to for family matching pajamas. From Gnomes and Deers, Stripes and even your favorite characters, we love Hanna Andersson pajamas because not only can the entire family match, but the quality makes them easy to pass down to siblings and cousins. The premium organic cotton makes them so soft that we just want to wear them all day.
TO GRANDMAS HOUSE WE GO
Nearly 100 million Americans hit the road or sky during last years holiday season, so you can be sure this year will be similar. The more prepared you can be the better and that is why we love AWAY travel. Away is a global lifestyle brand with a mission to transform travel and they design thoughtful essentials to make trips more seamless.
We love the Carry-On luggage because with 360 spinner wheels, the kids can pull/push on their own, and it’s the perfect size for obviously air travel but also for a short couple days at the grandparents’ house. Plus we love perks like the built-in, airport security-approved combination lock that keeps everything in and the optional ejectable USB charger to keep your phone and other portable devices charged on your trip.
Away has some great dedicated accessories like hanging toiletry bag, cosmetics bag and jewelry box. Plus I use my tech case and laptop sleeve all the time, not just when I’m traveling because it provides an awesome spot for all my electrics and cords to be in one spot.
SKIP THE SALON AND SAVE
We want our nails, and toes, looking good for all our holiday soirees and get togethers but time can be an issue and the cost adds up fast. And let’s not forget that even the littlest angels want their nails painted too! We love using Olive & June manicure sets. Whether your shades are on the Fall spectrum, Christmas reds, Hanukah blues, Wonderland Whites or more, Olive & June has so many color options.
Plus they even have nail art brush and sticker sets so you can really get creative and festive. We started with the polish mani system, which comes with everything you need to do a manicure at home. We also love Olive & June’s press-ons. These are great if you have back-to-back events. We started with a simple color and then added stickers to get in the “holiday mood.”
