As you grow up, the feelings surrounding the Christmas season may begin to change. You want to feel the utmost excitement for Christmas morning and the extra time spent with your family – just like you did as a child. Some may argue that the holiday loses its magic as you become an adult, which can be true if you let it. I can empathize with those who believe this, as I have been very stressed getting all my Christmas presents bought and wrapped, planning my holiday travel, aside from this just being a very busy time in general. And I don’t even have children! Sending many thank you’s to all the parents out there making Christmas a magical time for their children. You all are the backbone of the holiday season.
For my family specifically, I feel as though a great amount of our Christmas magic was lost when my mother’s father, my Granddaddy, passed away a couple years ago. I can see in my mother’s eyes that her spirits aren’t as high as they used to be. To help us all get into the Christmas spirit, my sister and I decided to plan a Christmas trip to somewhere festive. In fact, the best gift of Christmas that someone can give is love, and we needed some quality girl time. Initially, we looked at going to New York, because who doesn’t dream of visiting THE city around Christmas? However, our wallets laughed at us and we shifted focus to its sister city – Chicago! We planned this out with dates in mind before presenting the idea to our mother. We also threw in that my younger sister would like to visit some Law schools, just in case she was hesitant to commit. After hearing our proposal, Mom was on board and grateful that we included her – like we wouldn’t?! After my sister made some reservations and found us a hotel (thanks sis), we were all set for our trip to the windy city!
Our trip to Chicago began on Thursday, December 14th and we returned on Sunday, December 17th. On Thursday morning, we piled up in our mom’s car, American Girl Dolls fastened in the back seat (this will make more sense later), and headed to Chicago. I pretty much slept the entire way because I am THE passenger princess while my mother and sister took turns driving. My precious angels let me get my beauty sleep and I am always thankful. Once we got to the hotel, I had my first valet experience, which we pretty much has to do since parking in downtown Chicago is absolutely insane. This made me feel lowkey fancy even though people do it all the time – just let me live in my own fantasy, okay? Anyways, we stayed at the Homewood Suites by Hilton in the North Bridge area. I highly recommend staying here, as the location was in perfect walking distance to pretty much everything and was fairly affordable. The customer service always responded in a timely manner and we had no issues with our stay. We unpacked, relaxed, and stretched our legs before getting ready for our dinner at Pizzeria Portofino. This restaurant is right on the river and was delicious. I got the Rigatoni Vodka dish, and although it was very tasty, I’m not sure the portion size was worth twenty-one dollars. Thankfully, I was able to eat some leftover salad and pizza from Mom and my sister – so I left with a very happy tummy! The ambiance of this restaurant had a great vibe, with dim lighting and beautiful lighting structures, along with excellent service. It gives a romantic vibe – so this would be a perfect location for a date night in Chicago.
After dinner, of course, we had to stop at the bridge and take some photos overlooking the river while we were there. Although it was a little chilly, we had a fun time taking photos together and laughing at how I never know how to pose correctly. I’ll get there one day.
On Friday, I decided to skip the continental breakfast to sleep in some more – as if I needed any more sleep?! My sister raved about the waffle maker machine which did make me regret my decision a tad bit. After breakfast, we got ready to visit two Law schools in Chicago for my sister – the super intelligent one of the bunch. Let me tell you something – university in the city has a completely different feel than my experience at WKU in little ole Bowling Green, KY. Law school is even different – the entire school is just housed in one building. Although this makes perfect sense, I for some reason didn’t make this realization until we were beginning the tour. Out of respect for my sister, I won’t say which schools we toured, but they were both right downtown Chicago in the midst of all the hustle and bustle. It felt like a dream. If my sister chooses to attend either of the schools, I can’t wait to visit her in her big city era. If you know my sister, you know that she fits right into the city. Best of luck to her and her future educational endeavors!
After touring schools, we headed back to the hotel to freshen up and change for our night out on the town. We got all dressed up and beautified to head to the Nutcracker at the Joffrey Ballet - AHHH! Beforehand, we stopped for dinner at The Dearborn, where I enjoyed a delicious dish of Parmesan Gnocchi. It was the perfect blend of various cheeses with just a little splash of spice. The atmosphere of this restaurant is also very nice, with dim lighting and cushioned chairs. Our waitress was a little sassy with my mother for no apparent reason, but besides that, we had a great dinner together.
The Ballet was just a block away so we headed there shortly after dinner on foot. I was very excited to see the Nutcracker, especially since it was at the Joffrey Ballet. My sister had educated my mother and I on the significance of seeing this specific ballet, saying that it is one of the best ballet productions in the United States. Now, I do not know much about the art of ballet, but these dancers were absolutely incredible. The way they were able to move their bodies so gracefully, into beautiful eye-catching shapes was mesmerizing. The most memorable performance, for me, would have to be the pas de deux of the Arabian dancers due to its attention-grabbing sensuality and breathtaking acrobatic moves. Truly a beautiful show that highlights a beautiful season and story. I believe that all who enjoy the performative arts should experience the Nutcracker during the holiday season – and I would recommend doing so at the Joffrey Ballet! It was truly such a delectable night all around.
The following morning, my sister and I awoke eagerly for our most anticipated event of the trip: The American Doll Café. Yes, you read that correctly. My 20-something sister and I (also a 20-something) were most excited to freak out over the massive American Girl Doll Store and to each lunch with our favorite dolls. However, mother nature decided to rain on our parade by having the weather switch back and forth from drizzling to a rain shower all throughout the day and night. Originally, we had planned to do some shopping along Michigan Avenue before our lunch. After realizing that I could not in fact afford any of the luxury stores along the strip, my family and I headed to a coffee shop to grab some caffeine and a quick snack. We stopped at Stan’s Donuts & Coffee, a cute little shop right on Michigan Ave, and I mean cute! Look at the adorable logo!
