Activity Advent: Catch up

We've been having so much fun with our Christmas advent activities that I haven't had a second to sit down and record it.  Since I'm covering 5 days in one post, this is a long one.

Day 1

I bought Isabella and Oliver each one of the chocolate advent calendars at Trader Joe's for two reasons: 1) they are only $1 and 2) I always wanted one as a kid, but never, ever got one.  After eating the first piece Isabella declared the chocolate as "bad".  But continues opening each window, each night with delight.  (It is pretty nasty chocolate.)

 We also watched a Christmas video from lds.org.

Day 2

I finally finished the actual advent calendar (with Isabella's help, of course) and hung it up on our door.  I used sticky notes on the inside so I can change and move things around as needed.

Our activity for the day was to go see the store windows on 5th Avenue.  We timed it right so Brian could meet us after work.

 Bergdorf Goodman's windows were so beautiful...as always.

 We were near our favorite chicken and rice cart and needed dinner, so we waited.  

A long line = delicious food.

 On our walk home we passed Grom and had to stop for some sipping chocolate.  Grom's hot chocolate is delicious, but a bit too rich and thick to be my favorite.

Brian gave Simon his first taste of chocolate.  I think he was in heaven.

 As was Oliver.

Day 3

Our actual activity for the day was the church Christmas concert, but we had a day full of fun before the evening event.

We  headed out to find the "secret subway station".  An old beautiful station that isn't used anymore, but the downtown 6 train passes it as it turns around to head uptown after the City Hall stop.

The steps at City Hall

My camera couldn't capture the station outside the train, but here's Isabella peering out.  Here are some online photos, if you are curious.

We found ourselves at Grand Central and showed Isabella the "whispering wall".  You stand in opposite corners and talk into the corner and you can hear each other.  It's pretty fun.

Somehow we walked home via Rockefeller Center.  Whoever thought that was a good idea was nuts!  I was stuck in human gridlock on 48th & 5th Ave.  Everyone trying to go in different directions, completely stopped, body pressed up against body, just looking at each other.  I really don't how the tourbus got through.  It was the worst crowd I've ever been in (and I've been in some crazy crowds :)).

On the way to the concert we saw the firetrucks with their ladders and hoses at the ready.  It's the first time I've ever seen them actually fighting a fire (but I never saw the fire).

  We finally made it to the concert!  It was the first time we got there early enough to sit in the chapel, where it sounded fantastic!  I still feel uplifted, and that was 3 days ago!

The kids were super busy and a huge handful (since the concert started at their bedtime), but they did well considering.  It was also awesome to see so many friends we haven't seen in so long!

This is us at the end of the concert.  (Thank you, Jill!)

Day 4
We took a break from all the busy outings of the previous days and made snowflakes.

Day 5
After school we worked on making some gifts for loved ones.  It seemed to be very therapeutic for Isabella. I've tried after school art projects before, to help her decompress from school, but they haven't worked, until this one.

Cold & Hot Chocolate

We spent half of Saturday out in the city, which was bitter cold when the wind blew. After lunch at The Hummus Place (fantastic food at fantastic prices!) on 7th Ave in the West Village we walked by Grom (an overpriced, over-hyped gelateria). Grom had an enticing poster in their window of some really good looking hot chocolate. We stood in the cold way too long debating whether or not we should get some. We have tried many, many delicous cups of hot chocolate and definitely have our favorites, but this stuff was amazing! Three of us (adults) split a small and we were all in chocolate coma heaven.

Activity Advent: Hot Chocolate Crawl

The weekend before Christmas we went on a hot chocolate crawl.  We were in SoHo and only hit up 4 places throughout our day of window shopping.  We contemplated going to more, City Bakery (a favorite) and/or Jacque Torres (another, more local, favorite), but really, four (!!!) hot chocolates in one day was plenty.  We were in a cocoa comma.

Also, We passed a Grom as well and turned that down since we had recently been there (and had taken half home, and sipped it for days...it really is a melted bar of chocolate! Yummm!)

Hmmm...City Bakery...I think I know what we are doing today!

Balthazar
Better than Starbucks but not as good as the stuff we make at home.

Vosges
Different flavor than I've had before.  It was good hot haut chocolate.  Thin and watery (unlike melted chocolate of other hot cocoa) but the flavor was full.

Mariebelle
Mairebelle was our first experience with gourmet hot chocolate when we moved to the city.  We have had it several times and, unfortunately, it's not consistent.  Sometimes it is out of this world and I get a bit of a buzz from it (I'm serious).  But other times it's too thin and lacking in richness.

Van Leeuwen
We happened to pass the truck and noticed they had hot chocolate (I love their ice cream).  It was, surprisingly, very different.  It was very sweet and must have had amaretto syrup in it.  It had an undertone of a yummy waffle cone.  (Is that amaretto?)  Good, but different.

It was a very fun day!!!

And, I realized, as I wrote this, we have drunk a lot of hot chocolate in this city during our several years here.  I'll have to post more of our hot chocolate adventures.  


I really want to try the hot chocolate from La Maison du Chocolate.  Their truffles are heavenly!