Thursday, December 20, 2015 – After enjoying Cafe au Lait and Beignets with the powdered sugar covering everything around us and the girls enjoying playing at one of the playgrounds, we strolled the area and saw many cool sites! The younger girls had their faces painted. Madisyn got a peace symbol painted on her cheek and Haylee got her nose and face painted like Rudolph! All the girls crawled up on the Christmas Alligator Santa which is dear to the heart of every Southern Louisianian. We even ran across some Star War warriors who posed with Madisyn and Haylee!
When we made our way inside Celebration in the Oaks we found out there was more to see than we could have imagined. Lots of local vendors are featured throughout the Celebration. One was he makers of the soaps shown below. The ladies running Earth Lotions handmake their soaps and can be contacted at: Imamena5@yahoo.com. They offer way more than I photographed!
Down one of the outdoor walkways was a beautiful Nativity Scene 
Inside the big white tent near the entrance to Celebration in the Oats were children’s choirs taking turns singing precious Christmas songs and putting big smiles on everyone’s face!
A Holiday miniature train was featured in one part of the park.
Then there was Mr. Bingle, the long time New Orleans tradition. Mr. Bingle will get his own post but here’s the very large version of Mr. Bingle we enjoyed at the Celeration!
The line for the train ride was 45 minutes long (which is mostly why I recommend not going on a Saturday night) but the ride itself was very nice. It took us all throughout the park and we got to see a lot more than we could have walked to see.
The Carousel in City Park is an antique wooden carousel. The Carousel is often called the ‘Flying Horses’ by New Orleans locals. For more than 100 years, visitors have enjoyed this unique marvel – a beauty featuring “flying horses” and one of only 100 such carousels in the country. The Carousel is the masterwork of famed carvers Loof and Carmel, and has drawn praise from the National Historic Preservation Society. The Carousel is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Some interesting facts about the Carousel:
-Thirty of the horses move up and down and are called ‘flyers’ (thus the Flying Horses nickname).
-The Carousel still uses the original motor.
-The circular platform on which the animals ‘ride’ is suspended off the ground by 40 metal rods.
-The lion weighs 500 lbs.
Madisyn and Paw Paw enjoyed some fun time on the Carousel, same one I rode as a child! The older girls road rides Madisyn couldn’t so we’re glad she really enjoyed the Carousel!
These photos are some of ours and since most of mine didn’t come out too well I grabbed some from the internet to share some of the sites at Celebration in the Oaks!
Roy, Chip, Misty, Madisyn, Kallie, Haylee, Pam and I enjoyed our time seeing all the beauty, riding rides , riding the train, listening to the children sing and just being together! It was a very long day but all in all it was totally great!
Ya’ll come back now, ya’ hear!
Click on the links below to go there!
Wacky Wonderful Wednesdays published on Wednesdays
Some Things I Learned About Dementia published randomly
