After the gifts are opened, Fort Worth families enjoy zoo, ice rink

Seven-year-old Shivani Ava Yash loved the baby elephants at the Fort Worth Zoo, maybe as much as she loved the new fashion design book she got for Christmas earlier that morning.

“Cutie pies!” she cooed at the babies, Belle and Bowie, as the 1-year-old calves frolicked in their large pen on Thursday afternoon.

Like many at the zoo on Christmas, Ava and her parents spent the morning in the traditional way.

“We slept in, Santa ate the cookies, left a note, left presents,” said Ava’s mom, Brinda Yash. (Ava said she got “too many presents.”)

Then, the family wanted to do something fun with friends visiting from out of town.

“It is usually much more crowded, so this is a great day to come,” Brinda Yash said of the zoo. “You get to see all the animals up close, you don’t feel bad about standing there forever with people behind you.”

Unlike the Dallas Zoo, which closes on Christmas, coming to the Fort Worth Zoo for a few hours on Christmas has become something of a tradition for some families, said Alexis Wilson, communications director for the zoo.

On a day with pretty weather, like Thursday, Wilson said, the zoo can see about 700 visitors on holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas.

“The reason we are open is we have to be there to feed the animals, pure and simple. They like that three square meals a day,” Wilson joked.

The zoo was only open from noon to 4 p.m., the time it takes the staff to feed the animals.

For Brenda Johnson, who does not celebrate Christmas as a Jehovah's Witness, the zoo being open gave her and her family something to do on a nice day.

She snapped pictures of particularly active lions — a lioness and lion were posing perfectly for pictures in the balmy weather — and said the zoo was a fun activity.

“We just wanted to all be able to get together,” Johnson said of her family and friends.

While finding things to do on Christmas Day can be tough — both the Johnsons and the Yashes had a hard time finding places to eat — the Trinity River Vision’s Panther Island Ice rink was also open Christmas Day.

In its second year in Fort Worth, Matt Oliver, public information officer for the Trinity River Vision, said they hope the ice rink offers locals a new Christmas tradition.

“Families are looking for something to do on those holidays and something like this is a great example,” Oliver said. “You have your great family time — open presents and do the Christmas thing — but you still have the ability to get out and do something fun.

“It gives people a chance to create that holiday tradition. It is something different they may not be used to in Fort Worth.”

Open from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m., the skating rink was bustling by 3 p.m.

Brooke Miller, at the ice rink with her granddaughter, said the family was trying a new Christmas tradition.

“We are out-and-about for a new adventure,” said Miller, whose 2-year-old granddaughter was skating for the first time.

This story was originally published December 25, 2014 at 11:21 PM with the headline "After the gifts are opened, Fort Worth families enjoy zoo, ice rink."