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Sunday, December 5, 2021

It's Christmastime In The City

We love this time of year and one thing we love to do is visit a city to see their Christmastime displays. 

Come visit these cities and enjoy the festivities of the season from the comfort of the chair you are sitting in right now!


In 1986, I was running errands in my neighborhood at that time, Nanuet, NY, and saw a huge tree being carted away on a flatbed truck.  I didn't know until the annually televised tree lighting that the tree I saw was the one.  I couldn't believe how awesome it felt when I realized how close I was to the tree that was going to make history!  People come from all over the world to ice skate at Rockefeller Center and to see the lighting of the magnificent (and soon to be historic) tree.  I don't know if there is another city in America that can rival the holiday displays and festivities of New York City.

New York City

 

I live in North Carolina now and just recently went to our city's tree lighting.  Although Leland's wasn't as grand as the one in Manhattan, they did have guest singers singing Christmas carols and Santa Claus made an appearance.  We were offered free coffee, hot chocolate and cookies which was really nice.  No, it didn't come close to NYC but we did have a fun night!  

Leland, NC


I haven't been to too many cities, though, at Christmastime and I'm sure that most towns across the United States have their tree lighting evenings, festivities and holiday displays.  So since our Christmas tree and decorations were up and most of the presents were bought, I decided to plan a road trip or two to check out some holiday decor.  I was on a quest to find and enjoy the best holiday displays in as many cities as I could get to in the two weeks before Christmas.

Week 1

The first stop of this adventure, would be the nearest city to us, Wilmington, NC.  Me and Soko headed downtown to see the huge tree that I knew was there somewhere.  I was hoping, and was pretty sure, that there would other things to see.  And, yes, there was lots of festive decor all over the city to enjoy.

Wilmington, NC




Lots of the restaurants and shops downtown had holiday displays and this one even used the tree in front of their business to put Wilmington in a festive mood.




On our stroll down the Wilmington Riverwalk, was where we found the tree in front of the court house.


And the menorah...


And where we found the horse drawn carriage, lampposts and many other things shouting "It's Christmastime In The City!"

  

Our final stop here in downtown Wilmington was Front St. to see if the historic homes on this block were decorated for the holidays.  There were and they were gorgeous.  





We will definitely try to get downtown at another time to check out the other historic homes in the area but it was time to get ready for my next stop to find Christmastime in the city.

Charleston, SC

Early the next morning, me and my daughter, Lisa, hopped into the car and settled in for our four hour drive to meet some friends in Charleston, SC.  I was very excited for this road trip as I had been to Charleston and it was such a charming old town and I was sure it would be even more delightful at Christmastime.


Charleston, on a gorgeous winter day with my best friends and favorite daughter.  I can't think of a better way to enjoy the holiday displays of a beautiful city!

The first place we wanted to check out was the Charleston City Market...  


 which was right where the city put their tree.


Then a stroll around the town where we admired the creativity of this building...


and where we enjoyed the many other decked out buildings, and homes that filled their window flower boxes with festive plants and decor.  We noticed that almost every building had a wreath hanging on it, either on a door or window, one prettier than the next.






A visit to Charleston wouldn't be complete without a walk down Rainbow Row.  




Me and Lisa had a great time in Charleston, especially because we got to spend the day with good friends.  The city was as we imagined and more.  Now it was time to head back home but not before stopping for something to eat at one of Lisa's favorite places, Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach, SC.

Charleston, SC Part 2

My second trip to Charleston at Christmastime, again with Lisa, happened 4 years after our first trip. Lisa had some work to do for her blog, Drugstore Divas, here and asked if I wanted to come along. Of course I did!

The first time we visited we only had a day to enjoy the holiday festivities, this trip we had a whole weekend. Lucky for us, we were in town for the city's annual Christmas parade.


Christmas classics blasted out of speakers put in some of the floats and added to the fun of the parade. In the distance, we could hear one of our favorites, the classic piano solo Schroeder played in A Charlie Brown Christmas. We were very impressed to find out, when the group finally got to us, that the music was actually being played live on the piano the local Baptist church managed to somehow get on their float.


The first time we came to Charleston at Christmas, we met our friends and just enjoyed a day of walking around the city admiring and enjoying the holiday decor. We especially enjoyed the decorations that adorned the many grand estates here. Me and Lisa had a chance to take a couple of walks this weekend and stopped to take pictures of some more of the beautifully decorated homes.


We voted this home "most fun".


Lisa had to meet someone at the visitor's center when we first got into town. We were very excited to find out that there was a Christmas tree display here. Each tree was unique and decorated and donated in honor of a loved one who had a battle with cancer. You could bid on a tree and the money received for the purchase of the tree would be donated to Dragon Boat Charleston, a non-profit organization. We could feel the love these trees were decorated with.


