Every December, the local public high school's marching band puts on Santa hats and marches up and down the streets, horns a-blaring.
They're in shirtsleeves and shorts, but they're playing "Feliz Navidad" like nobody's business. It's their gift to the neighbors, and we all love it.
And yeah, it's usually in the 70s, maybe 60s if it's chilly, and yeah, those are my neighbor's palm trees in the background. But it's Christmas carols they are playing.
This year they marched right by our brand-new picket fence and didn't say a word about the change! Something to do with keeping time and making music and holding your instrument at the proper angle and being on the right foot, I suppose.
Oh, those Sousaphones! How I love them.
And right after the band comes the drill team, with one impossibly cute girl after another:
Bringing up the rear, the banner gals. I'm not sure how many holidays the girl on the left is celebrating at one time; those look like Easter Bunny ears on top of her Santa hat!
There they go, with their precision candy-cane moves and cute grey track suits:
And of course, bringing up the rear comes the John Deere mini-tractor with the Rudolph nose and antlers:
Because no parade is complete without one.
What a fun, neighborhood tradition! Reminds me of a smaller version of our town's annual Christmas parade (going on today!) that started out small many years ago and has grown to a 3-hour parade complete with bands, scouts, volunteer groups, animals, children, and more -- all parading down 5 blocks of our main street. The year we adopted our first Greyhound, we joined the Greyhound Friends For Life group entry, and since we couldn't leave our Great Dane alone we took her too -- other breeds weren't supposed to come, but we had Tasha wear a sign that said "King's Best Friend!" They were so cute in their holiday coats and scarves, and such good sports 'cuz it was cold and rainy! How fun to have your own "private" parade come right to your street! Thanks for sharing. xoxo
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