Small Town Holiday Celebration

If you are feeling stressed by the holidays, one of the best ways to get your holiday spirit back is to visit some of the small town celebrations that abound in this country.  Sure, you can go to Rockefeller Center and watch the tree lighting while being jostled by huge crowds, but you can walk away feeling exhausted rather than exhilarated.  I know as I am a native New Yorker who has visited the bright lights of the holiday season many times. But, just for a moment imagine yourself part of a community celebration where you hear carols sung by a small school choir, stand shoulder to shoulder as the Christmas tree is lit in the town square, sip hot chocolate while watching the brightly decorated fire trucks that coast in the parade, and wait with anticipation along with the town's children for the arrival of Santa Claus.  This is the true spirit of the holidays.  No BIG productions, just simple heartfelt joy of the season.

This Friday, we will enjoy this wonderful celebration in our town, North Wildwood, NJ.  Cold as it may be, the tree lighting at the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse and the parade down Central Avenue right past our B&B will bring warmth and holiday spirit to our souls.  It will conjure up images of our own childhoods and the many wonderful memories of times gone by.  Then on Saturday, we will see many at the Family Celebration at the Wildwoods Convention Center.  With music, shopping, and all types of family activities, it is a time of happiness and fun. 

So, wherever you are, try to find the simple joys of this holiday season - perhaps in your neighborhood or after a drive through crowded streets and neighborhoods to that wonderful celebration of the holidays that comes straight from the heart.  Whatever you choose to do, may the spirit of the holidays be with you and bring you peace in the New Year.

Nancy and Bill, Innkeepers, Candlelight Inn Bed and Breakfast New Jersey Shore