This December, Reed went on a work trip to Europe (which I'll try my hardest to get him to post about), so Cal and I were on our own for about a week and a half. To pass the time, we filled our days (and evenings) with lots of Christmas activities. One event we tried out for the first time this year was the live Bethlehem in Santa Clara.
It was really well done -- I was blown away! Tons of volunteers were dressed up as Roman centurions, artisans, merchants, shepherds, tax collectors, wise men, etc., each with their own area or market stall where visitors could interact with them and learn about what life was like at the time of Christ's birth.
We met up with our friends, and the kids had fun being taken from stall to stall for various activities. Here they are making talents by pressing a circular mold into the clay:
Cal watching a leather-maker fan a flame with a bellows:
Cal got to make a mud brick:
...and learned how to press wine out of grapes:
Then, of course, the performers acted out the nativity scene, with shepherds running in & wise men arriving on real camels. I loved asking Cal about what was happening, because he actually "gets it" this year.
Afterward, we got free hot chocolate from a stand set up in front of the church for the visitors. The perfect treat for a freezing cold night!
The fruits of a fun and busy day:
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