Greetings and merry all the things from Florida!
We were able to travel to Florida this year to spend Christmas with my family and oh what fun it’s been to be here!
DECEMBER 23
We traveled to Florida on Monday, December 23. All things considered, our travel day wasn’t bad at all! I worked that morning training clients and teaching yoga and my babysitter dropped Finn off at the studio. After I got cleaned up from class, we hopped in the car and headed straight to the airport.
I parked in the Express Deck Preferred at Charlotte-Douglas for the first time (it was offered to me for same price as Daily Decks when I went to pre-book my parking) and it was so easy to pull up and have the car parked for us. I’m also having it washed while we’re away so it will be great to arrive home to a clean car (it was very in need!). I was grateful that the shuttle bus could take a road for authorized vehicles to drop us at the terminal because traffic was backed up so far!
I am typically a cut it close kind of traveler but it was the right call to give us 2+ hours to get parked, bags dropped and through security. I was actually shocked to find there was no line for TSA pre-check but the line for bag drop was ages long. Fortunately, I have priority status with American so I took one look at the line and made a beeline to the priority area to drop our bags. We’ve only been traveling with carry ons lately but I needed to check Santa’s sack. 😉 I had a huge duffle full of gifts and knew I’d need it to bring things back too.
We had time for lunch before making it to our boarding area. I had a salmon avocado roll (there’s actually decent sushi in the atrium area at CLT) and Finn had Chick-Fil-A.
Our flight was full but took off and landed on time! After an easy one hour and 10 minute flight time, we were in Florida and ready to see P-Paw!
My dad always brings Beau to the airport to pick us up and Finn loves it! So does Beau – he gets sooooo many pats from everyone. He is the calmest, sweetest, most best-natured dog and we were talking Monday about how he’d be a perfect service dog for going into hospitals, nursing homes, etc. (My two crazies could stand some behavior lessons from Beau haha.)
Speaking of my two…I am using a new dog sitter on this trip and she is just absolutely wonderful. They are being spoiled beyond belief and I think they’re going to be sad when we get home! What a blessing to be able to find such great help during a holiday week!
Finn made a beeline into Mema’s arms when we got to her condo. The relationship these two have is very special.
We watched a beautiful sunset and then headed up to my parents’ condo for dinner.
My dad smoked a Boston butt and made the most delicious baked beans from scratch (like dried beans from scratch) and air fried broccolini. I loved this dinner!
Back at my grandmother’s place, we watched Home Alone until bed. Last year the movie didn’t quite land with Finn but this year he found it hilarious.
CHRISTMAS EVE
I don’t have too much to report from Christmas Eve. I made a morning trip to Target to grab a few final things I needed. Finn and I hit the beach in the afternoon. He lasted about five minutes in the gulf before deciding the heated pool was a better swimming option. Had to let him try and I admire his gusto for doing so! 🙂
He was showered and in PJs by 4p. It was a pretty day to sit out on the balcony with my grandmother.
Christmas Eve dinner was meatballs over polenta and a salad. Finn had his meatballs over spaghetti and this was a winning dinner for the whole fam!
Mema read a vintage edition of The Night Before Christmas to Finn and I recorded it on my Tonie app so that I can put it on a creative Tonie for him to listen to in the future. <3
I stayed up finishing up the wrapping after they both went to bed. I got all the presents arranged around Mema’s cute mini tree.
And Santa came through the balcony door for a visit!
I watched the Netflix movie with Lindsay Lohan, Our Little Secret, and it was enjoyable to have on in the background.
CHRISTMAS DAY
Finn slept until almost 8a on Christmas Day! He stirred around 7 and said, “it’s Christmas Day!” and then fell right back asleep. Once he was up, he did his Santa gifts and we ate breakfast. My dad dropped off homemade cinnamon rolls!
My parents came over around 10a to open gifts. It was really nice to have everyone together. Finn played Santa and distributed all of the presents.
Hit gifts included…
- A heated vest for my mom who is always cold
- Introducing my dad to Vuori and his first pair of their joggers
- Photo gifts for my grandmother (Always! And we love these mugs – great quality.)
- A Disney cruise for Finn! (and a slime kit haha)
Finn received various “clue gifts” for the cruise including a Mickey stuffie and towel, a Mickey t-shirt, a new bathing suit and this cruise ship ornament. At the very end of gift exchanging he had to try and guess the gift. He was so pumped when we told him it was a Disney cruise!
He’s not shown much interest in going to Disney World when we talk about it but I think he’ll get such a kick out of the cruise. His little mind will be blown to be on a waterslide on a huge ship in the middle of the sea. He loves swimming, water slides and adventures so I think it’s just the perfect experience for him! I’ve heard Disney does cruises right for families so I can’t wait!!! Would love any and all tips you have for Disney cruising!
Finn and I ventured out on the beach for a walk. He ran around like crazy and the fresh air was so nice.
You can’t beat being on the beach in shorts on Christmas Day!
Snow angels but make it sand!
Once we got cleaned up from the beach we spent the afternoon playing Tapple. It’s a word game where you choose a category and then have to come up with words that start with different letters of the alphabet. I shared on Instagram that Finn and I an alphabet game like this on walks a lot and someone told me about this game. We’re loving it.
Christmas dinner was prime rib, poppers, twice-baked potatoes and braised kale. My dad has been working hard in the kitchen and we are all very thankful for his love language of cooking.
Love this trio. <3
And with that I am going to call this one a wrap! We are here until Sunday so I’m sure I’ll have more to share in another post.
I hope you’re all enjoying the holiday season and gearing up for a healthy and happy 2025!
QUESTIONS
Did you travel for Christmas this year?
What were the hit gifts?
What did you eat for Christmas breakfast? And dinner?
…and don’t forget to give me your Disney cruise tips!
