10 Places to Celebrate Christmas Away From Home This Year
Are you planning to celebrate Christmas away from home this year? Forget big cities and bright lights. Go to a place where the locals take the big day seriously. Not only that, they will also make you feel at home with their warm hospitality and delicious roast turkey, apple pie, and cheese bread. So, if you are ready, then here are 10 places you should consider celebrating Christmas this year.
1. Annapolis, Maryland
The capital city of Maryland showcases its historical heritage in all its glory during the holiday season, with guided tours and candlelit strolls to several of the city’s grand homes, which date back to the 18th century. The town is lavishly decorated with evergreen garlands and a lighted boat parade honors the city’s nautical traditions.
2. Branson, Missouri
The city of Branson plays host to the Ozark Mountain Christmas festival every year. This month-long extravaganza features parades, festive lights, light shows, and, of course, plenty of food. If you want to feel like a character from the classic children’s book “The Polar Express,” then you can ride the Branson Scenic Railway’s Polar Express Train Ride.
3. Frankenmuth, Michigan
Frankenmuth is a piece of Bavaria inside the Wolverine State. The city puts it European heritage on full display during the holiday season. The main highlights of the season include beautiful light displays, a holiday home hosted by the city’s women’s club, a traditional Christkindlmarkt, and Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland – the largest Christmas store in the world.
4. Leavenworth, Washington
Throughout December, the denizens of Leavenworth, Washington, greet visitors with 21 miles of brightly colored lights strewn along their homes and fences. That’s not the only thing, however. You can shop at the lively Christmas market, called Christkindlmarkt, attend handbell concerts, mingle with Christmas carolers, and take part in a sledding event that weaves its way around the town’s trees.
5. McAdenville, North Carolina
The locals of McAdenville, North Carolina, call their hometown Christmas Town USA, and there is a good reason for this. For the past six decades, this suburb of Charlotte has been putting on an amazing Christmas display: 265 evergreen trees covered in a half-million lights and more than 160 beautifully decorated houses.
6. Natchitoches, Louisiana
The Louisiana town of Natchitoches celebrates Christmas with more than 300,000 lights and a hundred set pieces hung along the banks of Cane River Lake. The display honors the holiday, as well as the town’s Creole heritage. Highlights of the season include carriage rides, fireworks, a children’s festival, historic home tours, parades, a 5K race, and live performances.
7. Sierra Madre, California
Every December, this charming little town, which is located near the San Gabriel Valley, brings snow from the San Gabriel Mountains to erect a huge snowman in the town’s central square. But, that’s not all. The entire town is decorated for the season. A life-size nativity scene is created artistically and a 154-tree-long lane is turned into Christmas Tree Lane.
8. Williamsburg, Virginia
The charming city of Williamsburg, Virginia, celebrates Christmas with tradition harking back to the colonial days. At the culmination of the season, there is a celebratory fireworks display called the Grand Illumination, as well as a historic gun salute.
9. Woodstock, Vermont
Do you want to know what New England hospitality feels like? Then, head to Woodstock, Vermont. You will find yourself marveling at the parade of horses and buggies against a Christmas card-perfect background of a snowy green village while carolers serenade you with Christmas carols and townsfolk gather for the lighting of the tree.
10. Taos, New Mexico
This charming town located in New Mexico’s high desert celebrates the holiday season in its own way. On Christmas Eve, a religious procession takes place in the Taos Pueblo, the ancient Native American settlement outside the town. The procession includes a historic gun salute, bonfires, and fireworks. The city also holds concerts, art exhibits, and craft fairs throughout the season.
This list is by no means exhaustive. There are many other places where you can have a great time at Christmas. But, no matter where you are, Christmas will not be Christmas without mouthwatering roast turkey, fruit cakes, and cheese bread made using the finest cheese from Williams Cheese – America’s finest cheesemakers.
