A Holly Jolly Christmas In Lawrence

 

Well folks, it’s the holiday season and Christmas is just around the corner. So let's start out with something that I remember doing when I was in Lawrence.

Every December is the holiday season of the year, and every winter in downtown Lawrence, there's a special event happening here in town. And this is something that I'm gonna talk about and remember going to when I was a kid. That is the Lawrence Kansas Old-Fashioned Christmas Parade.

If you love horses, holidays, and history, you'll love the Lawrence Old-Fashioned Christmas Parade. It was once held since 1993, and this all-horse parade features historically accurate wagons, carriages, and horse-drawn vehicles of every sort decorated in holiday finery.

I'll never forget my first time that I went there to see the old-fashioned Christmas parade in downtown Lawrence. At first, I was excited to see it. But now every December the parade will always be held there. I saw everything from horse and carriage rides to Santa Claus on his sleigh on parade. I was really excited to see all of this in Lawrence.That was when my family and I went there for the very first time.

It was fun and totally amazing. And it was mad festive!

So here's what I'll be thinking once I come back to Lawrence and live there once again. When the beginning of December comes, I wanna go downtown and see the old-fashioned Christmas parade just like old times where my family and I went. I'll even get to see the horse-drawn carriages parading down Massachusetts Street as a perfect way to kick off the holiday season. During the parade, I can cozy up and fight the cold with some hot cocoa, and feel the true holiday spirit while watching dozens of beautiful horses and wagons adorned in garland and bells. It was on the 2nd of December this year and marking the 30th year of tradition in Lawrence.

Now let's get the 411 and more about the old-fashioned Christmas parade according to this website. According to the parade website, it says here in the following.

What began in 1993 as one man’s idea to gather friends and spotlight the historic Eldridge Hotel in downtown Lawrence has grown to a nationally recognized all horse power event to celebrate the beginning of the holiday season. From a humble beginning of 21 horse-drawn entries, the parade has hosted as many as 70 horse-powered vehicles paying tribute to the contribution of the horse in our transportation heritage.

The parade is managed by a group of Lawrence citizens and dedicated volunteers who spend many hours each year to organize, prepare accommodations, extend our hospitality and insure the safety of both entrants and spectators. It would take many pages to list all those who have contributed their time and energy over the years but they haven’t done it for recognition, only for love of the event. Sponsorships from local businesses, individuals and support from the City of Lawrence have provided the significant funding necessary for an event of this magnitude.

The Lawrence Old Fashioned Christmas Parade is all about memories, those from the past and hopefully creating new ones to carry home with us. Our goal is to take you back to a previous time, perhaps more simple in some ways but certainly more difficult in others. Horses made so many things possible for us in the past and it continues to amaze that something so large is willing to accept us as the leader and allow us to control their lives. Horses teach us so much about life; it’s not what’s in it for you but what you have to give that yields the greatest rewards. For those of us who feel the attraction and connection to horses, it lasts a lifetime and we all hope to have at least one with us forever.

In fact, my next idea for when the day comes is this. If I wanna join the old-fashioned Christmas parade in downtown Lawrence, I can maybe participate in riding in the parade. There's details all about here at the website.

https://lawrencechristmasparade.org/

It's where you can find more info about the parade online. It'll be fun when I get the chance to ride the Christmas parade in Lawrence. And the best part of the parade is that it'll always be fun and magical. I'll come up with something festive and Christmas-themed so that I can enjoy myself for the ride and I can actually wave to the people. It's gonna be awesome once the first day of December comes and when the time comes as always. Cause to be honest with you, I've been joining a parade in downtown Lawrence ever since I lived here, and I will do it again soon.

Also to do that, I can even get somebody to help me out. Like one of my favorite teachers Lois Orth-Lopes, Mr. Andrew, my friend Stephanie, Nancy Trober, or maybe one of my friends at Americana Music Academy. They can help me out with the perfect horse-drawn carriage ride and even pick out the right kind of Christmas favorites to listen to during the ride. It’ll be just like the time I watch ‘Sleigh Ride’ and ‘Jingle Bells’ on a Disney Sing-Along Songs video.

