December has snuck up on us this year, can’t believe the Santa Claus parade is already happening (granted it was early, being held on the 25th of November)! Ryley’s school, Building Blocks Academy, asked for help putting together a float to enter the parade – we ended up having a pretty busy Saturday night and Sunday morning / afternoon putting it all together!
Josh was invited to ride on the float as an ‘alumni’ of the school, so we dressed him up like an elf for the ride. Ryley, meanwhile, was too little to be able to ride on the float (the BBA put their older kids on), so we decorated her stroller like a sleigh with a reindeer in front (complete with lights) and put her in a Rudolph costume. Jenn pushed her around the route while I rode on the float with Josh as was required!
The kids did a few dance numbers on the street during the parade, so they did a quick little practice in the parking lot beforehand (good thing Josh remembered all the moves)! Our friend Alex (below, right) came along to hand out candy along the way, plus we ran into one of Ryley’s favorite people (Hannah, below left – daughter of friends of ours).
And off we go!
Ryley was able to sneak onto the float after their 2nd street dance, apparently she was telling Jenn that she wanted to ride on the float with Josh (even though she was enjoying her ride on her makeshift sleigh)!
After all that waving, Josh still had the energy to help break down the float afterwards – what a trooper! We were near the front of the line in the procession so we made our way back to see a few other floats after we were done.
It was fun being in the parade instead of watching from the sidewalk, the kids enjoyed it too and thought it was cool to wave to some of their friends they saw as we drove by!