Spawned in San Francisco in 1994, this prankish event now occurs in cities around the world. But SantaCon – in which participants don Santa costumes and fill the streets en masse, crushing gullible children’s dreams in the process – remains at its most surreal .
When: December 12–14; December 24
The old stone Grove Park Inn , in Asheville, North Carolina, looks a bit like something from a fairy tale, so it’s fitting that it hosts the National Gingerbread House Competition. But the 'gingerbread houses' – really, creative dioramas built entirely of edible materials – are far beyond anything Hansel and Gretel would recognize.
When: until January 1
Should your spirits flag while shopping at Pigeon Forge's Christmas Place, the largest Christmas store in the South, not to worry – you can book a room at the adjoining hotel, trimmed to the rafters in twinkle lights and pine boughs. And there’s no need to fuss with your itinerary either – this store is in nonstop holiday mode, with Singing Santa strumming away on his white guitar year-round . Bonus: Dolly Parton, the embodiment of over-the-top Americana, has her theme park, Dollywood, right nearby, with special seasonal shows .
When: all year at Christmas Place; until January 3 at Dollywood
No surprise that Disney takes Christmas seriously. At Walt Disney World™ in Florida, Mickey hosts special parties, Epcot celebrates holidays around the world, and of course there's plenty of
What does a pig-shaped train have to do with Christmas? Don’t ask – just hop aboard for this holiday tradition that’s been running since 1953.
When: until January 4
Self-taught artist Kenny Irwin has been conjuring a particularly creative take on Christmas on his father’s Palm Springs lawn since 1986, when he was just 12 years old. Since then, Irwin’s walk-through construction has blossomed into something like Santaland gone galactic, all built with found objects. A great American piece of folk art.
When: until January 6
The town of Solvang, settled by Danish immigrants in the early 20th century, conjures a kitschy version of Scandinavian tradition. The holiday of Jule – aka Christmas, with a touch of pagan solstice – is celebrated with lit-up windmills, Danish folk dancers and incongruously sunny skies. Don’t miss the 10ft-tall gingerbread house at the Hotel Corque. True pagans should come for the Christmas-tree burning on January 9.
When: December 5–January 9
Claiming to be the world’s largest Christmas store, Bronner’s covers 7 acres and stocks hundreds of thousands of ornaments, miles of tree garlands and every other holiday gewgaw you could hope for. In keeping with the Bavarian theme of the town of Frankenmuth, there’s a recreation of an Austrian chapel on the greater grounds, which are, of course, decked out in trees and lights.
When: year-round, although Santa visits only in December
Hanukkah, traditionally a secondary Jewish holiday, is a huge deal in the United States – literally, in the form of two towering menorahs in New York City that are lit each night of the seven-night festival. At 32 ft tall, they claim to be the world’s largest. One is in Central Park .
When: December 16–23
