My mom, sister, daughter, and I went to the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. They host a special holiday event each year called Las Noches de las Luminarias” which is simply incredible.

Since we were going to be in town on Christmas this year, I decided to surprise my family and reserve a decorated igloo at the zoo for the evening (6-9 pm) of December 26.

Merry Christmas to All My Readers!

While the weather may look just a little frightful for the next day or two, there’s a bunch of fun stuff for folks to do in the Omaha area between Christmas and New Years. I’d highly recommend taking advantage of it!

Last weekend, two friends and I explored Le Mars, Iowa and visited/viewed two fabulous, larger-than-life holiday light displays. At both places you can park your car and walk through the displays.

Le Mars, Iowa has become a fun holiday destination! (See my previous post). The Brown family provides fantastic entertainment and the town has many older and beautiful homes. Many town organizations come together and provide holiday activities and events.

Zoolightful is fabulous and, if you possibly can, go!!! The decorations are fabulous, the atmosphere magical, and there are lots of opportunities to get family photos.

I have so many fond memories of loading up the family in the car when my kids were young and heading out to spot Christmas lights.

One of the best things about travel is taking advantage of local special events. I got to go on a lovely holiday tour of homes recently in the Iowa Great Lakes area. The homes were all decked out for Thanksgiving and Christmas with many beautiful decorations.