We usually spend the holidays at home, or in the vicinity of home (at my parents' house in the North Georgia mountains). But often, we "escape" around New Year''s for a couple of days for some needed family bonding time. We've had great trips skiing at Beech Mountain, NC and in Cashiers, NC; have enjoyed the Fantasy in Lights at Callaway Gardens with a cottage stay overnight; recently visit Chattanooga (though we missed the holiday festivities). We've also taken family trips to Biltmore Estates and Barnsley Gardens(an absolute favorite of mine, highlighted below). However, some of those trips were during spring and summer - so I think we're overdue for winter visits. Want to read about our adventures?
Visit my family travel PINTEREST Board here some reviews and ideas!
I'm still deciding if we're going to take a trip this New Year's, or wait until our February winter break. But you can't go wrong with any of the places mentioned above (they're all so close!). And here are some holiday happenings at other locations not too far from home.
Barnsley Resort
Christmas at Biltmore Estate
Visit my family travel PINTEREST Board here some reviews and ideas!
I'm still deciding if we're going to take a trip this New Year's, or wait until our February winter break. But you can't go wrong with any of the places mentioned above (they're all so close!). And here are some holiday happenings at other locations not too far from home.
Barnsley Resort
This holiday season Barnsley Resort, located just 60 miles north of Atlanta, offers guests a Southern holiday getaway special, complete with sparkling lights, ornately decked halls and special winter workshops and festivities.
Share the spirit of the season with family and friends at Barnsley Resort with their Light Up the Holidays special including luxurious cottage accommodations, $50 resort credit and a keepsake Barnsley Resort ornament. Weekday rates are available from $259 per night Sunday through Thursday and from $339 per night for weekends (Friday and Saturday). This offer is valid November 28 through December 30, 2015. For additional details, please visit www.barnsleyresort.com.
Kicking off the winter festivities on Nov. 25, 2015 is the Fourth Annual Lighting of the Ruins. Barnsley Resort commences the holiday cheer through a delightful display of more than one million lights and festive décor illuminating the 1800s manor house ruins, English-style village and surrounding gardens. The breathtaking display is available for guests and visitors to enjoy throughout the holiday season, making Barnsley Resort a premier winter getaway destination.
•Official Lighting of the Ruins event on November 25 (5-6:30 p.m.) featuring Santa Claus, live reindeer and musical performances
•Wreath-making classes (November 28 and December 5)
•“Gingerbread Workshop” (hosted by the resort’s Fairy Godmother on November 27)
•Elaborate holiday dining presentations for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve
•Marshmallow toasting and making s’mores at numerous fire pits, complimentary for resort guests
Christmas at Biltmore Estate
Can you imagine what it must have been like for Cornelia Vanderbilt, the only child of George and Edith Vanderbilt, to wake up on Christmas morning in Biltmore House, America’s largest home?!
From now through through Jan. 10, children and their parents can get a taste of what Cornelia and her family must have experienced when Christmas at Biltmore, one of the Southeast’s most treasured holiday vacation destinations, gets underway. As always, children 9 years old and younger are admitted free with a ticketed adult.
All across the estate, families may immerse themselves in the elements of the season. Thousands of twinkling lights adorning dozens and dozens of elaborate hand-decorated Christmas trees at Biltmore House set the festive scene, including the 60-foot tall Norway spruce tree on the front lawn. That tree alone requires more than 40,000 lights on its branches for maximum glow. Yards and yards of velvety ribbon, tons of ornaments and bushels of greenery help recreate the look and feel of Christmas 1895, the year Mr. Vanderbilt moved into Biltmore House. A towering 34-foot-tall Fraser Fir tree laden with toddler-high ornaments and wrapped packages tucked into its branches serves as the seasonal centerpiece in the home’s immense Banquet Hall.
The holiday spirit lives within the hallways and rooms of Biltmore House even more so under cover of nighttime. During Candlelight Christmas Evenings, thousands of ornaments and over-the-top wreaths and garlands sparkle with the reflections of candlelight and cozy fires in the home’s fireplaces. Despite the home’s enormous size, sounds of choirs and musicians create an intimate atmosphere for celebrating the holidays with the family.
Check out Christmas at Biltmore 2015 Events HERE.
Dahlonega’s Old Fashioned Christmas
The former gold-mining town of Dahlonega, Georgia dresses up for a Victorian holiday experience.
This national historic register town, with its 1800s storefronts and restaurants, is beautiful anytime, but sparkles from the day after Thanksgiving through the end of December. From Christmas trees and mistletoe to thousands of twinkling lights, the town looks and feels like a holiday wonderland. Throughout the season, enjoy carolers in period costumes, live entertainment, wine tastings, Christmas performances at The Historic Holly Theater and Santa visits in the Public Square.
Tour of Dahlonega’s Historic Downtown by horse-drawn carriage, daily; narrated old fashioned trolley tours weekends, nominal fees for both. Many area accommodations, including inns and B&Bs as well as cabins large enough for family reunions, offer discounted winter rates or holiday specials. CLICK HERE for more information.
November 27 through December 31, 2015
Dahlonega Public Square
Free; rides, tours and theatre for various fees
www.Dahlonega.org
706-864-3513
North Carolina’s Brunswick Islands
While celebrating Christmas around palm trees, the ocean, and aquatic sea life might be unusual for many visitors, the locals of North Carolina’s Brunswick Islands know how to get into the holiday spirit even without the presence of snow. In addition to holiday parades and tree lightings, each town has unique celebrations. For example, Southport shines when the town holds its Winterfest December 9 -12, which includes a craft festival, home goods, fresh baked treats and more while enjoying the historic Cape Fear River waterfront.
If you’ve never celebrated the holidays with Santa arriving via schooner, get ready for a different kind of parade with two holiday flotillas – the Ocean Isle Beach Flotilla on November 28 and the Southport Flotilla on December 12. The Intracoastal Waterway and Cape Fear River provide a fluid route for a host of beautifully decorated sailboats and power boats of all shapes and sizes lighting up the waterways.
Other holiday events include the Shallotte Christmas Parade and Oak Island’s Christmas by the Sea Parade.
For a complete list of all Brunswick Islands Christmas parades, tree lightings and other holiday events, please visit the calendar of events HERE.
