Back in 2020, when we were not allowed to gather as a large family due to COVID, I was looking for a way to fill the void my immediate family was feeling. You see, we have a BIG family. On both sides. And not being able to see them, hug them, eat with them… laugh and play games, watch movies and sleep over... made us sad. (And also, quite frankly a little bored.) So, I created a new tradition for us, The Christmas Crawl.

The idea was, that instead of popping from pub to pub, as the “crawl” term usually referrs, we would bop around town doing all the holiday things. To involve our MIA family members (and to make it more suspenseful and fun for my kids) I had them call a different family member to find out each destination. This way, we *kind of* felt like we were hanging out with them, while we FaceTimed and drove to our next destination.

Needless to say, the event was a hit and even though we were back to gathering (large and loud) in living rooms to celebrate in 2021, I decided to continue the new tradition. Instead of calling everyone, I wrote clues.

This year, in 2022, we’ll be at it again. Don’t get me wrong. I love our big, loud, overly involved family; however, I also love that this tradition is just for the four of us. But I thought that others might want to jump in on the tradition and plan their own Christmas Crawl. To that end, here are several ideas and locations we have visited (in the La Crosse Area) the last two years.

** We are doing our Christmas Crawl on Friday, December 23rd this year and I’ll be sure to come back and update this post with our new stops. But for now, I’m going to keep them a secret, because while my kids don’t read my blog, my husband might… and the surprise-quality of the night (for all 3 of them!) is part of what makes it so fun for me. I was going to wait and share this post after we went, but decided that it would be too late for you to plan your own Christmas Crawl this year, so I guess you’ll just have to be patient and work with what I’ve got here, plus your own great ideas! **

Cocoa

We usually begin our evening with a stop for hot cocoa. We’ve been to The Grind (Holmen) and Kwik Trip. It just depends on the day of the week and what’s open. We are going to try a third (different) destination downtown this year. If you know me at all, you won’t have to guess.

Charitable Donations

Part of Christmas for us, is giving to others. We have taken cookies to the Warming House, donated to the Catholic Charities drop box, and made financial contributions to Gundersen Lutheran Hospice (in honor of Matt’s mom).

Lights (and Trees)!!

It isn’t Christmas without the lights and Christmas Trees. We’ve been to see the Rotary Lights, both in our car and walking, and also from the Pettibone Beach side (just for a new angle). The David Reay’s Christmas Tree also made an appearance in 2020’s crawl. Another one of our favorite stops is to go up to Granddad’s Bluff at sunset time and watch the city lights come to life.

But perhaps our favorite light display is the Miller Family Christmas Lights (1411 15th St. S. La Crosse, WI) I’ll leave this mini video here for you to give you a sneak peek, but believe me when I tell you, you NEED to go and see it for yourself.

Food

That first year, when going to a restaurant was still frowned upon, we bought our own food and made it at my auntie’s condo on the river. Even though we were the ones cooking, the change in scenery (especially when all we had been doing was staying home!) felt special. Last year we went to Hungry Peddler and loved it! The food was amazing and the décor totally put us in the holiday spirit! We challenged our picky eaters to each try one new food. Their choice? Cheese curds (I told you… they are picky eaters, or perhaps more accurately downright fearful of new foods!) and gave them a thumbs up!

Movies

In 2020 we watched a movie (Elf, I think) while we ate at the condo and last year we went to Sing 2 at the theater. I guess this isn’t really a Christmas-y item, but we still had fun!

For a final recap, here are were our stops in 2020 and 2022!

Red and Blue Snowflake Pattern Christmas Flyer.png

My Christmas Crawl Wish List

As I planned this year, I hunted for a few things I did not find. I would LOVE to participate in a family friendly Christmas Trivia event (Howie’s… I’m looking at you!) or maybe some Christmas Karaoke? I think that someone downtown is doing that second item, but only after 9PM and with a ten and twelve year old, we are still in the “family show” category. I’d also love for more restaurants to “up their anty” when it comes to holiday décor.

Other potential ideas I’ve had include: caroling, volunteering, creating a gingerbread house and cookie making/delivering. (As well as 4 brand new dynamite stops I’m including this year. If you want to know, DM me on Facebook or Instagram!)

What do you think? Do you have some ideas to throw my way for next year’s Christmas Crawl? Shout them out in the comments. No matter how you choose to celebrate this wonderful season, I hope you get to do it with the people you love (even if it’s only on FaceTime).

Merry Christmas from The Zieba Family and the Word Nerd!

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