O Christmas Tree

A few weeks ago, I was browsing the internet when I came across information on the National Christmas Tree lighting. When I lived in NYC, I was never able to attend the Rockefeller Tree lighting {welcome to the world of working at a law firm}. Not that I felt left out for this, as the mass of crowds smooshed for blocks in between the buildings never really appealed to me. But when I noticed that the National Tree lighting at the Eclipse in President's Park was based on a lottery system I thought it might be worth a try. So, I entered my name not expecting much to come from it. A few days later, I received an email that I had been selected for two tickets. It was for the standing room section only {envious of those people who had reserved seating}, but Chris and I decided to brave the cold anyway.

Although the standing room section was actually not that crowded, it did have limited views. We could see a corner of the stage, no thanks to the millions of television cameras set up on the stand in front of us. We also had a view of the upper half of the tree. Nevertheless, it really was worth going {despite the continuing frigid temps}. We listened to holiday performances by Sarah Barielles, Ingrid Michaelson, BB King {suited up in a shiny jacket}, Maroon Five, and several other nationally acclaimed performers. President Obama spoke briefly on the meaning of the season. I could see his tiny outline when I stood on my tiptoes. Then the First Family "lit" the 40foot tree, and the First Lady read The Night Before Christmas {she actually skipped a few pages then had to go back to read those so it turned out to be a bit of a disaster for her, although she recovered nicely}. Mrs. America led a group sing-along {at this point, we began to make our exit}.

Waiting for the action to start. That's the National Menorah directly behind us.

The tip of the tree is to Chris's right. It looks small in this picture but actually is about 40 feet. Below the one of Chris waiting excitedly for Mr. President, is a quick pic I snapped of the lit tree as we were leaving {on my point and shot so not the best quality}.