I always imagine what ‘Jingle Bells’ would sound like if I combine the ‘Very Merry Christmas’ video and Bing Crosby’s song with The Andrew Sister together in one segment to put together. And in case you didn’t know on that before, this is what a screenshot of the sleigh ride looks like.

And as we always say before the fun begins, “Let’s Have a Parade!”

What I wanna think of a perfect horse-drawn carriage float for the parade is one with a picture of Camelopard Joey and Big Jay the Jayhawk. And also, we need some music to put in too. Perhaps some of my favorite Christmas hits that I like listening to for the month of December.

My song picks for my Christmas horse-drawn carriage float are:

Sleigh Ride by Leroy Anderson

Jingle Bell Rock by Daryl Hall

Soulful Christmas by James Brown

All I Need Is Love by Cee Lo Green feat. Disney's The Muppets

Jingle Bells by Bing Crosby And The Andrew Sisters

Holly Jolly Christmas by Michael Buble

Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town by Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band

Little Saint Nick by The Beach Boys

Merry Christmas Baby by Otis Redding

Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) by U2

Winter Wonderland by Eurythmics

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays by *NSYNC

Light of Christmas by Owl City & tobyMAC

Santa Baby by Madonna

This Christmas by Joe

My Only Wish (This Year) by Britney Spears

Wonderful Christmastime by Paul McCartney

2000 Miles by Pretenders

Christmas (Don't Be Late) by Alvin and the Chipmunks

Christmas Coming Home by The Cast of Nashville

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! by Dean Martin

December Will Be Magic Again by Kate Bush

Please Come Home For Christmas by Pat Benatar

All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey & Justin Bieber

Do They Know It's Christmas? by Band Aid

Last Christmas by WHAM!

Blue Christmas by Elvis Presley

Santa's Coming For Us by Sia

Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer by Elmo & Patsy

Feliz Navidad by Jose Feliciano

Holidays by Josie Dunn

This Time Of Year by Nikki & Rich

Christmas Time Is Here Again by The Beatles

Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer by Burt Ives

The Twelve Days of Christmas by John Denver & The Muppets

etc.

So I will always remember the time my family and I went to the old-fashioned Christmas parade with me and my family here in Lawrence Kansas, and I can’t wait for me to do that again soon. Everyone’s gonna love my next idea of joining the Christmas parade downtown. You know I don’t mind the snow in Lawrence at all especially when it’s falling down peacefully without a fright. But whenever it get really cold outside, I’ll always remember to bundle up for the winter. And also when it’s really freezing outside, I can sometimes stay indoors with the warm A/C on inside the house. Speaking of which, I’ll talk more about putting up my next vinyl record wall and a new blue screen on in my new condo later on in my next update. I may not like the frozen arctic weather in Lawrence like it’s 20 degrees outside, but sometimes it takes a lot of time to keep myself cozy and warm. If you like snow just like I do sometimes, good for you. But sometimes when I go ride my bike out in this icy weather, the sidewalks can get very slippery. So my advice for that is to wait until the ice melts before bike riding in the sidewalk. For when you don’t wanna fall down or crash or get hurt. But you know… whatever. It never hurts to walk or take the bus somewhere.

Just for safety.

Anyway, if you would like to learn more about my next idea for joining Lawrence’s Old-Fashioned Christmas Parade, let me know on Facebook. Also, check out the website. The link is right where you see it. You know the drill.

Now here’s another thing that I remember doing when I was in Lawrence. (Okay, well…a couple more things.) I remember when I was little when everything in Lawrence was snowed in, I got outside and played in the snow. We even threw snowballs at each other, built a snowman (Actually, we built a snow fort out in the front yard), and we even went sledding at the top of the hill in KU. I also remember those icicles hanging on the gutters and on the roofs over downtown. They would also come in handy and be used as stirring drinks in cups…I think. In my younger day when I was in high school, it was snowy too. In fact, I even went sledding downtown too, including at the park. I even went down the hill…AGAIN!

That was fun too!

