Holidazzle Parade - Questions

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Long johns, snow pants, extra warm mittens & hats, and hot chocolate!

Yes, it is fun and worth it. Dress very warm...long johns, snow pants etc. To get a good spot, you will need to get there early. Bring something to sit on...a chair (at least for your daughter) or a warm blanket (to sit on the sidewalk or a cement bench...very cold). Plan a spot a head of time and park near by. Once it is over, it is a little crowded so know where you are going to get out quickly. The crowd quickly changes once th families are gone!!

We went this past Saturday. My adult age niece works for Xcel energy and they were sponsoring the parade, so about 300 of their employees were in it that night. My niece was a Hobo clown and her step daughter was an elephant from the Circus Parade "float" They had a blast and it made it fun to be watching for them, even tho they came by in a quick blur!

It was very cold. As an adult, I had on an under layer (I use for snowmobiling) that are like snug fleece sweatpants, with an over layer of mid weight lounge/sweats, good snowmobiling boots (I don't wear socks in them), an under layer long sleeve top, tucked in for no drafts, and a 2 layer winter coat (with the fleece liner dealy), a fleece neck gator, a hat and good snow mittens. I also had a few of those "hot hands" things, as I have nerve damage in one foot so always worry about frostbite there and thought I might need to slip one in my boot. I did end up warming 2 of them and used in my gloves as I kept taking them off to take pictures and adjust hats and mitts for the little ones we were with. Some of the little ones with us had their fleece tied together blankets to wrap around themselves for extra warmth. When you stand still, with the wind coming down the Mall there...it can be pretty cold!

Most of the other adults just had jeans on, nothing under and were "whining" they were cold..LOL..not me! Just my hands and face were.

Little ones all had full snowsuits (kids up to age 10 with us)...coats, snow pants and the works.One used some of my hot hands too but they got too hot for her. All were drinking hot chocolate bought at the stand near where we were. Adults had coffee. It was cold, and hate temps and windchills are supposed to plummet in this next week here in the MPLS area, so don't worry about fashion...stay warm if you go!

We parked at a parking lot at the end of Nicollet, near the library. I wish I knew the cross street, but I rarely drive down there..hubby knows his way around much better! But it is the end of the parade route as we saw parade participants climbing into the warmed busses to take them back to wherever they go back to change, etc..and saw floats go by while we warmd our truck and waited our turn to get out of the lot. We watched the parade down at the other end, acrpss from Target. The walk was actually nice to warm up! And just a straight shot to get there.

Have fun and stay warm!

The parade is quick - about 1/2 hour long but do dress her in snowpants. We usually bring chairs but it's not necessary. Good luck!

To see what the crowds are like, check out the first clip. To see what the floats are like click the second link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qihuqntwnmw&feature=re...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZ0kL5h9eCQ