Photos from Waynesville's Smoky Mountain Christmas

Gather around downtown Waynesville, North Carolina for their Smoky Mountain Christmas celebration. We love Waynesville.

Attending the Waynesville Christmas Parade

Local businesses and organizations gather together each year to celebrate Christmas during the annual Christmas Parade in Waynesville, NC. This year all the available spaces were filled, and the parade lasted well into the night. What a great way to start the holiday season.

NC Arboretum's Winter Lights

A trip to the North Carolina Arboretum is becoming one of our yearly holiday destinations. While the lights are not a large display, they are pretty and the event makes for a relaxing walk.  Joining us this year were my sister and her friend. Pile everyone in the car since the entry fee is based on vehicle not how many individual people go with you. 

Dollywood's Smoky Mountain Christmas Photos

Gather up your family, friends, and loved ones to enjoy a Smoky Mountain Christmas as only Dollywood can deliver. Peg, my sister Terry, our friend Lisa, and myself spent a day enjoying all the festivities that Dollywood had to offer. Good food, good entertainment, and great company made for a perfect day. 

Disney World Resorts Gingerbread Crawl

Did you know with a bit of planning you can explore all Disney World resorts for free? We decided to do just that on a recent trip. Even though it was still early November, we figured we would see if we could visit the major resorts' gingerbread displays and see if their Christmas decorations were up. Our starting point was the Drury Plaza Hotel. After a decent complementary breakfast, we used the free shuttle bus to first go to Hollywood Studios. 

Garden Lights, Holiday Lights

The crew made a road trip down to Atlanta, Georgia to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens for their Garden Lights, Holiday Lights display. It was a beautiful evening to get out and enjoy some Christmas lights with friends. The crowds weren't too bad and  we were able to spread out and take our time. We also enjoyed some adult beverages of Peanut butter whiskey hot chocolate and Garden Beer #8. This event will certainly be added to our short list of Christmas shows to attend each year.

Photos from the NC Arboretum Winter Lights

The North Carolina Arboretum opened up its grounds once again for the Winter Lights event. Peg and I decided to drive over to Asheville and check it out. It's fairly small but nicely laid out. All the workers were very cheerful and did their best to make the evening enjoyable. We spent maybe an hour walking the grounds and decided this is a Christmas event that won't be an every year visit but certainly worth doing at least once. 

A Biltmore Christmas

We almost missed visiting the Christmas displays at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina this season. But, we made it during the last weekend that it was decorated. It is always an impressive site to see all the decorations and trees. We try to make it there every year.

A Shelton House Christmas

We stopped by the Shelton House in Waynesville, North Carolina for their Christmas gathering. The house was open for tours and we got to say hello to the head elf himself. We enjoyed some cookies and cider as well. It was a good way to kill half an hour.

Making Christmas Cards

Not only do we still send Christmas Cards through the mail but we also make them ourselves!

Photos from a Biltmore Christmas

Living so close to Asheville, we must make at least one visit to the Biltmore Estate during the Christmas season. They have so many traditionally decorated trees throughout the self-guided tour area. You can't help but feel in the spirit of the season after visiting.

Staying in the Santa Suite - The Inn at Christmas Place

Okay, we are a bit weird. We decided to spend Halloween at The Inn at Christmas Place. The Inn at Christmas Place is like Christmas every day of the year. But we couldn't stay in just any room. We had the Santa Suite to ourselves! Christmas decorations were everywhere and creepy little elves watched our every move.