After we recharged and prepared to face the rain, we headed to the American Girl Doll Store. I brought along my favorite doll, Julie, who is a little hippie gal with long blonde hair. Aside from the hair, I aspired to be like Julie as a younger child. My sister brought Molly along, very understandable if you know my sister. Molly was very intelligent and dresses very properly – just like my sister. Both Julie and Molly are historical dolls. My mother decided to bring Chrissa, the Girl of the Year in 2009, since she somewhat resembles my mother – well, she has dark brown hair. Chrissa was one of my dolls and is one of the first of my girl of the year dolls. My sister and I would always ask for a new American Girl Doll for Christmas, and I had a trend going where I would get the new girl of the year each year. So exciting, I know! Basically, the American Girl Doll franchise has been in my sister and mine’s life for as long as we can remember. It started when my aunt let us keep her daughter’s dolls while we were young and she had outgrown them. That was where the bulk of our historical dolls were from. (Auntie, if you are reading this, I will happily take those back whenever you no longer want them!) Back to the store - as soon as you walk in through the main doors, you are taken back by all the dolls in the front display. We took our precious time looking through the displays of the historical characters, as well as looking at the various outfits designed for the dolls on the second floor. My favorite outfit sets were the Elphaba and Glinda dresses from Wicked, and the Harry Potter dress robes, train cart, and all kinds of accessories, including the golden snitch. My jaw dropped at the detail this company puts into their dolls and their accessories – there truly is no other brand like American Girl Doll.
Continuing through the store, we passed the Bitty Baby section (oh, my heart) and the doll hair salon. There was an ear piercing station for the dolls as well (presh), and we ended our exploring at the Café. Full of excited young girls and their parents, my mother, sister and I stood proudly at the front of the Café to call in our reservation. We were seated at a table with special chairs for our dolls and were treated to a four-course meal. The food was better than I expected but was not a top tier lunch spot. However, we were more so there for the experience and had the best time getting to play American Girl Doll based trivia questions while we waited for each course. My mother gave a good point that it was better for us to go to this massive store (aka young girl holy land) as adults because as children, we would have begged for the entire store. And I don’t doubt this assumption a bit because while in the store, I was seriously considering buying my own Kit Kittredge doll and almost went through with it. Yes, a 25-year-old woman distraught as to whether she should drop over $100 on a doll. Of course she’s not just any doll, but only AGD gals would understand. ANYWAYS, enjoy some photos of our American Girl Doll experience:
Because it was still pouring outside when we finished up at the AGD store, we decided to head back to the hotel to take a nap. I am the napping QUEEN, so of course I wasn’t opposed. We were really bummed though because of the rain – we were planning on going to the Christmas Market that is a well-known Christmas activity in the city. The Market was all outside though, and we were already freezing our fingers off with our broken umbrellas from the wind. Nap it was. After we awoke from our beauty sleep, we got all bundled up to go to the Lincoln Park Zoo which was lit up with all kinds of Christmas lights. There were a few animals out as well, including a massive Lion and adorable penguins, so that was a fun experience that made me feel like a young child again. At this point, it was still drizzling, but the rain wasn’t going to keep us inside all night, especially on a Saturday. We decided to put on our warmest clothes and face the weather head on.
After we walked through the Zoo listening to various Christmas carols and taking pictures, we headed to Millennium Park to see the massive Christmas tree. This tree was so tall and gorgeous, and its lights shown over the ice skating rink that was right beside the tree. Although I wanted to take a spin on the ice, the rink was very crowded and the weather was starting to get the best of all of us. After taking some photos with the tree, we began walking back to the hotel with the hopes of finding a quick dinner on the way. We finally came upon a Shake Shack after briefly getting lost and we chowed down on some food. Because this was around, like, 10:00 PM, my stomach had gone past the point of hungry to where the smell of food was making me queasy. So, I enjoyed a yummy chocolate milkshake while stealing a few bites of french fries from my mother and sister. After a very eventful day and ever-so enticing weather, we were exhausted and headed back to the hotel for the night. We watched some Christmas movies before dozing off to the sounds of the Chicago streets.
Sunday morning came quickly, and it was time for us to head back to Kentucky. I was sad to leave the city, but was excited thinking about the next time I would return. If my sister moves there for school, I will be visiting often (get ready sista). Mother and my sister both took turns driving again – I am not quite sure why they never trust my driving skills – and I took my place in the backseat for my nap with my pillow and blanket I brought for the journey. On the way home, I was able to convince my family to stop at the Jersey Mike’s in Indiana (I was going through withdrawals from the sandwich icon). Although this took some convincing, I think they were both pleased with their lunch option and I was more than satisfied. A perfect ending to the trip.
Once we were home back in Kentucky, I did some reflecting on the experience to determine if it fulfilled my goal of getting us in the Christmas spirit. I can’t speak for my family, but I for one noticed that I went into the season with so much gratitude and happiness. The best gift I received this Christmas season was getting to spend this special time with my family – every other gift was just the cherry on top. As we grow older, I hope that this is just the beginning of our small spontaneous trips together. My mother and sister have become my best friends, and I couldn’t imagine living life without either of them. So, did the trip to Chicago itself instill this feeling in me alone? Probably not, but it showed me what Christmas is truly about – love.
Xoxo,
Elizabeth
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