Ginny from the Blog

If you’re looking for some ways to get in the holiday spirit in the Triangle, here are some tips. As always please add any events I forgot to list in the comments section! Happy Holidays!

Get your Gingerbread on. Seriously, you would not believe how many opportunities you have to get your hands (or just your eyes) on some gingerbread in the Triangle:

You can attend the Family Gingerbread Workshop on Dec. 12 at C’est Ci Bon cooking school in Chapel Hill. Or you can decorate gingerbread houses on Dec. 3 at the Capital City Club in Raleigh.

View the entries in the Raleigh Gingerbread House Competition now through Jan. 3 at Alta Oakridge Retirement Community.

See gingerbread houses created by the area’s top chefs and raise money for a good cause at the Triangle Family Services 7^th annual Gingerbread Gala on Dec. 17 at the Umstead Hotel.

Check out Durham’s Christmas parade at 4 p.m. Dec. 5. The eclectic event always features a random mix of floats, librarians and an appearance from Beaver Lodge Local 1504.

Ride the Holiday Express Train at Pullen Park. The city park will be decked out in holiday lights. You can ride the train to Santa’s village from Dec. 10 and 13 and tell the big guy what you want for Christmas. There will be concessions, carousel rides and more. Parking gets bad, so consider riding the shuttle.

Go see the Raleigh Ringers, the internationally acclaimed community handbell choir is based right here in the Triangle. My mom saw them perform on PBS one year, and I’ve had to hear about them ever since. Truly, it is pretty incredible what they can do with handbells. Besides bells pretty much equal Christmas music, right?

Want more holiday music? Here’s a list of all the Christmas Concerts in the area.

Give a computer to a student who needs one. If you have any computer refurbishing skills, then volunteer at the Mini Geek-A-Thon on Dec. 12 at the Kramden Institute, a Durham nonprofit that helps connect hardworking, less-advantage students with computers.

Go see the Nutcracker. I was obsessed with the ballet when I was a little girl. I would love it if my boyfriend took me to see it this year. The Carolina Ballet performs the classic holiday ballet from Dec. 5 to 6 at Memorial Hall in Chapel Hill or Dec. 19 to 28 at Raleigh Memorial Auditorium. You can also see it on Dec. 12 and 13 at Carolina Theatre in Durham.

Go see Disney’s A Christmas Carol at the IMAX in Raleigh. The 3-D flick will be on the big screen at least through Dec. 17.

Just whatever you do, don’t take your kids on a horse and buggy ride around Crossroads in Cary. That’s just tacky.

When I want to get into the Christmas spirit, there are certain no-fail traditions I can fall back on. Watching “It’s A Wonderful Life” or “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.” Decorating the Christmas tree. Sipping yummy Egg Nog. Tuning to the All-Christmas music radio station. Watching the kids line up at the mall for their chance to whisper their wishes to Santa.

But there’s something happening at Crossroads Plaza in Cary that seems more dangerous than festive: Riding in a horse-pulled buggy with Santa Claus. Traffic at Crossroads is crazy this time of year. I don’t see how having a horse clopping up and down the parking lot hauling small children is a good idea.

When you’re a kid, it’s probably pretty cool to ride around with Santa for a few minutes. But is this really the best venue?

Did you believe in Santa when you were a kid? One of my co-workers blogged today about how HER PARENTS NEVER LET HER BELIEVE IN SANTA. Of course, I had to tell her the story about how I found out there was no such thing as Santa. You see, around age 6 I became skeptical about the existence of this jolly, gift-giving fellow. So on Christmas Eve, I plopped my pillow and blanket down in front of my parent’s bedroom door and slept on the floor.

I was convinced I wouldn’t get any presents from “Santa” because there is no way they would be able to open the door and walk out to the living room without waking me up. Well, I must have slept like a rock that night because the next morning I woke up and my stocking was full. After that, my belief in Santa was reaffirmed. Of course my belief would eventually be shattered when I found all of the ornaments I left for Santa (along with some of my childhood teeth) in my mom’s sock drawer.

Anyway, I bring up these holiday memories because I’m really jazzed about this project that the talented Page Crawford is working on. She’s putting together a 23-minute holiday television show on NBC17 featuring photos and videos of Triangle residents. But in order for her to create the show, she needs stuff to fill it with. That’s where I’m hoping some of my Triangle readers can help out.

Do you have any photos or video clips from your family’s holiday celebrations that you’d love to appear on air? Page is piecing together all sorts of content. So if you’ve got an old video clip of your child screaming because she got a Tickle Me Elmo doll that one year it was really hot, send it Page’s way. She’ll even take photos of your kids crying when they met Santa for the first time or videos of your over-the-top yard decorations.

I’ll keep you posted on what day the special will air. But in the meantime, if you’d like to have some of your memories possibly appear on TV, you can submit them here. Please only submit stuff if you live in the Triangle though. Page is trying to fill the show with lots of local stuff.

I’m going to see if my mom has any funny and/or embarrassing childhood Christmas photos that she can dig up so I can share them on my blog. I’ll keep you posted.