Breakfast with Santa - Brookfield Zoo

Brookfield zoo is a treasure we honestly cherish in our family. The kids love it and a membership more than pays for itself. Brookfield zoo has felt some financial pain lately, as many of us have. We go as often as we can and consider every dollar well spent -we donate when we can and try to show our support by attending events and patronizing the food vendors and gift shops. So this Sunday 12/19/10 we bundled up our littlest ones after church and headed off to have breakfast with Santa!

We were greeted outside the Discovery Center by a friendly lama (alas - no duck):




We ran into an old friend:




Told Santa and Mrs. Clause how GOOD we've been all year:




And then headed off to breakfast.
The room was cozy on a windy cold Chicago day:




and the band kept us entertained:




Food was simple but well done...
Blueberry muffins, Danish and fruit salad:





French toast and potatoes:





Scrambled eggs, sausage & bacon:





Everyone had a healthy appetite:





My third plate:




A wonderful way to spend the Sunday before Christmas.

If you have a place that means a lot to you and your family try to support them in difficult times. Brookfield zoo has given us so much, we try to give back when we can.

Looks like a good time for the kiddies. We bought a memebership this year, but since we rarely open our mail, I missed any info on this. Is it a "one day a year" thing, or is it multiple weekend days leading up to xmas?

P.s. we went a few weeks ago, and I gotta say, that watching the giraffes INDOORS was alone worth the price of the membership.
Wow, you get like 5 feet away from those things, and you really get to see how big they are. If they bend over, and look you right in the eye, it's pretty amazing that you can get so close to them.

This year it was every weekend in December (except the 25th and 26th).
I have to say they pulled it off quite nicely. There was coffee/tea/hot chocolate service which was great for everyone. The food wasn't fancy but was prepared well.
The kids really had a blast. Can't wait to do it again next year!

One thing we did notice was that a bunch of the trees they have out for decorating were bare, I guess not enough groups signed up this year.
We decided next year our family would sponsor and decoarate a tree.

Think there would there be any interest in an LTHForum tree at Brookfield zoo next Christmas?
I'd be happy to get the info and take the lead.