It never ceases to amaze how each
iteration of a holiday has a unique style and mood to it. Some are
easy, laid back affairs while others take on that perfect mix of
atmosphere and emotional depth. Then there’s the one’s that sort
of limp along. Those are the ones that require a little extra
prodding to keep moving. Sadly that seems to be the mood of this
season. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure there are still plenty of
happy families enjoying their holiday it just seems like a number of
people are responding with a confused shrug in regards to seasonal
enjoyment. Seeing as the endurance test of school left me with
precious little of the season to enjoy, I’ve gone into overdrive in
an attempt to make this Christmas count for something.
As soon as I wrapped up the final test
of the year it was time to get my butt over to Cooley Law Stadium,
home of the Lansing Lugnuts. If you’ve never heard of the team,
don’t worry, just know this is a minor league baseball local. The
reason for visiting in the middle of December is that Shawhaven Farm,
otherwise known for putting on an excellent haunted attraction,
joined up with Lansing to put on a holiday light show at the stadium.
This seemed like the perfect opportunity to stretch my holly jolly
legs as Christmas outings aren’t very common for our family and at
only five bucks a person the risk was relatively low.
Upon entering we were greeted by a
display of animated singing tress which set the tone for the place.
Pretty much everything is timed to music which turned out to be both
a pro and con. The nice part is that whenever you reach a fine perch
there was likely to be multiple objects dancing to their own tune.
The problem is the pockets where those songs meet and how bad some of
the choices are. Some trees singing Beach Boys material ain’t so
bad until it’s in direct conflict with Let it Go echoing
from the diamond. Mercifully there’s enough open air for most of
this noise pollution to dissipate providing the opportunity to focus
on the lights and people.
And what of the lights themselves?
Well they were solid with different displays of regular strands along
with themed displays like the twelves days of Christmas, and even a
few inflatables to fill in some bald spots. Even so there were a few
spots that left a little to be desired. Take what we referred to as
the Hanukkah corner for example, it seems positively barren compared
to areas like the main walkway.
There were two ways to explore the
show, one is of course walking which we did for our first go-around,
the other actually made those less interesting spots less
problematic. We're talking about a cheap version of the polar
express, actually it was a tractor with some carts behind it but this
provides a quicker means of bouncing between the separate ends of the
stadium. The conductor was absolutely high on holiday bliss, I’d
guess schnapps. Far ore likely his mind had snapped from hearing the
same line-up of songs a thousand times over. The different sections
he could drop us off at included activities like fire pits, a letter
writing station for kids to get in touch with Santa, and drink
stations for everything from cocoa to the hard stuff.
Approaching the exit I noticed
something familiar yet out of place. Remember how Shawhaven is known
for their haunted attraction? Part of that is a group of animated
singing light monsters which were on display here only with Santa
hats to make them seasonally appropriate. This felt like the perfect
way to respect the full scope of the holidays. We don’t often think
of it amid all the rush of December but our celebration truly began
months ago when we were picking up plastic skeletons and severed
hands to display around the house. From then on it was a whirlwind of
slasher-flicks, turkey, parades, and malfunctioning lights. To see
this idea personified in such a tacky fashion really brings home how
much the last quarter of the year is connected and why it's always
the best time to be alive. Kinda makes me want to dress a pumpkin in
a diaper and call it baby new year.
The light show made for a decent way
to kickstart my celebratory spirit but I still needed fuel to keep
that fire burning so I went off in search of snacks and novelties to
nourish my regained jolly outlook. Lucky me our next stop got me off
to a good start with Red Bull Winter Edition. I'm not usually big on
this brand but this one could grow on me. The flavor is something
like if you watered down regular Red Bull and then added melted gummy
bears to pep it up. This bizarre combo comes across as both
flavorless and incredibly sweet at the same time and imparts a neat
wintry feeling in the process. While definitely not for everyone I'd
like to pick up a few more cans for those nights that require a
festive touch.
Next up was Target which didn't
provide everything I was looking for, still can't find Entenmenn's
gingerbread crème rolls anywhere. What I did find was still good
enough to satisfy my needs. Possibly the crown jewel of this stash
are the cinnamon chocolate milano cookies. Oh my god these are just
great. I've never encountered a milano this fulfilling. In the candy
arena we have Hot Cocoa M&M's which live up to their name as they
taste like a decent cup of Swiss Miss with the little marshmallows. I
suppose your enjoyment will depend on how much you enjoy basic cocoa
flavor. After that is gingerbread Life cereal which returns this year
and is still good, just nowhere near as awesome as their pumpkin
spice variety. Lastly I brought home some gingerbread coffee from
Archer Farms. Still not sure how I feel about this roast. After my
first cup I would say no, don't bother. The second day I thought a
bit better of it. It seems like one of those flavors that can be good
given the right mood but is otherwise sort of underwhelming.
In the days following my release from
the toils of school I've been putting up more lights, turning on more
holiday viewing, and doing what little Christmas shopping I can on a
tight budget. Also managed to outline the garage in lights for the
first time ever and finally put up the Christmas village. The family
has gotten in the spirit as well by adding LED candles to the eye
holes on the Krampus mask. While I still get the impression this is
sort of a blah year for many people it's nice to see the little
adventures still hold their appeal. If you're feeling a bit down and
out you should go in search of something like this light show or
failing that scour some different stores in search of some new snacks
to fill your belly. The experience might just do wonders for your
outlook. Also keep your eyes open as I hope to get in a couple more
Christmas posts completed by next Tuesday. Till then be good boys and
girls.
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