This tree was donated by a sister who lost her beach loving brother to cancer. The tree was filled with bought and handmade decorations, as most of the trees were. We couldn't get over the starfish tree topper created for this amazing tree. I think the brother would be (and is) very happy with his tree.


Once again, we enjoyed all Charleston had to offer for the holidays! 

Myrtle Beach, SC

Not only did we enjoy dinner here, but we were treated to some really beautiful and festive decorations!  Christmas lights are really special at night and this stop had one of the prettiest displays I had seen so far.




And, just when we thought this day could not get any better, we saw the tree, spectacular and glowing with hundreds of colorful lights!



Find more cities to visit here:



We also love going to botanical gardens at this time of year. They always have beautiful displays to enjoy.


                It's Christmastime At The Gardens                
                    

This post was featured:

                                                         Photobucket

                                                      Take Me Away Travel Link Party





Have you gone to a city or garden to check out their Christmas displays? Please tell us where. We would love to add it to our bucket list of cities to visit at Christmastime!






63 comments:

  1. Hi Cathy. Finally had a chance to look at your blog from Charleston. Great pictures from there and your other Christmas stops. Had a great day with you and Lisa and looking forward to seeing you again soon. Susan

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    1. Can't wait for our next adventure! Let's plan one soon!!

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  2. Beautiful trees! We have family in Wilmington and love to go shopping at the Cotton Exchange. Sadly when we were last there they weren't open since they were still recovering from the hurricane.

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    1. Some places are still closed but most businesses are opened now thank goodness. I hope your family made out OK.

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  3. Love all of those decorations and the tree at the end was outstanding! Thanks for sharing

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    1. Yes. I can't imagine how many lights that tree had on it.

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  4. Every place is so beautifully decorated! I live in Garner, which is about 1 1/2 hours from you, and Wilmington is one of my favorite places to visit, but I have never been at Christmas. Now you have me planning a trip!! I am looking forward to seeing what you found in the mountains! Thank you so much for sharing at Celebrate It!

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    1. Aw. It makes me so happy to hear that you are looking forward to seeing what we found in the mountains. Hope you enjoy the light show we found there. I hope you get to visit Wilmington. The historical homes, especially, were really amazingly decorated!

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  5. Wow, everywhere is decorated so beautifully. I love the tree and the wreaths. Thank you for bringing all the jingle to the #dreamteam this week.

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    1. Yes. I liked checking out the wide variety of wreaths. One was more beautiful than the other.

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  6. There's a lot of very classy Christmas decorating going on here. The greenery swags are my favourite, too much glitziness can be a bit much sometimes.

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  7. Very beautiful. Thanks for sharing. #alittlebitofeverything

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  8. What a fun trip! Look beautiful and fun. Merry Christmas.

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    1. Yes it was both beautiful and fun. Merry Christmas to you and thank you so much for stopping by!

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  9. I finally got around to checking out your Christmastime In The City post, and I loved it! I especially loved the Charleston pics, Charleston is one of our favorite cities. Thanks for linking up with us BloggingGrandmothers End of the Year Link Party!

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    1. Charleston is a great city. Hope you went at Christmastime. It's really special then!

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  10. Enjoyed seeing your pics! This time of the year I really like looking at decorations, trees, and light displays. Thanks so much for linking up at #AThemedLinkup 6 for All Things Christmas. Shared. I invite you to also link up this post at my Unlimited Monthly Party 7 for more views and shares

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  11. Hi Cathy and Merry Christmas! We are lucky to have family living in Charlestonand have celebrated numerous Thanksgivings and Easters there. In fact, Ive posted my own post of making merry there. I loved seeing it dressed up for Christmas. And the building with the reindeer wreaths was right up my decorating style, as I also shared my updated outdoor wreaths.

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    1. Hi Debbee! You ARE lucky to have family in Charleston. I would definitely not mind having to go there for the holidays!! I will also definitely have to come over to your blog to see how you spend the holidays there! Hope you and your family have a Happy and Healthy New Year!

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  12. Thanks for the Christmas wishes. I love seeing your pic. What a life you have. Life of. snowbird looks fun. Merry Christmas and a bright new year.

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    1. We feel very fortunate to be able to live the good life in our senior years. It's nice to see you (I don't believe you are though), and other seniors enjoying life also!
      A Happy and Healthy New Year to you and your family!

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  13. NYC does know how to celebrate! Fun to see some of these other sites too. The historic houses look great. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. It is fun to go downtown every year to see the historic homes all dressed up for the holidays. Thanks for stopping by!