Another thing I remember during Best Buddies is the time Max and I went down to Kansas City and did a little Christmas shopping at the Country Club Plaza. The funniest part before we walked around is that time I made a snow angel at the plaza. Max thought that was funny, especially when I kinda got a little wet from the snow. At least we got together like best buddies do as always. One time we went to Barnes & Noble, I was at the music section of the store. And I bought myself an album from Alicia Keys. Then we went to Pizzeria Uno for a special dinner outing. It was really fun too. On one of the TVs, they were showing Hannah Montana on the screen. No wonder every restaurant can have television screens to show something good to watch. I just wish that I can go to Kansas City again and go shopping someday. Speaking of which, there’s yet another thing I remember doing with my family here at the plaza. My dad and I went to Cinemark and got together to see a movie. One time, my family and I saw Frozen in theaters and we loved it. Same review as the time we saw Wreck-It Ralph, The Peanuts Movie, and etc. Going to the movies anytime is the time to get together and enjoy ourselves some popcorn.

Oh wait, I almost forgot something that I also remember doing when I was at Liberty Hall during the Christmas Tree Showcase. I was playing the Forrest Gump Suite on piano at the stage.

Okay, moving on. Here’s another idea that I wanna consider when I’m in Lawrence every holiday season. If you like going to the movies, then you’ll love this one.

What if we can get together for a special holiday movie showing just like what they do at the drive-in. I have a few choices of some movies that we can watch together. In case you forgot again, here’s the link where you can find it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIp4wLQy_WA

1. Elf

2. A Charlie Brown Christmas

3. Ernest Saves Christmas

4. The Santa Clause

5. The Muppet Christmas Carol

6. Eight Crazy Nights

7. Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas

8. Home Alone

9. The Grinch

10. Mickey’s Magical Christmas: Snowed In At The House of Mouse

11. I’ll Be Home For Christmas

12. The Nuttiest Nutcracker

13. Yogi’s First Christmas

14. Bah Humbug! A Looney Tunes Christmas

15. Disney’s Frozen

16. Rise of The Guardians

17.  National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

18. Snow Day

19. Deck The Halls

20. A Christmas Story

If we can make this happen when the holiday season comes, we can plan on that also. That way we enjoy a nice holiday movie together outdoors or indoors. I’m thinking of a special Christmas party. And I hope that someday when it’s time, I’ll do that. And to make it work, I’ll have to call someone up when I’m living in Lawrence once again like Eric and Jill, or Stephanie, or one of my best buddies. That way we can all enjoy a movie together, just like when we go to the movie theater. Although we can also see movies at Hollywood Theaters in Lawrence too.

Okay, now here’s something that I wanna share with you guys. When I visiting my folks living in Kansas City, we all got together here and spend Christmas together with the family. I’ll never forget those special memories we shared. And I’d hope that we will do that again someday, then we can spend time and open presents. Which I hope that I’ll do soon. I’ll also remember the time we all got together and watched the Christmas lighting here at the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City. We really love doing that too, and I also hope that we’ll do that again also.

Now here’s something that I would really love to do on New Year’s Eve.

Every night whenever it’s New Year’s Eve, I go downtown and find someplace to spend it at. One time, I was at Jackpot Saloon and I saw 88er perform here and it was amazing there. I got to see Jack Kevin Proctor singing on stage. His band was awesome to see for the celebration. We even got to countdown the last ten seconds for the new year. Heck, we even got to watch the ball drop on TV. That was fun!

So I’ve been thinking about this idea that I think you’re gonna like.

What do you think if Carswell & Hope performed at R Bar & Patio for a special Rockin’ New Year’s Eve Party. We can have fun, enjoy some food and wings, and hang out together until we countdown the ten seconds for the new year. Or maybe we can do that here at Johnny’s Tavern in North Lawrence. That would be real fun to do for New Year’s Eve for a special time! Don’t you agree with me? How ‘bout that!

If you guys like me ideas and stories about Christmas and New Year’s, let me know on the comments below and on Facebook. I’d really like to hear from you.

Well anyway, that’s all for this blog. Check back later for the next one coming up real soon.

Have a very merry Christmas and a happy new year!

From our family to yours.

Happy holidays!