Christmas in July

Christmas in July



Yeah, Christmas is still a few months away, but the mention of it in July somehow serves as a reminder to start saving the change from those lattes for all of those expensive things your wife will ask you for. For some of you, you'll simply have to cut out lattes all together. Haha...I kid.


These are some photos that never quite made it to the blog. Perhaps I was tired of the holiday season before it started that I just never really was up to posting them. Actually, these photos were taken for a Winston Salem Monthly assignment and published in the December 2007 issue. After 60 days copyright licensing expired, it was more than likely mid March of 2008 before I gave them anymore thought. So here we are in July having a look at holiday photos from last year. Good times.


If you're local to the area and have never been to Tanglewood during the holidays, I'd defintitely give it a shot. The lighting display is basically a drive-thru show where you dim your headlights, tune into the local park's station for holiday music, and slowly cruise through the various displays. I'd recommend going sometime early in the season when you don't have 10,000 other locals clogging up the roads leading up to the park. If you've got a hot date it's a definite bonus as there are many areas of the park where it's just too dark for anyone else in any other car to really see what's going on in your vehicle. If you've got a family, calmly tell your kids to cover their eyes. (Ok, who actually reads what I write anyways? It kind of gives me the right to say whatever I wish, right? haha)


Around the midway part of the ride - right around the time that dinner has settled and is making you sleepy - there is a nice place to park, get out of your car, buy some hot chocolate and smores making ingredients, and gather around a large fire pit for roasting with a bunch of strangers. This is an opportune time to make up stories, lie about some big deer you killed on some hunting trip, or make mothers round up their kids as you drunkenly wave around a flaming marshmallow. If you haven't gotten lucky with your date, perhaps this would be a good time to spike her hot chocolate with something that will get the night moving along a little more quickly.




It's hard to believe I will soon be spending a third Christmas up here in North Carolina. It's more unbelievable how time flies and how bringing up photos from last Christmas reminds me of a very much different time in my life. Just a few short months can certainly bring about change and make a whole world of difference. Of course, if you're going into next Christmas still complaining about the last one then you should probably do something a little different to change your life.

I have no idea what this Christmas will bring - maybe a hot chick in a Santa suit. Ehh, actually that'd be better after the holidays seeing how I won't need to save any left-over change from lattes this year. Who knows. Have fun this holiday season. Get in your car, check out some holiday lights, and maybe get lucky. (Are you still reading this?!)