A Very Cold Nativity

Last night we went to a live nativity in Alpine as a way to focus on what Christmas is really about.

We knew it was going to be cold, so we bundled up as we left the house, making sure everyone was wearing multiple layers. I made some hot cocoa (from scratch — yum!) and brought it along to warm us up from the inside.

We got there and poured everyone a cup of hot cocoa, and went to stand in line to be shuttled (via horse trailer on hay bales) to the nativity. We stood in line for about 20 minutes, and the kids were getting cold already.

Drew and Ellie loved seeing the animals. They had sheep, donkeys, camels, turkeys, geese, pigs, llamas, you name it. Roman centurions stood guard at the city gates with more riding around on horseback. It really is a cool production, but it was frigid cold. We started to spend less and less time with the animals and exhibits and more effort to just getting through it so we could get back inside.

However, when we saw the baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph exhibit, we were able to pause for just a few minutes and think about things more important than toys and clothes and being cold. Those short reverent moments made it all worth it.

The next stop in the tour was to stand in line for hot chocolate and get hit up for donations. I bribed the kids with another batch of my homemade stuff if they skipped it and got home. They agreed, so we hustled back to the shuttle and made our way back to our car.

When we all got in the car and started driving home, I looked down at the outside temperature reading on the dashboard. It was 6° F. That was one cold nativity.