Trains!

Yesterday a group of us visited the electric train display at Reading Terminal. What an amazing display! The exhibit features twelve trains chugging along on a 1/3 mile long track winding through Philadelphia and many other adorable, miniature scenes . The toddlers loved walking around it; the display was low enough for them to see it (but of course Jeremy preferred the view from the air). The train exhibit is open through January 3, from 10am to 6pm, in the lobby of the Reading Terminal Headhouse (enter from Market Street). Then we had a group outing across the street to watch the Holiday Light Show at Macy's and visit the Dickens Village (again). MUCH more crowded this time. Oh well. What a nice time of year!

Macy's Holiday Light Show

Jeremy and I have a new (and free) winter hangout -- the Macy's Holiday Light Show. We recently attended this more than fifty-year old tradition for the first time and now we're hooked. The four-story high light show runs every hour on the hour (for a duration of about 15 minutes). The show includes holiday music and more than 100,000 lights transformed into ballerinas, sugar plum fairies, reindeer, and trains. So fun! All of the children sit on the red carpet right in the middle of the grand court, transfixed.

And then to top it all off, a secret section of the third floor of Macy's seasonally houses the Dickens Village. This unbelievable exhibit portrays 26 scenes from the classic "A Christmas Carol" with more than 100 fully animated figures. What a treat. We fit this exhibit in between watching both the 10 and 11am light shows!

We had such a ball at Macy's and will most certainly be back. The festivities continue through the end of the year. It's totally free, but we were happy to teach Jeremy a hands-on lesson of Charles Dickens's story and make a donation to the Make A Wish Foundation.

Enter Your Zip to Book This AAA Package

Independence Seaport Museum

We now have a new, convenient cold-weather activity, the Independence Seaport Museum located at Penn's Landing! One morning a friend and I tried to visit the aquarium, but we learned that the ferries do not run in the winter! So, we made the best of the situation and visited this museum -- what a nice find! We examined boats of all sizes: some to admire from afar, and and some to climb in and on. Admission includes visits outside to the historic submarine (Becuna) (a bit difficult/scary to get around in carrying a 28+ pound toddler) and the Spanish-American War Cruiser (Olympia) (very cool). Admission is $12/adult (discount with AAA or WHYY) and kids under 2 are free. All in all, it was great to find a new (and educational) place to explore and the boys really loved the boats!