Am I the only one who feels like the holiday season flew by? It hardly felt like there was any time at all between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and now we’re about to celebrate New Year’s. Can we really be coming up on 2018? I vividly remember ringing in the new millennium–and all the apprehension that went along with it–but that was 18 years ago! Yikes.
Well, now that I’m done reminiscing, I have some photos to share. Some of my in-laws are here for the weekend, so we have enjoyed showing them the city. We have 11 of the 15 family members, but it still feels like a small group. (Did I tell you that one of Mr. Handsome’s little sisters is expecting? He is the oldest, and she is number five, so there are several years between the two of them. She is the one who married in May.)
This morning, we headed over to the Gaylord Opryland Hotel to enjoy the many Christmas festivities and decorations.
In addition to walking through the indoor gardens, as Mr. Handsome and I did a couple weeks ago, we spent 30 minutes inside the ICE winter wonderland.
Located in a conference center that is being kept at 9 degrees Fahrenheit, this holiday attraction is an annual tradition at Opryland. The display features two million pounds of ice sculptures, hand-carved by talented artisans from Harbin, China. This year’s theme is A Charlie Brown Christmas.
Pretty much everything you see in these photos is made of ice, even the Christmas tree and giant strands of popcorn.
There was also a huge ice slide (about two stories high). My three-year-old niece and one-year-old nephew were too short to ride it, but all the adults gave it a try. It was short but fast.
In general, the adults definitely appreciated the ice display more than the kiddos.
At the very end was a massive Nativity scene. Although my niece was cold and ready to leave, she enjoyed identifying all the characters–baby Jesus, the Wise Men, Joseph and Mary, the shepherds, the angel, and the livestock.