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  14. Rockefeller Center was the place to be for me every Christmas for the massive tree lighting. I love it. Christmas in NY is the BEST! One year I actually worked at NBC so my coworkers and I had a front row seat to all the festivities. Good times! Not so this year with COVID but we can still celebrate.

    Charleston is on my list of places to visit. Looks amazing. Merry Christmas to you.

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    1. Wow! What a great memory you have of one of the best celebrations of the year. Lucky you!!
      Hope you get a chance to visit Charleston one day. It's such a charming city, especially at Christmastime.
      Have a very Merry Christmas!

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  15. What a fun trip, Cathy! It was so cool seeing the Christmas decorations in so many different places. I look forward to part 2! Thank you for sharing and for being a part of the Hearth and Soul Link Party. Merry Christmas!

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  16. Thanks for traveling along with me and for hosting such a nice party. Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year April!

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  17. Thanks for stopping by. I always enjoy coming to your party and reading about the latest happenings in your household and finding your latest recipes!

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  18. Your images look like post cards! So very pretty and the town was definitely the picture of a quant little Christmas town. Thank you for sharing this post. The #HomeMattersParty will be open again this week and I look forward to seeing what you are sharing with us.

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    1. Thanks Donna! And thank you for letting me know you are back partying! Hope you had a wonderful time off!!

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  19. Thanks for sharing your holiday photos! The decorations on the historic homes and city buildings are really lovely! :)

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    1. The decorations were really nice. Thanks for stopping by!

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  20. Lovely images of your Christmas time gone by, Tweeted it from the Senior Salon Pit Stop

    Julie Syl - Crew

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  21. Such pretty towns. I love how the historic homes are decorated. I think warmer places are more fun during the holidays because you can be outside and enjoy the decorations without the cold

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    1. I was very happy that it was warm the weekend we went to Charleston, even though it always feels more Christmas-y when its cold out!

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  22. How wonderfully Christmas! The decorations are just stunning to see!

    Feel free to share at My Corner of the World

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  23. Thanks for sharing this post again. I am originally from Goldsboro NC and have family in Wilmington. NC has some beautiful historic towns. And a trip to Charleston is always a treat. I didn't know Lisa from Drugstore Divas was your daughter. Love that! Thanks for linking up. #HomeMattersParty

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    1. Wow its a small world! I hope to meet you one day in downtown Wilmington when you are here visiting family and me and Lisa are taking a walk around town!

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  24. I love the look of Christmas in your City. Thanks for sharing with #pocolo

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    1. Thanks for stopping by and for hosting your nice party!

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  25. I fell in love with NC when my husband was stationed in Virginia. Thank you for sharing these lovely photos and Merry Christmas!

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    1. I hope you get a chance to visit one day soon especially during the holiday season! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours!

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  26. I loved taking a virtual trip with you. I live in Western Pennsylvania not far from Pittsburgh, and you brought back memories of when I visited NYC at Christmas time one year.
    Thank you bunches for sharing this with Sweet Tea & Friends this month.
    Merry Christmas!

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    1. Thank you for coming along on the tour! Happy Holidays to you and yours!

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  27. It's so fun to see the holiday decorations in big cities and small towns. Whether on municipal buildings and in public spaces or in private homes and gardens -- it's simply a cheerful and happy pastime to walk around and notice all the bright colors and creative designs. Thank you for sharing this post in the Talent Sharing Tuesdays Link-Up 45.
    Carol
    www.scribblingboomer.com

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  28. Wow, what a fun trip. I really enjoy seeing all the decorations! Thank you for sharing this post at the Will Blog for Comments #16 linkup. Hope to see you there next week, too!

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  29. What an awesome Christmas series and its so beautiful, Thank you for sharing your links with us at #289 SSPS Linky. See you again next week.

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  30. What stunning photos! I'm so happy to have seen these today. I've visited NYC at Christmas several times in the past.
    Visiting today from PoCoLo #17

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    1. You are very lucky to have gotten a few chances to enjoy the holiday decor in NYC. I'm pretty sure this city takes the prize for having the best tree!

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  31. Love seeing this trip from your past. I'll be sharing the inspo at Tuesday Turn About this week! Pinned!

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    1. We are so excited to be featured at Tuesday Turn About! Thank you so much and for pinning!

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  32. It looks like a fun trip. I loved looking through your photos. Thank you for sharing it with us at The Crazy Little Love Birds link party #16. I hope you will join us again soon. :)

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    1. Thank you so much for hosting your party! Hope you are enjoying a wonderful holiday season!!

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