Lots of families have holiday entertainment traditions. There are movies that are watched every year (we have Elf), decorating and entertaining, and for many people seeing The Nutcracker is on the list.

This is part of our 100 Things in 2016 challenge. Here’s the full list.

Not so much for us. We saw it, to be sure, just because some of us never had. But this year there was another option that fell into our lap: Portland Ballet’s productions of The Gift Box and The Enchanted Toyshop. We even brought Lucy’s best friend from school and her family, too!

There were two parts to the performance: the Toy Box, which is a brand new ballet, and which seemed like a dance recital without a plot or characters, and The Enchanted Toyshop, which is more like a small chunk of The Nutcracker, with plot and characters. The costumes were a ton of fun, and since most of the dancers were students, the kids had an easier time relating to them than if they were all twenty-somethings who had been dancing their entire lives.