Welcome back to reality, friends! It’s the first day back to work after the Christmas holiday and it feels like a “case of the Mondays”. Thank goodness it is Wednesday and only a few short days separate us from another long weekend of celebrations.
The 2017 Christmas was full of new traditions for us. Normally, we fly to snowy New Hampshire to brave the cold temperatures and visit friends and family. This year, we stayed home and enjoyed our first Christmas in Charlotte.
Christmas Eve Day we started with the church Christmas program and then drove into Uptown Charlotte. It was game day for the Panthers so the city was humming! We parked by the 7th Street Public Market, had gluten free pizza at Brixx Pizza (where they validated our parking for the day), shopped at CLT Find, found all the Christmas decorations in the city and stopped to watch the game with a maple latte at Coco and the Director.
Uptown Charlotte Christmas Things to Do
- Local Christmas Gifts at CLT Find.
- A Holiday Wonderland at The Ritz-Carlton: trees made out of macarons, a life-size gingerbread house and a croquembouche tree at Bar Cocoa. Outside the hotel is a 17 foot tree made out of recycled plastic bottles.
- Giant Christmas Ball Ornaments by Wells Fargo Bank on S Tryon Street.
- Singing Bearstein Bears at Founder’s Hall. The lobby of Founder’s Hall is also decorated quite beautifully.
- Ice Skating at The Nascar Hall of Fame.
By far our favorite cafe find in Charlotte is Coco and the Director. They serve locally roasted coffee and feature artisans from around the area. This unique spot includes a rising staircase with pillows for lounging to watch a sports game or to chat with friends.
Christmas Day 2017
For the first time, we had the entire day to ourselves. I made Apple Coffee Cake for breakfast accompanied by freshly brewed organic coffee in our new Chemex. Our gifts to one another were pajama sets and slippers. Every year we take our Christmas morning portraits by the tree. Since we were alone this year, I set up the tripod and we captured some fun pajama portraits together.
Christmas dinner was pork tenderloin, garlic mashed potatoes and fresh green beans. After dinner we FaceTimed with family, snacked on cookies and watched movies together. It was a perfect day spent with my best friend celebrating the birth of Jesus!
