Christkindl

It's that time of year....when all of downtown Denver decks out for the holidays. I have to admit that it always makes me wide-eyed as a child to see it.
QQ was a bit more jaded about the whole thing, coming as she does from the mean streets of Xuzhou ;), but we decided to bundle her up and take her down to Lodo's Skyline Park where this year's Christkindl is taking place. The German Christmas festival, has, in previous years, taken up residence in Cherry Creek, so we were glad of the opportunity to see it so close to home.
On the way down 16th Street, we stopped to show Q her first horse (that we know of), a gorgeous draft horse named Heather (just look at those feet! Aren't they luscious?)

Christkindl is yet another of those things about Denver that makes you feel like you're living in a small town rather than a sprawling and bustling city. I love the buckets and baskets of hand-knitted socks and peaked caps, warm winter scarves and mittens.
The strollers were out in force, checking out the booths of handblown and carved ornaments.
This was my favorite booth...something about it...
We even had the chance to see Sinterklaas (well, that's how you spell it in Dutch... is it the same in German? I'm not sure.) who is at least to my eye so much nicer and more elegant than our Americanized Santa at the mall. He even has a real beard! Although QQ (as you can see by her squinty gaze) was very suspicious, and I think she was convinced that his beard was fake, because just after I snapped this picture she reached out and tried to snatch it off his face. Needless to say, it didn't budge, and Q had to concede that Sinterklaas was, if not entirely trustworthy, at least genuine.
The clock tower lit up for the holidays.
Mmmmmmmmmmm.....marzipan!!!! I am a fool for marzipan. I managed to resist buying any, because for me, a single marzipan is a slippery slope into marzipan gluttony. Like potato chips, I can't stop at just one. However, the market does go all the way until Christmas eve...
Stars decorating Skyline Park.
There was even a toddler-sized carousel...ride at your own risk!
QQ is to small to ride unattended, so M. risked the integrity of a tiny chariot in order to ride with her. I'm not sure whether she enjoyed the experience...but she has time to come to appreciate the carousel. Mommy's a bit of a carousel junkie.
We topped off the evening by driving by the Capitol building on our way to take daddy back to work.
...oh, and remember that booth full of lovely, delicate wooden ornaments? Well, I told myself I could chose just one. After several passes by the booth and a great deal of deliberation, I chose this humble tree. I think I made the right choice. What do you think?