AUTHOR: ARTSY CHOW ROAMER

holiday round up:

A few favorite things

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver white winters that melt into spring
These are a few of my favorite things…”

Rodgers and Hammerstein – My Favorite Things

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas everywhere you go and ever earlier it seems on a yearly basis. I do love the holiday season and start to get very excited by Thanksgiving with all the options you have to celebrate in our area.

This year really offers the full freedom to come and go as you please with virtually no one asking for mask wearing and the latest jabs for Covid, RSV and flu on offer. This post will feature a few of my favorite things both old and new that you and your family can enjoy together so let’s get to it! 🎅

• garden lights & Holiday nights

Garden Lights and Holiday Nights at the fabulous Atlanta Botanical Gardens is a yearly must for my friends and family.  Every year seems to get bigger and better with thousands of lights in every area of the gardens with different themes, colors and activities.

This years special additions will include a wintery white Skynet installation by Patrick Shearn of Poetic Kinetics, flocks of illuminated birds and deer by Cedric Le Borgne and the return of the white rabbit exhibit from Alice in Wonderland in the garden pond.

All tickets are available online with timed entrances in three different price categories for adults and children. Grab your favorite cocktail for the tour inside the gates and look for the fire pits to see if they will also offer the smores toasting for the kids again this year. Running from November 18th through January 14th, you have plenty of choices on when to go with prices ranging from $13-32 for children and adults.

• the NUTCRACKER

While I miss seeing The Nutcracker at the Fox Theatre, The Atlanta Ballet has made a lovely home at the Cobb Energy Centre in which to present this beloved magical tale of playful beauty. Set to the music of Russian composer, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, the story of Marie and her Nutcracker prince comes to life with costuming by Sandra Woodall, set and scenic designs by Tom Pye and Faye Armon-Troncoso and choreography by Yuri Possokhov.

Some state-of-the-art technology adds unexpected creative surprises along the way with the winter wonderland of falling snowflakes and floating dream-like staging. This year’s presentation will run from December 8th through December 26th and tickets range in price from $53-158. This was the first ballet I ever saw as a young child and fueled my desire to take lessons and learn the lyrical movements that give this show its brilliance.

• atlanta christkindle market

The German American Cultural Foundation brings back their Christkindle Market in Buckhead Village for 2023. Running from November 25th through December 24th, 75 wooden stalls in over 32,000 square feet create a replica of a traditional German Christmas market.

Offering authentic gift finds, a Santa House, and an 18-foot Christmas tree, you and the family can nosh on pretzels, brats and schnitzel while washing it down with some hot cider or Gluhwein (hot spiced red wine). It really feels like Christmas to me when I get a cup of this traditional sweet beverage and get busy shopping!

Expect to find all manner of tree ornaments, wooden toys, jewelry and clay works along with bath and body items. Kathe-Wohlfahrt, one of the largest sellers of ornaments, wooden crafted products and candle mill houses will also be on hand. This market is huge and it’s free to come in and shop.

• white christmas

Byers Theater is the centerpiece of the beautiful Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center. Offering 1,070 seats on three levels, this venue is state-of-the-art with superb acoustics, great sightlines and a full orchestra pit. Where better to experience a stage adaptation of Irving Berlin’s holiday film classic White Christmas.

The uplifting tale tells the story of two showbiz buddies who come together in a small, picturesque Vermont town to help their old commanding officer in war present a winter pageant at his struggling inn. The bonus? They both find their perfect partners in the bargain, pull off a fabulous show and sing some of the best tunes ever written. What’s not to love?

• A christmas Carol

The Alliance Theatre’s production of A Christmas Carol returns to the Coca Cola stage in a stunning new adaptation with striking new stage sets and beautiful costuming. The AJC called it a “high art production…” which will transport audiences to the streets of London for the redemption of Ebenezer Scrooge.

The age-old story is told with an all-star cast and lovely music directed by Caitlin Hargraves and Andrew Benator playing the key role of Scrooge and Emberlynn Wood playing Tiny Tim. Running from November 11th through December 24th, you can pick up tickets to this fabulous presentation in an intimate setting in a large range of prices.

• murder by eggnog

I usually pick at least one fun thing to do that would involve travel. Branson is a pretty terrific destination for a holiday place to visit with the family if for no other reason, the sheer number of things to do and places to eat. Where to begin? I pick the Branson Murder Mystery Dinner Show at the Majestic Theater.

Murder by Eggnog is this years presentation which involves lots of comedy, clues and an all you can eat buffet. 😋🤗 What? Yep. A who-dun-it that promises a professional cast, a funny script, clues to help you figure it all out if you can while you grab all the food you can handle from the wild west buffet. Get along little doggies!

• a charlie brown christmas

There are so many animated Christmas specials for your family to enjoy. They aren’t just for kids either as many have an underlying lesson that all could benefit from. Few are as loved as A Charlie Brown Christmas with his sweet little tree that his friends are dubious over and make fun of him for choosing.

The jazzy music of the Vince Guaraldi Trio has become legendary around the world even though he passed away suddenly at 47 in 1976. He will always be remembered for his haunting melody of Christmas Time is Here.

Depressed about the commercialism he sees around him, Charlie tries to find deeper meaning in Christmas and discusses his ideas randomly with all of his friends. The special will be airing for free on Apple TV on December 16th and 17th as well as one of your local channels over the season. Serve up some tasty popcorn, bake off some Christmas cookies and settle in with a nice cup of hot chocolate to watch.

• CONCLUSION

My favorite things list could have gone on much longer but I think I picked out some of the best for you. All are appropriate for family outings and viewing along with the best of fun for date night too. Shopping is made easier for your list with inspired Christmas market finds.

I wish the happiest of holidays for you and yours and nothing gets me in the mood faster then some creative takes on the usual holiday jingles. Take a listen to Straight No Chaser’s version of The 12 Days of Christmas and Pentatonix’ version of Mary Did You Know. I love a good a cappella group don’t you? (Pssst…The CD’s are great gift ideas for music lovers.) You’re welcome!

If you liked what you read you might also like other posts under Artful Ideal where you’ll find all kinds of interesting tips about exhibitions, artists, dance, theater, music and more. Look for more upcoming posts on what to eat and where to explore. Until then…

Cheers,

Artsy Chow Roamer

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TO MY READERS: This post will appear in a shortened version in my newspaper column, The Curious Corner for Smoke Signals in the December issue