Taking the Kids - Seeing Some Holiday Lights

By Eileen Ogintz

Holiday Lights

They're blue and green, purple, red, clear and twinkling -- 4 million lights in all, wound around trees and up and down buildings.

Dollywood (www.dollywood.com) in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., just a few miles from Great Smoky Mountains National Park, draws 300,000 people to their annual Smoky Mountain Christmas Spectacular, many returning for the lights (they begin putting them up in the summer) and the traditional shows -- "Christmas in the Smokies" has been drawing crowds of 1,000 or more several times a day for the last 19 years!

"I've been coming for as long as I can remember," said Justin Greer, who this time brought his wife, kids and extended family from Mississippi.

"It definitely makes me feel happy," said Tamara Chilver, visiting with her four kids from Knoxville, a 45-minute drive away.

Dollywood, of course, is named for star Dolly Parton, who grew up in a two-room cabin not far from here with 11 brothers and sisters. Her stamp is on the park everywhere -- there's even a replica of the impossibly small cabin. "We slept anywhere we could -- crossways on the bed because you could fit more kids in that way," Parton wrote me in an email, adding:

"Dollywood, especially during the holidays, is a place where families look back and say, 'Remember when we...' During times when the economy is struggling, we realize that our memories are the most precious keepsakes we have."

That's why we need to keep making memories this holiday season in ways we can afford. Maybe that means a visit to a theme park. Parks across the country from Dollywood, which offers specials discounts, to California, buy a gift for Toys for Tots and get in free to Knott's Berry Farm (www.knotts.com), Hershey, Pa., (check out the Christmas in Chocolate Town holiday dinner musical (www.hersheypa.com) to Orlando (rooms for under $100 a night! (www.orlandoinfo.com) put on the glitz, as do small towns like Pigeon Forge (5 million lights at Winterfest, www.mypigeonforge.com) and big cities with special Christmas shows and displays. It may be just what we need -- a lot of holiday cheer for just a few bucks, or none at all, if you're in the neighborhood.

Take the kids to see the farolitos (candles in bags) decorating buildings and sidewalks in Santa Fe, N.M., (www.santefe.org), decorated historic homes in Greenfield Village, Mich., (www.thehenryford.org) or Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia (www.history.org). Syracuse, N.Y., offers Lights on the Lake (www.lightsonthelake.com) while St. Augustine, Fla.'s 2 million white lights (www.getaway4florida.com/nights) are based on the tradition of the Spanish colonists, who put a candle in their window at the holiday.

"Even in this economy it's important to get away together," said Illinoisan Angela Wood, vacationing in Pigeon Forge with her husband and kids.

Floridian Cherie Krohn says her extended family is enjoying their first vacation together in a decade in Pigeon Forge -- having traded a stay in her parents' beach condo for a friend's mountain cabin.

Sometimes all it takes is some ingenuity -- and the desire. To get you started, here is a sampling of places around the country with plenty of lights and holiday cheer.

1. BOSTON, MASS. Boston features the largest Christmas tree in New England and Freedom Trail Holiday Strolls, with its 40-decorated tree display. (www.BostonUSA.com)

2. RICHMOND, VA.: Richmond's "Tacky Light Tour" (www.tackylighttour.com) is a holiday tradition, prompting people to go so far as to rent buses or limos to take the tour. Virginia also boasts 100 miles of lights in six Virginia cities, including Virginia Beach, Richmond and Williamsburg (www.100milesoflights.com).

3. CHICAGO, ILL.: "The Magnificent Mile Lights Festival" touts more than 1 million lights along Michigan Avenue. (The Museum of Science and Industry also has "Christmas Around the World" and "Holidays of Light," which display more than 50 Christmas trees decorated to reflect holiday traditions around the world. (www.cityofchicago.org)

4. KANSAS CITY, MO.: "Country Club Plaza's Season of Lights" in Kansas City offers more than 80 miles of colored lights outlining every shop, dome and tower. (www.countryclubplaza.com)

5. LAKE HOPE STATE PARK, OHIO: Hike through the forest to view 100,000-plus lights at the "Holiday Trail of Lights" at Lake Hope State Park in southeast Ohio. (www.1800hocking.com)

6. CELEBRATION IN THE OAKS in New Orleans takes place in City Park and has a walking tour with millions of lights throughout the Botanical Garden. A dancing light show is also included. (www.celebrationintheoaks.com)

7. LASER LIGHT SPECTACULAR IN GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL. This laser and sound show was last presented in 2005, but now it's back and you can catch it every half-hour throughout December. There will be twinkling stars, snowflakes, etc., as well as an opportunity to decorate the terminal and take in its huge holiday gift fair. (www.grandcentralterminal.com)

8. THE RIVER OF LIGHTS IN ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. New Mexico's largest walk-through holiday light show in Rio Grande Botanic Garden features giant light sculptures of plants, animals and seasonal themes. (www.itsatrip.org)

In Pigeon Forge, meanwhile, I stay in The Inn at Christmas Place (www.innatchristmasplace.com) where every room is decked out for the holidays (many year-round) There are caroling bells, a singing Santa and hot cider and cookies in the lobby where every surface is covered by a holiday display.

In my room, Santa shares space with golden elk and garland festooned with bright red holiday balls and ribbon. Even the lamp is tied with a big red and gold holiday bow and there's a silk poinsettia in the bathroom.

"And I didn't have to do a thing!" one woman decked out in a Santa sweater joked in the elevator. No wonder everyone is in such a good mood! And no one seems to mind spending a few bucks for the privilege.

"It's that time together with your family and the memories that you're going to carry in your heart," Dolly Parton says. "I know I do."

Me too.

Vacation Travel - Taking the Kids - Seeing Some Holiday Lights