005 | Home for the Holidays: Philadelphia
005 | Home for the Holidays: Philadelphia
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“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…”
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Since I live in Atlanta and have for 15 years, I only get to see my parents a handful of days each year. It is critical to me to work my schedule to spend a weekend at my folk’s house and the days leading up to Thanksgiving for some much-needed quality time with them. It is about as low key as it can get…a northeast beach town in the winter.
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My mother usually makes dinner a night or two. We head out and try some new restaurants in the area that are opened year-round. We take a drive to Cape May to walk the open-air mall and take in the holiday lights that have already popped up. It’s not always fun and games. My dad and I still work during the days. He gets ready for his spring conventions while I work on closing out my corporate training, cleaning my inbox, and closing out the year. The perfect way to end the work week before s few days off.
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In years past, I have typically met up with friends the night before Thanksgiving. It is actually a pretty big thing in Philly…”the night before Thanksgiving” is the biggest going out night of the year. I thought it was that way everywhere, but the two thanksgivings I spent in Atlanta were anything but. My family came down one year and to be honest, they had such a miserable time, we have never left Philly/South Jersey area, again. To the point, the time I had to stay here for work reasons, I didn’t even bother with asking them as there was nothing much going on.
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The reason I believe the night before Thanksgiving is so big in Philadelphia is that it is the night before the oldest Thanksgiving Parade in the country. In fact, next year, 2019, Philly will be celebrating its 100th parade. How cool is that?!?
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Back to meeting up with friends, I like to plan what I call an “open house” meeting. It is usually at a bar/restaurant and open to whomever would like to come the night before Thanksgiving. Life has changed so now we have mixed up the days and times a bit. I send out an invite in October with the date and time. It usually takes a little longer to decide in the city, Conshy (Conshohocken), or something else.
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We have typically done a bar tour, but again, you evolve. Mr. Big doesn’t love the bar scene so this year we decided to do an activity-based night. We ended up taking in a comedy show at Punchline in Fishtown with some drinks and food beforehand at Philadelphia Distillery. (Shout out to Philadelphia Distillery for the awesome gift pack they gave my friend, Jeff, for his Thanksgiving birthday.) The comedy club was awesome. It provided us a great venue to hang out with friends and be entertained.
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When visiting a local with lots of family and friends, it is always best to set-up meetings to get the “best bang for your buck”. This is why I like open houses. Your friends and family should understand you have already done the “heavy lifting”. You travelled to them. People who matter make themselves available and mobile to meet-up when you are in-town. This way you can see more people all at once and isn’t that what the holidays are all about? Sharing cheer!
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For my family, Black Friday has definitely changed over the years. It started as a day my mom and I would go shopping to the big mall, King of Prussia, and sometimes meet up with my old college roomie and her mom for lunch. When my folks moved year-round to the shore, we shopped at the AC outlets (Atlantic City) and enjoyed a nice lunch Caesers while my dad and brother went skeet shooting. The last three years, we have been celebrating the holiday at my brother’s and have struggled to find our Black Friday groove…especially with the added dimension of three little ones. This year, we finally found what I believe will be our new Black Friday routine for at least a few years to come.
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Last year was the first year in a long time that I truly relived childhood during the holidays. I even got to take Mr. Big along for the ride…and he added a few new traditions of his own.
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You see Mr. Big works for a company headquartered out of Philadelphia and conveniently or not he has to spend some time in the North during November and December planning for the upcoming year. This has provided us with the opportunity to stay in the city at The Logan Hotel when we are in-town.
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This year, we spent Black Friday taking in Philadelphia’s holiday magic. It started with a train ride for the little guys into the city with their folks and grandparents to meet-up with Aunt Kelly and Mr. Big to see the Comcast Holiday Spectacular…complete with bubble snow. It was frigid, so we snaked our way through SEPTA’s tunnels to reach city hall. As we emerged from the City Hall station, we were entranced as skaters of all abilities and ages slid by on the rink before us. We watched for a while and then, headed onto the merry-go-round in the courtyard of City Hall to ride the horses and Rudolph of course. Afterward, we headed to the famed “Wanamaker” light show in Macy’s. This is childhood at its best. Julie Andrews is the narrator and the lights are old school (I love Comcast’s new digital show, but the nostalgia from the old school lights and historical organ belting out Christmas memories, well, it is something special).
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As the day came to an end, we went to a Philly favorite the Reading Terminal Market to get some food and drinks. (If you haven’t been, check it out. Food halls are a favorite of mine. This one is run by the Amish and has been in existence since 1893.) We didn’t exactly tour all the stalls with three kids under five, but we did get to enjoy each other for a little longer this holiday season. My family headed to the train station as Mr. Big and I held hands and strolled through the Christmas Village back to the hotel.
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I am already excited to do it again next year. What are your favorite holiday traditions? Share them with me via IG: @kellystravelary.
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With love,
Kelly
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