I love Christmas lights. Love them. They’re almost my favorite part of the Christmas season, and the Coach, bless him, indulges me every year with countless neighborhood drives and trips to community lights. Last weekend we were invited to take in a special preview of the Austin tradition known as the Trail of Lights, and I jumped at the chance.
Part of the magic of living where you grew up is passing on traditions to your children. I remember going to the Trail of Lights when I was little, when it was a free drive through only thing. When I was in high school, they changed it to a walking event, so since my birthday is in December I’d round up friends every year and make a big group of us go. Bonus – perfect excuse to hold hands with that cute boy you’ve invited, ha!
Now that we’re taking the kids, the dress code is a little different for me. Sure, I want to look cute because after all there is a cute boy I happen to like going with us, but function is also important. This is a typical mom outfit for me to wear to this – leggings or jeans and a warm shirt, big pockets (so I don’t have to carry a big bag) and a scarf to keep my neck warm. I sewed up this Denver tunic (available in my shop here) with the scoop neck option in a quilted knit.
You can see, if you look closely, that the knit is actually quilted in a heart pattern! I saw it at Joann when I went to buy something else and had to grab it.
Since I love lights so much, the Coach also adds a lot of sparkle to our front yard.
Practical shoes are also a must for the Trail of Lights, because you will be walking off trail - the display is in a park, after all.
These are some of my favorite displays from the 2016 Trail of Lights.
Something new to me (it's been a couple years since we've gone) is that there is now a ferris wheel and carousel. These are really pretty to look at, but we were unprepared for the kids plees to ride, and at $6/per person that wasn't going to happen for us!
Luckily, we managed to interest the kids in some (free) spinning around under the Zilker Tree.
