Scroll to the bottom and press play for music!
We recently had a Dickens' Christmas Towne giveaway on our Facebook, and Chelsea and I decided to check it out for ourselves. It's located in the Half Moon Cruise Center, next to Waterside in downtown Norfolk. We parked in the garage across the street which was $5.00 cash. When you walk into Christmas Towne, it's as if you've been transported back in time and landed in a victorian London village. There are street performers, push cart peddlers, jugglers, and old time shops. Our favorite of the shops was Hears the Scoop where we shared a large ice cream.
There is a stage in the back where there are magic shows, musical artists, and puppet shows. We walked into an older couple performing who seemed to know how to play every instrument there is. Impressive in itself. They did a good job of involving the kids in the crowd. The next thing we saw was a magic act, where I had to physically restrain R from the stage.
Scattered around throughout were little things to do for kids (and adults!). There was a snowball toss that was particularly popular, hopscotch, ring toss, and so on. There were also people walking around singing and entertaining. There was also a booth to take old timey photos for a fee.
We also stopped into Abby's Craft Corner where they had coloring pages, ornament making, and some felt trees to decorate up on the wall. R was much more interested in emptying out the basket of felt decorations. Yay toddlers!
Our favorite part of the whole experience was the Once Upon a Time Room. This room is set up like a child's bedroom and has a talking book, bookworm, and a storyteller. These stories run pretty consistently. We saw Peter Pan, and the storyteller did a good job of involving the kids. We had to be the crockodile and chomp with our arms and make ticking noises. We had to clap for Tinkerbell to help her get her light back.
Don't skip the outside area where there is a maze and views of the water.
Tips:
- Check your child's school around this time. They send out a coloring sheet where a child can get in free.
- NPS teachers- if you call, you can get TWO FREE tickets!
- Be on the lookout for military and city employee weekends. On these days you can get into Nauticus and Christmas Towne for the price of one.
- Take a camera or make sure your phone is charged. There are lots of photo opportunities.
- Check across the street for the FREE train show. Here is the post on this!
- Grab a Who Done It sheet coming in. Figure out who did the crime and you can win a prize.
- Check out the talking Christmas tree. Creepy, haha.
- There are some after Christmas events, such as an Ice Party, and Princess and Pirate Party. On December 27th children 12 and under are free if they come dressed as a princess or pirate. There is also a New Year's Eve balloon drop at 3 p.m. We hope to blog this event also.
- On your way out ask for a free appetizer coupon for Waterside!
Special shout out to Chelsea. Sometimes it's hard when you have a baby and your best friend doesn't. I know that lots of moms have complained about losing friends. Being a mom is awesome, but it can sometimes feel isolating if you're the first of your friends to join this sisterhood. I actually think that Chelsea likes our friendship MORE now that I have a kid. I'll leave you with my favorite Christmas song of all time!
