Our Night at The Nutcracker

For a month, we had been planning our evening at The Nutcracker.  We were going to make sure the girls took a nap that afternoon, get ready in our nice clothes, have a fancy dinner at a great restaurant, and then go to the evening show.

It was going to be perfect!

But here's how it really went:

On Friday, we had our friend's kids spend the night.  It was great, except that all the kids had their last day of school on Friday. 

Which means classroom Christmas Parties.

Which means sugar.

Which means super hyped up kids.

We took them for Pizza and then to look at Christmas lights all over town.

Aren't Christmas lights suppose to be peaceful?

Hmmm....not so much.

I have never quite had that kind of experience looking at Christmas lights.

After that we came home and watched a movie, which I thought was a great way to wind down the evening before bed.

But, in fact, I just believe it gave them the rest they needed before they got their second wind.

So, somewhere around 11ish, they all settled down and fell asleep...

...and then woke up at 6am.

That would have been fine, except for the fact that my family had decided to celebrate Christmas last Saturday afternoon so that my mom could enjoy it on her "off week" from chemo.

So, I made the food, wrapped the packages, and loaded up the car. 

We had a great time together, and my mom was fully able to enjoy herself.

But no time for a nap...or dinner.

We came home, had to spend an hour looking for Faith's dress shoes, (which we never found BTW.  Good thing I had extras, even if they were too big!  Nothing a little tissue paper in the front of the shoe couldn't fix!),  got dressed and off we went.

I was very nervous that the girls were going to fall asleep during the show.  Or worse, that they would have a meltdown.

Doesn't that sound fun?

But I said my prayers, and decided we would just go with whatever happened.

When we arrived to get the tickets from Will-Call, they didn't have them.  But that was no problem.  The kind lady behind the counter simply looked up my name and re-printed the tickets.  I have to say, I was nervous as first, (because if I had gone to all this trouble only to be turned away, I would be the one having a meltdown!), but it all went very smoothly.

The girls in their pretty dresses.  Sorry for the bad photo!  We were trying to hurry in before lights went down...

After that, we went to take our seats.  And whoa, were they good seats!

They were actually PERFECT for the girls, and they could see the entire show easily.

Once the show started, I was just waiting for the complaining to start.  But I am here to tell you that it never happened!!

Addy reading her program

The girls were so fixated on the show that they never once whined or cried, or had to go to the bathroom. 

It was a Christmas miracle.

And honestly, it was one of the best productions of The Nutcracker that I have ever seen.

The dancers were fabulous, the sets were amazing, and the length of the show was perfect for 2 tired little girls.

And of course, the music is always beautiful.

If you have never been to The Nutcracker, I really urge you to check it out next year.  The Dayton Ballet does a phenomenal job and it truly is something everyone should experience.

Plus, The Dayton Ballet has several other performances throughout the year.  I have never been disappointed with them, and can't wait to take the girls again.

So I have to say, even though our evening didn't go as planned, it still ended up great!  And that's what Family Fun is all about!



Disclaimer: I received complimentary tickets to The Dayton Ballet's Performance of The Nutcracker to facilitate this review, but all opinions are mine and completely honest!