Hippo Holiday Spirit

Now that Thanksgiving is done, it's time to finish shopping for presents for my little hippo pod.  To help me get into the holiday spirit, I did a few of my favorite holiday things. 

I went to see the skating rink at the National Gallery of Art Scultpture Garden.  

They didn't have any little hippo size skates, so I watched the other visitors, admired the scenery, and sipped a hot chocolate to keep my snout warm.  

After that, I decided to go see the fancy window displays at Macy's.  Yes, hippos, there is a Santa Claus!

This window reminded me that I needed to do my shopping!  I went to the bookstore to pick up a few more presents.  (Don't tell anyone what I bought for them--it's a surprise!)

Shopping works up quite an appetite!  I finished my day with dinner and visiting with some new friends!

CHEERS!

Happy Punctuation Day!!!

Every well educated little hippo should know how to use punctuation correctly.  That's why National Punctuation Day is one of my favorite holidays!

You're probably wondering how to celebrate.  I recommend watching this video:



Question marks are my favorite; they sound funny, they're fun to draw, and using them usually gets information.

Little Christmas

Today is Epiphany / Feast of the Three Kings, a holiday marking the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas and celebrating the arrival of three kings bearing gifts. Hippo is waiting patiently to give and receive all our own little hippo gifts tonight.


In the meantime we'll be shaking the presents, snacking on carrots and cookies, and playing games. We hope you have a day just as fun. Merry Little Christmas!

Hippo Christmas!

Hippo hopes everybody got a hippopotamus for Christmas.



Hippo Christmas to all, and to all a good hippo-night!

ZooLights

A favorite holiday tradition for Hippo is dressing warm on a cold December night and going for a very special walk through the National Zoo.

It's ZooLights!

The trails are ablaze with festive lights.

And glowing animals appear around every corner.

Even tropical birds enjoy the festivities.

Hippo has stars in his eyes.

Tigers prowl the forest.

Chasing after butterflies.

The light pandas are munching happily.

And the fuzzy pandas are snoozing. Tai Shan must have gotten tired packing for his big trip to China.

A family of elephants is stomping through the grass.

And making it hard to hold the camera steady.

It's not quite cold enough to build snowhippos yet. But the water is definitely too cold for a swim.

We should go warm up in the barn.

The alpacas are getting cozy in their beds and probably wondering what's with all the late night visitors.

But the goats are already fast asleep.

A squirrel is outside juggling acorns.

And a pumpkin is grazing on the – wait, pumpkins aren't animals. Pumpkins are food! Mmm, food…

Nothing can be more satisfying after a brisk walk in the cold than warm cinnamon donuts and hot chocolate.