If you’re looking for a trip that will really put you in the holiday spirit, consider one of these spots.
Branson, Missouri, once a dying lumber town, has turned itself into an entertainment capital. It is home to scores of theaters and resort hotels that appeal to tourists (mostly middle of the road grandma and grandpa types) year-round. During the holidays the businesses and townspeople put on quite a spectacle with The Festival of Lights, which draws more than a million visitors annually. The biggest event is the Adoration Parade more than 50 bands and floats, including cowboys and a cattle drive, through historic downtown Branson. It’s a wholesome hoot, sort of what would happen if a lot of straight (very) white people put on a Pride Parade. Except instead of boys dancing in their underwear, there’s baby Jesus. In addition to the parade, the entire town glows with more than million Christmas lights. Don’t miss the Winter Wonder Landing, featuring a fountain that shoots fire as well as water. The fountain’s display is choreographed to Christmas music and goes off every half hour.
The National Christmas Center in Paradise, Pennsylvania is the only Christmas museum in the entire world. The museum features hundreds of thousands of Christmas items, some more than 200 years old. Wander through a life-size recreation of the birth of Jesus, then turn a corner and end up in Tudor Towne, a whimsical village full of cuddly Christmas creatures. These are just two of the 14 yuletide fantasy worlds, including a visit the North Pole where Santa’s workshop is filled with animatronics. One of the best exhibits recreates an old “dime store” with a recreation of a Woolworth all decked out for the holiday. (Younger readers ask someone older to explain this part to you.)
For holiday shopping you can’t do better than Mall of America in Minneapolis, host to more than 520 stores. During the holiday season, ten-foot wreaths are hung throughout the mall and giant red ornament bulbs, weighing 300 pounds each, hang from the ceiling. Head to the mall’s rotunda to see a pair of beautifully (if not tastefully) decorated Christmas trees standing more than four stories tall.
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, known as “Christmas City, USA”, was founded on Christmas Eve in 1741. An electric star shines over the charming downtown area where you’ll find a German inspired Christkindlmarkt. The market is set up every Thursday through Sunday from the day after Thanksgiving until Christmas and 150 artisans sell their handicrafts, Christmas decorations and food.
As we know, lack of snow doesn’t mean lack of holiday spirit. The palm trees in the funky seaside town of Santa Cruz, California, are all decked out in lights. On weekends between Thanksgiving and Christmas, Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive by train to the Santa Cruz boardwalk, inviting visitors to hop aboard. The ride takes visitors along the beach, through Cowell Redwoods State Park, across a 1909 steel truss bridge, and through a tunnel. All the while Santa and Mrs. Claus make their way from car to car visiting with passengers.
In Washington, DC, The Pathway of Peace, the walkway leading up to the National Christmas Tree at the White House is illuminated every day from dusk until 11 p.m. One giant blue spruce is surrounded by 56 smaller trees (representing the 50 states, five territories, and District of Columbia) planted in the Ellipse, located just south of the White House.
Wheeling, West Virginia’s Oglebay’s Winter Festival of Lights, set in the hills above the Woodsdale neighborhood, is a six-mile drive decked out in one of the largest Christmas light displays in the country. Drive through a twinkling snowflake tunnel, ogle at the six-story tall poinsettia wreath and then head over the “Fantasy in Lights” Christmas parade, and an ongoing Christmas party at the Kruger Street Toy and Train Museum.
To get a taste of how the 1% celebrated Christmas back in the day, check out Christmas at The Biltmore, The estate is decorated with dozens of Christmas trees, miles of garland, countless strands of white lights, and thousands of ornaments. A choir performs in the glassed Winter Garden, dancers dressed in vintage attire glide through the ballroom. By day or night, Christmas at Biltmore is sure to get you in the holiday spirit.
Christmas New Orleans Style is a month-long celebration. The streetcars are festively decked out and holiday decorations abound. Take a tour of antebellum homes decorated for the holidays, listen to the sounds of riverboat caroling cruises.
