Christmas Festivals

[FarmerChick]

Anyone attending anything fun this year at the holiday time? A parade in your town, lighting festivals etc.

We are heading to Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens this year. over 500,000 lights and displays, horse carriage rides, Santa of course, workshops, etc. etc. Very nice gardens and they do a wonderful job. Kinda just feels magical with all those lights.

So I will be doing that trip some time next week I think, before it gets too darn cold at night for Nicole.


So what is on the agenda for ya'll?

 

[2dream]

Not sure yet - but keeping my fingers crossed that we can make it to Canton, MS (about 10 miles from me) for at least a quick walk around. They always decorate the whole town, have carriage rides, and have the most wonderful antique animated display.
Its a small town but has been the location of several movie shoots because all the buildings are so old and in such good condition.
Its a great little town to walk around in any time of year but Christmas is just awsome.

 

[user251]

were going to the local p-rade and we will do our annual night out looking at all the Christmas lights right before Christmas eve but due to the monetary constraints we will not do much else.

 

[keljonma]

Like I mentioned elsewhere, Dec 6 is the BIG day in town...

The local large town near us (pop ~5000) decorates the town the day after Thanksgiving. Every business has really large sales through Dec 6.

Between day after Thanksgivign and Dec 6th, each store has a small tree in front of their business; the 3.5' pine trees are donated by the local garden club. For a $1 raffle ticket, you have a chance to win any of the trees. As an example, the tree in front of the coffee house has gift certificates for their beverages and/or desserts, as well as ornaments, lights, tea and coffee samplers, and biscotti decorating the tree.

The money from the raffle ticket sales goes to the HALO project, to help provide local families in need with food, winter clothing and holiday gifts. The drawings are on Dec 6, when the town has a huge parade and the man in the red suit arrives.

The past 10 years, the local county radio station has announced the parade floats as they go by, and they are expected to doing the same on the 6th.

The Christmas decorations, tree raffles, parade with Santa, and sales have been a holiday tradition in town since 1910. Ms Grape-ette from this summer's Grape Jamboree will be there, as well as 4H and FFA winners from the county fair that was held in August. We have been in the county only since 2005, but go every year. It is a lot of fun!

When our children were growing up, we used to go shopping in downtown Cleveland and enjoy the sites. Cleveland's Public Square was always beautifully decorated! I miss Halle's, Higbee's and May Company! Now that its just the two of us, we check out the home decorations and lights around us.

 

[FarmerChick]

firem3
we do that. Dad used to pack us all in the car and tour the area for Christmas lights. I loved doing that and yes, I will be taking Nicole out on a run also. Fun to see what people decorate! and other than gas, it is frugal..LOL

 

[PotterWatch]

We don't do Christmas, but we are having some people over for a Chanukah celebration. My boys and I thought it would be fun to invite some of our homeschool friends over and teach them about Chanukah since we are the only Jewish homeschoolers we know and they had fun teaching their friends to play dreidel last year. I posted our idea on both of our playgroup boards, and I now have 30 kids and 14 adults coming to our house in two weeks! Oy vey!!!

Edited because I just noticed I must have been asleep with all the grammer errors I made typing this the first time.

 

[2dream]

Potter - that sounds like a wonderful and fun idea. But a big job too. I am sure you will have a great time and I bet the kids have a ball. Wish I lived closer. I would weasel an invitation from you.

 

[FarmerChick]

Yup, I would be there also! Add another to the weasel list..HA HA

 

[sylvie]

We have mansions that are really museums and are all out decorated and open to the public for a fee.
The Stan Hewitt Hall in Akron, Ohio is more castle sized and built by the founder of Goodyear. This is my Christmas season destination. Each year they pick a different theme that the Goodyear family did.

Aside from that I enjoy going to hear the holiday chorale groups sing medieval period selections, complete with costumes at the area churches.

I know it sounds corny but I love Victorian high Christmas teas at our tearooms and have made my reservations.

 

[Beekissed]

This will be a first for us but I am thinking of taking a train! Yep, in the next town over they have an old train depot that has local artist's crafts and such and they will be having a train ride with a meal, a lights tour from the train and other stuff that I can't remember but it sounded fun, so I'm thinking we might catch it. Not too expensive either!