ICE! featuring Christmas Around the World at Gaylord Palms

Baby, it's cold outside!! You don't get to say that much here in sunny south Florida, but last weekend at the ICE! featuring Christmas Around the World display at the spectacular Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center in Orlando, we sure got to be cold and have a fabulous time while doing it too. 

We donned our own hats and gloves, and the parkas (which they provided) and braved the freezing cold just so we could see what all the happy fuss was about (everyone who has seen it loves it). It did not disappoint.  

Over 2 million pounds of hand-carved ice sculptures depicting Christmas scenes from all around the world were on display. If you didn't know they were ice, you might not even be able to tell. The talent in these rooms was beyond amazing.

I love the fact that the ice was colored and made the characters look even more realistic. There were definitely photo opportunities everywhere you looked, like this classic Santa scene seen above, depicting a U.S. Christmas.

The United Kingdom display made me wistful. While I love holidays here, I do think it would be so nice to spend just one Christmas with the family in London. :)

Here you see my granddaughter and her daddy enjoying the scenes. I love that they had on matching gloves (it's always the little things that make you smile).

You're never too old to play outside in the winter, right? My 18-year-old daughter proved that to be true, by climbing in and under some of the tunnels that were on display. She may be grown now, but she's still a big kid at heart.  

Some of the scenes made me feel nostalgic, like the carolers you see above. Notice the little girl's pony tail sticking straight up in the air? How cute is that??

Ice! Christmas Around the World was such a fun way to spend some time with the family. The cultural displays allowed lessons to be taught too, both to the kids, and to us. None of us knew that in the Netherlands they leave carrots in a shoe for Sinterklass' horse...but now we do! I always like to learn about holiday traditions in other places, this is the most visual way I have been able to do so, for sure. :)

By the time we got to the end of the very large rooms full of displays, my 4-year-old grandbaby was about done with the cold and ready to go out we came across the huge multi-lane ice slides. Guess who got a second wind??

If you guessed my granddaughter, you would be correct. ;) Here's a picture of her laughing it up while going down the slide, and her dad attempting to get her picture through the ice. 

Everyone took their turn. Some of us got to go down together. That's my youngest son in the middle there, and his other siblings are behind him waiting their turn to go. As you can see, this adventure was fun for the kiddos and adults alike, just like everything else was at the ICE! Christmas Around the World adventure.

I asked my 2nd oldest if he missed the cold weather (we used to live up north for a bit. His response said it all. ;)  I can't say I miss the cold up north (because I don't) but it was still fun to experience it this way, for a short amount of time, during a holiday-oriented getaway. 

I thought everything was just great, but it was the huge Nativity Scene on the way out that really captured my attention and made this event beyond spectacular. Filling a whole room with the scene from baby Jesus being born, it was definitely a wonder to see. I am in awe that they can do these kinds of things with ice. This was the only display not colored in, and the dark background of sky lit with twinkling stars was definitely the perfect touch. This picture I have does not even do it justice, it was absolutely stunning in person.

The gift shoppe on the way out had everything you could possibly want or need for Christmas, including these cute, plush elves,

and these most excellent gingerbread homes that could light up.

I even found a reindeer in there that I took home. Cute, isn't he? ;)

When you leave the display area, there are SO many activities that you can do with the kids, including a little workshop area where you get to meet a walking Gingerbread Man. The kids thought that was a hoot!! I have to admit, it was my first time to see one too (I kept thinking of the Shrek movies, lol). 

We also got to have a Meet & Greet with Snoopy. He was very personable and gave everyone in our party big hugs, except the guys...he gave them High-5's. LOL. We love Snoopy. AND we love ICE! Christmas Around the World.

This display is running now through January 7th, and I highly recommend it for everyone!  Learn more by visiting here!