Festive towns to visit at Christmas time??

Funny, I always feel the most Christmasy places are cold and ideally have snow.

I have friends who always go to Leavenworth Washington, for a similar trip to yours.

Santa Fe is stunning at Christmas time. You can read about it. The air is clear and cold, and the smell of pinon smoke adds much to the ambience.

San Antonio is really festive. They have a beautiful River Walk that they decorate with 120,000 lights. Loads of good restaurants, and you can tour the missions, go to the Alamo, etc.

Natchez, Mississippi has a large number of antebellum homes and they do a tour of homes during the holidays. I've never been during that time but have been during the spring pilgrimage. I would think they would be really pretty all decked out for Christmas. Many of the homes are B&B's, which would really be special.

Here's an article about it from Southern Living Magazine. They discuss the Christmas season toward the bottom of the article.

How about the little town of Bethlehem, CT and then pop over to the beautifull New England towns of Washington and Litchfield CT

We have been to New Orleans and Savannah at Christmas - but Santa Fe beats them all.

If you don't mean the actual day of Christmas, you might try the Christmas Prelude celebrations in Kennebunkport, Maine--it's always the first week and weekend of December and certainly gets one in the Christmas spirit...

New York City!!

I've always wanted to visit Kansas City, particularly the Country Club Plaza area all lit up at Thanksgiving. The pictures make it look magical.

St. Augustine is always special during the holidays, particularly because of "Nights of Lights". Check this out <http://www.getaway4florida.com/nights/>.

How about Winter Park, Fla. (Orlando area), for Christmas in the Park, when they move Tiffany stained glass windows out of their museum and illuminate them in the park.

Thursday, December 04, 2008
6:15 pm - 8:00 pm
Community Event
Christmas in the Park
The 30th annual lighting of century-old Tiffany windows in Central Park with a free outdoor concert of holiday favorites by the Bach Festival Choir, Youth Choir, and Brass Ensemble (Rain date, December 5)

http://www.morsemuseum.org/home.html

This event is on my "to do" list! Some year.

I think you might enjoy a long weekend in Kansas City. Stay at the Intercontinental or Raphael for a great view of the lights. Some excellent restaurants and a lovely art museum.

We love Santa Fe as well.

annie

I like your original ideas, and like the Santa Fe and Natchez suggestions, but would also heartily suggest Quebec City. It is far north enough to most likely have snow in December (never know about New England at this point, for NY Eve in 2006 I went to Vermont and it was bare of snow). Very charming and very Christmassy. You of course have to like cold. But good food (and hot mulled wine) can make up for a lot….

I also think that Williamsburg VA is really beautifully done for Christmas with special activities on offer. Could be done with Richmond or you include a few days in Washington DC which is also quite nice at Christmas.

Frankenmuth Mi has one of the biggest Christmas stores in the world. It's a beautiful place at Christmas time. I think you and your mother would love it.

Bonners is the name of the store. Frankenmuth is the city.

I've never been during the holidays, but Bethlehem, PA bills itself as 'the Christmas City' and has a lot of holiday activities going on the whole month of December.

http://www.christmascity.org/ (Check the event calendar for your dates)

It's a quaint, historic little city during the rest of the year, so I imagine it would be beautiful around Christmas.

As mentioned earlier, Leavenworth, WA is a very festival town during the holidays. We have spent Christmas there several times and love it. The weekends are packed this time of year, but if you could go midweek you might find room. The tree lightings on the weekends are fun.

Natchitoches, LA

Experience the charm of the original French colony in Louisiana (1714) during the Festival of Lights and Christmas Festival, one of the nation’s oldest community-based holiday celebrations.

The Festival of Lights begins the Saturday before Thanksgiving and lasts into the New Year. The Natchitoches (Nack-a-tish) Christmas Festival has been held on the first weekend in December since 1927. This annual event draws in excess of 100,000 visitors each year for the parade, live entertainment, food fair, arts and crafts show and a spectacular fireworks show over the scenic Cane River Lake.

Mini-festivals are held every weekend in December with a Holiday Tour of Homes, entertainment and fireworks every Saturday and at midnight on New Year’s Eve. More than 500,000 visitors annually trek to Natchitoches during the holiday season to enjoy the light displays, riverbank vendors, shops, restaurants, and nightly tours by streetcar or carriages. www.christmasfestival.com

My learning curve from Fodor's continues. I have never known (and would never have guessed) how to pronounce Nack-i-tish.

I loved Natchez during Spring Pilgrimage. I can only imagine it decorated for Christmas. More grist for my travel mill.

I can vouch for both Williamsburg,VA and Bethlehem,PA.

Bethlehem and another nearby town,Easton(where I graduated high school), are decked out nicely and have a lot of unique small town events this time of year.This area is roughly a 1.5 hour drive from the Philadelphia area and very scenic if you drive up the Delaware River on Rt.611
I currently live within an hour of Williamburg and i love all the traditional decorations at Christmas.Definitely a good time to splurge for The Williamsburg Inn if you can afford it.

http://www.colonialwilliamsburgresort.com/hotels/premium/williamsburginn

Nashville is suppose to sum up the quintessential old-time Christmas

Williamsburg, Va is my favorite! They have Colonial Williamsburg all "dressed up" for the holidays. Grand Illumination is the first weekend of Dec and they have fireworks, fife and drum, etc. It's worth every minute!

I'd consider trying to visit Savannah during their Xmas home and garden tour. Last year it was the second weekend in December, not sure about this year. NYC is also very special at Xmas.

Cedarburg, Wisconsin
http://www.cedarburg.org/EventsByDate.asp

The entire main street of Cedarburg is on the Historical Register.

"Christmas in the Country" is a festival the first weekend in December. Many of the local artists only sell at this one show. There are many activities in Cedarburg on this weekend.

Also, on Friday nights before Christmas they have Festive Friday Evenings. Plus activies throughout the month of December.

You can look at all the festivities scheduled for the month of December at the website I posted.

They have a wonderful hotel The Washington House Inn.

Cedarburg is beautiful and very Christmasy - think you would like it. It was featured in Country Living magazine a few years ago. It is, however, in Wisconsin and about 20 miles north of Milwaukee.

For Christmas time you can't beat New York City. And just 2 hours up is Woodstock, N.Y. To combine the two is a great holiday trip.

Hi JulieCav

Check out Nashville IN. Very Christmassy - carolers wandering, great places to eat, if it snows you'll really love it. If you are shopppers you can't go wrong! Wonderful B & Bs available too - try the Cornerstone.

The women in my family (multi-generational) have done a December weekend trip every year - most frequently to Nashville...but then we only live 3 hrs from it.

good luck & have fun

I agree with the folks who mentioned Williamsburg, VA. The historic area is beautiful in December. The Williamsburg Inn and the Williamsburg Lodge are a short walk to the historic area. Consider booking a room in one of the Colonial Houses which are also located in the historic area. We have stayed in each of the 3 accomodations that I listed and were happy with each one. There are less expensive hotels in the area that are within driving distance to the historic area but staying in one of the places that I mentioned adds a special touch to the visit. Be sure to go on the Christmas Decoration walking tour. We love to eat in the Colonial Taverns. You did not mention how old your Mom is, but it's a beautiful place to visit if she is up to some walking. The historic area is flat and easy to get around but does require walking.

Bethlehem,PA. is beautiful see you there.