THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, December 5, 1995 TAG: 9512050039
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH SIMPSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 119 lines
OK, PARENTS, we've just moved into that inevitable time each year when we must Create Our Children's Christmas Memories.
Don't just sit there watching reruns of the ``The Dick Van Dyke Show.'' The least you can do is switch over to ``Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'' and microwave some hot chocolate.
And for those who are more motivated than that, here are some more ideas for merry-making:
1. Take the kiddos to Christmas Wonderland at Coleman Nursery. You've got to see the displays to believe them. Twenty holiday scenes are made up of nearly 700 animated figures that turn and spin and pound elf shoes with tiny hammers. Santa is on hand for youngsters who haven't mailed off their Christmas lists.
The nursery is at the corner of High Street and Cedar Lane in Portsmouth. Display hours: Monday through Thursday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Dec. 31.
Santa's hours: Monday through Friday 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday noon to 6 p.m. through Dec. 31.
Cost: 25 cents per child, 50 cents per adult.
2. Remember how Mom and Dad used to pile everyone in the car and go for a drive looking for Christmas lights? Well, things are easier nowadays - you don't have to hunt so hard. Here are two hot spots that will widen the eyes of tiny tots.
The Garden of Lights at Norfolk Botanical Gardens is a 30-minute drive through 2 miles of garden pathways. An estimated 200,000 five-watt light bulbs illuminate the park. A four-seasons theme takes spectators from spring to summer to fall to winter, which has Santa and his reindeer, a candy land and a 20-foot tall nutcracker.
Hours: Sunday through Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. through Jan. 1.
Cost: $7 per car Monday through Thursday; $9 per car Friday through Sunday.
Holiday Lights at the Beach is a new Christmas attraction on the Boardwalk in Virginia Beach. The lights are up from Eighth to 33rd streets, with the entrance at Eighth Street and Atlantic Avenue.
Hours: Sunday through Thursday 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. through Jan. 7.
Cost: $7 per car, cash only. No vehicles larger than 15-passenger vans are allowed.
3. A great way to get into the spirit of Christmas is to pick out a tree. There are loads of choose-and-cut Christmas tree farms out there. Check with your local agricultural agent to find one in your area.
We only have room to mention one of the farms, but there are several that offer wagon rides and other children's activities to liven up your tree-picking. The Clay Hill Christmas Tree Farm in Suffolk has wagon rides, pony rides, a petting zoo and a train ride. The farm is located 4 miles south of the Suffolk airport on Route 32 South. Call 986-2459 for more specific directions.
Hours: 9 a.m. to sunset seven days a week through Dec. 24. Children's activities available from 10 a.m. until dark on the weekends and 2 p.m. until dark during the week.
Cost: Children's activities free with the purchase of a tree, which start at $25.
4. Don't stop with just a tree. Enlist the kids in decorating it, and the rest of the house, while they're in the spirit.
Home-made decorations don't have to be masterpieces. One of the easiest and most colorful is the paper chain. Just buy a package of construction paper, grab some glue and scissors and you're halfway there.
For more elaborate decorations, find ideas in magazines or library craft books.
5. Show the tykes what Christmas used to be like with a horse-drawn carriage ride. The Founders Inn, 977 Centerville Turnpike, Virginia Beach, offers rides.
Horses take passengers past lighted trees on the Christian Broadcasting Network campus. While you're there, you can also watch a live Nativity scene, which is performed on selected days.
Carriage ride hours: Monday through Thursday 6:30 p.m. until 9:30 p.m., Friday through Sunday 6 p.m. until 11 p.m. through Dec. 30.
Cost: $8 per adult; $5 per child.
Live Nativity Scene will be performed Thursday through Sunday and Dec. 14 through Christmas Day from 7 to 10 p.m. every half hour.
6. Dress up in your velveteen best, or snap on your best bow tie, and go to a holiday performance. There's a kazillion of 'em out there this time of year, from Nutcracker ballets to opera productions to Christmas plays at your local school.
Here's just one program that's sure to appeal to kids: ``Best Christmas Pageant Ever'' and ``Happy Hanukkah My Friend.'' Hurrah Players will present these plays at 7 p.m. Dec. 15 and 3 p.m. Dec. 16 and 17 at the Old Dominion University Theatre in Norfolk. Tickets are $6. Call 627-KIDS for more information.
7. Celebrate Kwanzaa, an African-American festival. Established in 1966, Kwanzaa emphasizes the seven principles of Africa's harvest festival, seen as vital to building strong communities. Listen to an African drum call, create your own masks and listen to some gospel music at a Kwanzaa festival at The Art Atrium, 629 High St. in Portsmouth. The festivities start at 3 p.m. and end at 5 p.m. Dec. 26.
8. Volunteer together as a family at a shelter or other charity.
Churches have programs where you can provide a meal and gifts for a family. Or check with the Salvation Army about picking up Christmas stockings to fill for needy children.
You can also take your child to a toy store to select gifts for children who live in shelters. Or check the malls for Angel Trees, where you can select names to buy toys and clothes for needy children, then leave them under tree.
Call Volunteer Connection at 624-2400 for more information on volunteer opportunities.
9. If the weather outside is frightful, stay inside and bake cookies. You can't pick up a magazine this month without running into a cookie recipe.
If you're all thumbs in the kitchen, buy the slice-and-cook dough at the grocery store. That's why God invented the little dough boy, right?
And then buy a mess of cookie decorations like sprinkles and frosting and let the kids go crazy.
10. Now that you've jingled your bells and decked your halls, relax. Go to your neighborhood video store and check out some Christmas videos.
``The Grinch Who Stole Christmas,'' ``Frosty the Snowman'' and ``Charlie Brown Christmas'' are perennial favorites. Pop some corn, heat up some hot chocolate and settle down for a long winter's night. by CNB