December 2020

Christmas in the Park (Any evening, tickets required)
San Jose’s annual Christmas in the Park has become a drive-thru event! It looks like there will be no snowman hot chocolate or churros this year … unless you make your own to enjoy in the car 🙂
Grab your tickets here: https://www.christmasinthepark.com/p/buytickets

Palo Alto Church Scavenger Hunt (Now)
Drive around to different churches in Palo Alto and search for various things in their displays! Give away gifts, too!
https://paloaltochristmas.com/

Count Down to Christmas (Saturday, December 12th)
Menlo Church is having a drive-thru Christmas celebration with lights, music and gift packages for all cars!  Our local campus is located at 774 Cuesta Dr, Mountain View, CA. Celebration is from 4-6pm. You should enter on Cuesta and drive through the decorated parking lot, picking up gifts for your family along the way.  Note that this is a ‘drive thru’ event with social distancing precautions and safety measures in place.

Christmas Tree Lane (Dec 12th until Dec 30th)
This family favorite is easy and free — pile into the car and drive slowly down Fulton Street in Palo Alto. Almost every house is decked out in holiday cheer. 
https://www.christmastreelane.org/

German Holiday Market (Sunday, December 20th)
A stable of the Mountain View December celebrations, this fundraiser for the local German school is going online this year.  But make yourself some mulled wine and Kuchen, and enjoy some festive music from your living room.
https://www.gissv.org/gissv-home-english/school-life/events/german-holiday-market

Granola Making Workshop (Sunday, December 13th)
Join the women from my church (Grace Presbyterian) for a virtual granola making workshop. Before the event, you’ll be sent a shopping list. Then on the evening of Dec 13th (7 pm)  we’ll have an online instructor walk us through the process of making  homemade granola.  A perfect treat for yourself, or package as a gift!

https://gracepres.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/629835

Breakfast with Santa (Saturday, December 5th)
From the comfort of your home and your pajamas, enjoy breakfast with Santa. His elves will be leading us in some crafts and it sure to be a jolly good time!  

Register with MV Recreation (search for Breakfast with Santa):
https://anc.apm.activecommunities.com/mountainviewrecreation/home?onlineSiteId=0&from_original_cui=true

Also, lots of classes are available for this winter with MV Recreation (both in person and virtual).  (Same registration portal as above).

Winter Wonders Story Time (Thursday, December 10th)
Join the librarians for a special story and song time at 7 pm on December 10th.   The website bills it as “an all-star extravaganza with all six of our wonderful Children’s Librarians!”  You won’t want to miss up.  Sign up below:
https://mountainview.libcal.com/event/7226249

Dinosaur Adventure (Thursdays-Sundays through Dec 6th)
Pile into your car and enjoy a drive-through dinosaur adventure!  These life-size dinos will be stomping around the Alameda Fair Grounds for the next weekend. It was fun for the boys, but be prepared to wait to get in.  We brought a dino-themed dinner (dino nuggets from the freezer section – easy, peasy!) and dino toys/books to help pass the time.  They way that they let in groups of cars allows you to turn off the engine and tailgate/eat in your car while you wait.
https://www.dinosauradventure.com/bayarea/

Fun and Easy Advent Ideas
I love advent calendars!  These aren’t really events, but they are fun and easy and you can enjoy them all month long!
– Library book advent calendar.  Get couple of Christmas books for each day in December and put them into bags and/or wrap them in paper.  Each morning  your kids can unwrap a new story or two!
– See’s candy advent calendar.  Little-known fact: You can squeeze about 24 pieces of chocolate into the See’s 1lb box.  We have a wooden advent calendar, but  you could just pick from the See’s box directly, taking turns choosing the day’s chocolate.  Alternatively,  Trader Joe’s always has nice but inexpensive chocolate calendars.
–Sticker advent calendar. A couple years ago I made a Christmas tree with 24 sticker ‘ornaments’ that my son could  pull off and wear.  Maybe a bigger hit with the younger crowd 😉

Kindergarten Warmup (Fridays)
I just love the MV Library (Can you tell?!).  They are having a weekly Zoom session on Friday mornings 10-10:30 am to get preschoolers ready for kindergarten.  This month is all about Social Awareness.
https://mountainview.libcal.com/event/6962396

Good Night Little Bear – on Zoom (Thursdays)
From 6:30 – 7 pm, the amazing Librarian Sharon will lead us in bedtime stories and songs.  Perfect for the baby and toddler crowd.
https://mountainview.libcal.com/event/6977383

Scavenger Hunt in Mountain View (Anytime)
Mountain View library has created an outdoor puzzle adventure for elementary-aged kids.  According to an online flyer,  you and your kids will. go on an “exciting and mysterious adventure full of challenging riddles and puzzles. The clues in the packet take families to locations throughout downtown Mountain View to find the “Heart of the Library.” The self-contained packets are available to pick up at our Grab and Go service through December.”
https://mountainview.libcal.com/reserve/grabandgo

December Parenting Book Club
Shoot me an email if you’d like to discuss this month’s book, Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself by Kristin Neff

Next Month (January): The Lazy Genius Way: Embrace What Matters, Ditch What Doesn’t, and Get Stuff Done by Kendra Adachi and Emily P. Freeman (Thanks for the suggestion, Sharon S.!)

Fantasy of Lights Drive (Sold-out)
We were a little late on the draw this year, and given the reduced number of spots due to curfew, didn’t get a spot.  Mostly just a public service announcement that they are sold out, in case you were considering. But if you happen to have an extra ticket you want to sell, please shoot me email.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fantasy-of-lights-drive-thru-2020-tickets-127073743989

Happy Hollow, Curiodyssey, and Playgrounds (Closed)
Due to the newest Shelter-in-place restrictions, these mini-zoos are currently closed.