Winona, Warsaw, and Chicago at Christmastime

I just love a town that knows how to celebrate Christmas. And while I absolutely adore a small-town Christmas, getting out to the city is pretty magical this time of year. With Christmas Eve TOMORROW I am in full swing of all the Christmas joys.

I wanted to get a post up before Christmas with some pictures and all I've been up to, but I did choose to just use my phone to snap pictures this time around, rather than my good camera. It's so important to soak up the time with family and friends and enjoy good fellowship and living in the moment, so as I begin this whole blogging thing I want to be sure it doesn't take away from real life. I love documenting memories and having pictures to look back on, but I don't ever want to miss the real deal because I'm busy "making the memory." Anyway, that's all bonus...on to the post haha!

Winona Lake Village

A few friends of mine from school decided to start out our break with a day at Winona Lake Village (home of Grace College). It's such a cute town with artsy little shops and the best coffee shop called Light Rail where we grabbed some lunch and caffeinated!

One of my favorite artisan shops is called MudLOVE, and the story above is so cute of the melding of this business with Bel Kai. The two shop owners got married! Cute! Anyway, MudLOVE bracelets and pottery are pretty popular around where I'm from. If you're not familiar, check out their website here: https://www.mudlove.com/ The mission is pretty cool, as every piece helps bring clean water to Africa.

We had gorgeous weather, which was great for walking around between shops. Winona is adorable, but my review is that it is most fun in the summer, as they don't decorate tons for Christmas. Warsaw Central Park is another story though...

Warsaw Central Park

Every year at Christmastime, Warsaw Central Park sets up a great light display, complete with hot chocolate. We had to laugh at the Christmas pop music killing our classy vibe...where's Michael Bublé when you need him? ;) But seriously, it was so fun to walk though the lights with my sweet friends to finish off an awesome day and start Christmas break in the mood!

Chicago

On Friday, my family and uncle headed out to Chicago for the day to experience the magic of the city at Christmas...I was not disappointed! We also hit the shortest day of the year: perfect for light viewing!!

We started the day out at Macys. Can't miss the big tree!

The outside was cute too...

And I thought this little guy had some great news to share...

Then we headed over to the Grand Lux Cafe for lunch and it was DELICIOUS. I had glazed salmon and it was to die for (and while I am a big seafood girl, fish has to be pretty stinking good for me to say that!). Not to mention, the atmosphere is amazing. Think Cheesecake Factory interior overlooking the Magnificent Mile...ideal for people watching, especially if you're in a group of two to four and can snag a window seat!

After some window shopping and hunting for the most expensive products in Chicago just for kicks, we finished up with skating the Chicago loop. For some reason, skating in the city at Christmas has been a big bucket list item for me, and it was SO fun! Thankfully, we grew up skating so we had our own skates and were able to skip the line and enjoy the rink for free...that's the way to do it, folks!

We taught my uncle how to skate:) It had been a hot minute for him since the last time, and was probably kind of intimidating with ALL the people. But my brother promised him he would catch him before he fell...haha nothing like a promise you're not sure you can keep ;)

And our view...

It may not be the best picture in the world, but this was taken from the skating loop! Isn't the skyline great?!

A few more pictures of various lights throughout the day...

The city is breathtaking at Christmas, shops are buzzing, lights are beautiful, and it's sure fun to check out the cute shops and find just the right unique gift for your favorite people. But Christ is the ultimate gift. This Christmas I've been really challenged that "All I Want For Christmas is You" is my mindset about Christ and not my gifts, my friends, or even my family. It is so incredibly amazing that a large portion of the world stops what they are doing to celebrate my dear Savior's birth. And while many may ignore the real reason for the season and get swept up in Santa Claus and his gifts coming down the chimney, they are still stoping and giving gifts just like God gave His Son for us. And Christmas isn't just for Christians...it's also an amazing time to share the GOOD NEWS of great joy that many are more receptive to hearing this time of year. So go tell it on the mountain, or the streets of Chicago, or the halls of your great grandma's house. Merry Christmas!