Christmas Lights

For our last official event of the year, we took a field trip to see some houses all decked out with Christmas lights.  Some of us met at Queen Leslie's house and we carpooled to Brea, where we met up with the rest of the gang.

What a gorgeous area . . . street after street lit up so pretty and bright, these people go ALL out, for sure!  And the homes themselves are very impressive as well!  Let's let the camera do the talking, and look at some of the gorgeousness we saw as we strolled along, following . . .

Of Course!

Just one of the streets we walked down

Lots of front lawns were filled with cuteness and whimsy . . .

Even a Charley Brown Tree

Santa getting a little assist

And the "Major Award" from "A Christmas Story"

Take a closer look . . . . 

And of course, we found several photo opps along the way . . .

Another Charley Brown Tree

And a double car garage completely decked out

Even inside the house was amazing

And speaking of inside the house . . . we found the "Frozen" house . . .

The family was out front selling hot chocolate or churros or something, and we were asking how long it took them to put up all the decorations, etc.  The lady loved our hats, and invited us inside to see her tree . . . . (there's definitely magic in the hat!!!)

Every inch of her house was completely "Frozen".  Every little girl's dream!  Our "little girls" were pretty excited too . . . .  She said she does a different theme every year, and keeps everything in bins by color.  She must have some amazing storage space somewhere.  She is already purchasing stuff for next year - a Country Christmas theme.  (We must go back to see!)

Lots of cuteness and whimsy as I mentioned before, but lots of people got it right too . . .

It was really great to see so many people honoring Jesus - the REAL reason for the season!

When we finally could tear ourselves away, we walked back to our cars and headed for dinner . . .

At the Lazy Dog Cafe

Inside was very warm and comfy, with a big fire in the fireplace and .  . .

a Lazy Dog

Dinner was good and the evening was really fun.

Seema, Carol N, Debbie, Queen Leslie, Queen Chris, Joy

We went back to Queen Leslie's afterwards for some hot chocolate and cookies.  What a nice way to end our 10th year of Red Hatting!  Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas Party

Can you believe Christmas is less than two weeks away?  Where O Where has this year gone?  It's been a busy one for sure, and now it's almost over.  Today we are gathering together at Queen Annie's house for our Christmas Party and Gift Exchange, and a visit to Pomona First Baptist Church for their always awesome Christmas Program, plus this year they have added a Walk thru Bethlehem, which we are really looking forward to.

Queen Annie had everything all ready when we arrived.  Her tables were beautifully set with gorgeous Christmas plates and perfect decorations, and the cutest little star shaped dish filled with star shaped cookies for everyone . . .

Annie's beautiful table settings

Before the meal began, Annie asked Seema to read a passage from the Bible about how each of us has a light to shine . . .

and then each of us were to light the little candle on our plate and tell how we want and hope our light will shine for others as an example of God's grace and love.  What a very special touch, especially at this very special time of year.

Let your light shine!

Then it was on to a really yummy lunch of two different lasagnas, lots of salad choices, bread and all sorts of other goodies . . .

Delish!

After lunch we carpooled over to Pomona First Baptist Church for their . . .

Come Celebrate Christmas Program

This is our second year to do this, and it has been wonderful both times.  Plus the people in the church are so warm and welcoming . . . they immediately make you feel at home.  The program started and I snapped a few photos along the way . . .

Adult and Kids Choirs Combined

Add in some dancing elves

Kids Choir

Besides the choirs, there was a full orchestra!  All the music and voices were beautiful - there are some amazingly talented people in this church!!!

The Christmas story was beautifully narrated, and acted . . .

Joseph and Mary arrive in Bethlehem with no place for them to stay

The Baby Jesus surrounded by the shepherds and angels

The Star

The Choir of Angels

And after two years of searching, the Wise Men finally find Jesus

Gives me goosebumps every time!

Beautiful Christmas Tree

So of course that means . . . .

Photo Opp after the program 

Outside the church, we entered the City of David, following the path of Mary and Joseph . . . It was so much fun to walk through the village and talk to the merchants and villagers, who were very interested and confused about our colorful clothing and especially our hats - definitely not something they had ever experienced before . . .

Wise Men

Fish Seller

Ewwwww . . . 

Marriage Arranger

Herbs & Spices

Entertainment 

Fire-Eater - Ouch!

The shepherds were caring for their sheep

More vendors along the way - Vegetables

Olives

The Well

Grapes

Wine-Maker

Uh Oh - We got caught by the Roman Guards

Debbie found a friend

Still following the Star

Finally - Bethlehem

Registering for the Census

Entering Bethlehem Village

Still more vendors - Brass Trader

Salt Seller

Potter

As we approached the stable, we passed the . . .

Angels

Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus
(so sad the photo came out blurry!)

They did such an awesome job of re-enacting and representing how Bethlehem may have looked way back some 2000 years ago.  All the participants totally stayed in character and you could just tell they were enjoying every moment.   We enjoyed every moment too!

Back at Annie's, we enjoyed dessert and drew numbers for our gift exchange.  After all the choosing, unwrapping and stealing, here's how it all ended ...

Front Row - Chris, Leslie, Linda, Queen Annie, Carol N, Debbie
Middle Row - Sylvia, Tina, Dixie, Seema, Carol L
Back - Joy, Carol B

And the more natural us!

Merry Christmas F.R.I.E.N.D.S.!!!  Another memory shared together!