My kids are growing up so fast. My son will be driving soon and my daughter is on the dark side of eleven )some days very, VERY dark). And while Christmas is always a special time, it is never more so than when viewed through the eyes of a child.As a mom of a tween and teen, therefore, I am insistent on creating every possible family memory before they leave the nest and fly off into a much less magical world. This past weekend, we embraced one of those opportunities.

I was provided tickets for the purpose of this article. All opinions are mine. It is my universe, after all.

Attending the Christmas Celebration at Seaworld has become a holiday tradition for my family. We love the snow at the Christmas market during the day and the incredible lights at night.This year, we had a few extra cool (pun intended) new experiences. we met reindeer both real...And fanciful... And if you want to take your Rudolph experience a little further, you can actually have dinner with him! How's that for taking in the season?Of course, no Christmas celebration is complete without a visit with Santa. And in full San Antonio style, it's a Cowboy Santa!The difference in their expressions in both the Santa and Rudolph pictures is priceless, but don't be fooled. That 15 yo nihilist wannabe had a great day. Of course, the rides didn't hurt.The Wave Breaker is a favorite of ours. We had a big moment I can't show you, unfortunately. Tween Girl was finally tall enough to ride the Great White. The Great White doesn't provide all the fun scream pics, but she was bragging that she didn't scream at all!Exhausted and happy, we joyfully wound our way through the beautiful lights until finally saying good night to Seaworld.

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A big thank you to Seaworld for hosting my family. It was truly a magical day!