Christmas, perhaps more than any other holiday, requires us to become, for a season, master set designers in our own homes. At our house, we begin this process the day after Thanksgiving with tree decorating, mantle-scaping, and outdoor lighting. With each festive item in place, our humble abode is transformed from the daily muck of living into a Christmas wonderland and our spirits lift alongside the decor. These special effects signal something is afoot, and it extends past one magical day into weeks and weeks of holiday glamour for our enjoyment.
Despite the scene setting in our own homes, I also like to find Christmas stage settings in the wild. In my hopeful fantasies, this would mean traveling to London for classic Christmas street scenes or to Paris for whimsical holiday lighting lingering in cafes while shopping for gifts. Germany also comes to mind as a holiday destination with snow swirling and sleigh bells jingling: a lovely dream to believe in as I sit on the couch in Virginia Beach.
Because I know my winter wonderland travel wishes will likely not happen anytime soon, I settle for Christmas Town at Busch Gardens, a faux European holiday tradition right up the road in Williamsburg, Virginia.
We always like to go to Christmas Town the day after Thanksgiving to set the mood for the weeks to come. Just as the decorations in our house allow us to bask in the season, the scenery at Busch Gardens also ignites the spirit of Christmas for us.
Walking through the park takes us away to a place that feels far from our familiar streets. For a while, we are placed in a Christmas story far from home with an elaborate backdrop of an English village, an Italian garden, a Parisian avenue, a German village square. We let the artifice work its magic on us, and we wander around Europe in our winter coats and hats sipping hot chocolate, stopping in shops, and listening to carolers. The European mystique is only interrupted by the constant screams through the trees. Even this becomes part of the Christmas allure, the thrill of the roller coaster with our teeth chattering, scarves flying, gloved hands raised high.
We usually leave Busch Gardens sunburned and sweaty in the summer months, so the November cold adds to the Christmas setting and the feeling of doing something special.Â
I’m not always the best at marking special occasions mainly because I believe in making the daily grind as luxurious as possible. I don’t wait around for starred days on the calendar to enjoy something unexpected or to indulge.
But I do understand the power of traditions that come around only once a year. They mark time in ways the clock and calendar cannot, breaking open months with pleasure and delight. I plan to lean in with excessive exuberance this year for the holidays designing elaborate sets in my home and enjoying the Christmas scenery out in the world.Â
As we finish up our essays this year on Substack with a BEST OF series, we want to wish all of you who have supported our writing in 2021 a wonderful holiday season with family and friends and we wish you all a healthy 2022 filled with exploring new and old places.