Making Holiday Memories in the Peach State

– The Peach State invites people of all ages to create holiday memories this season. From home tours and twinkle lights to hearty holiday feasts, Georgia offers unique events and performances that are sure to even pique the interests of the grinch in your family.

A Southern Christmas at Stone Mountain Park, Nov. 13 through Dec. 30, provides holiday fun for the whole family. This spectacular holiday event brings the magic of a small town Christmas to life with great décor, live shows, holiday treats and activities for all ages. The town will be decorated with millions of lights, creating a charming and enchanting atmosphere, and families can enjoy a nightly snowfall and fireworks finale.

Join millions of captivated visitors at the 12th annual Fantasy In Lights at Callaway in Pine Mountain, Ga. From Nov. 19 through Dec. 30, the gardens will sparkle with 8 million lights creating more than a dozen enchanting scenes. Guests have the opportunity to ride The North Pole Express through the woods and around the lake and even have a chance to spot Santa in the Christmas Village. Fondly known as one of the brightest holiday light shows in the South, add Fantasy In Lights to your family’s list of memorable holiday traditions this year.

Christmas Wonderland at Wild Adventures in Valdosta captures the spirit of the season with an astounding array of more than five million brilliant lights and animated displays, captivating shows and attractions, plus holiday culinary delights. The event, from Nov. 19 through Dec. 30, includes the Wonderland Express, a festive train ride through almost a mile of animated lights and displays; Christmas on Ice, a dazzling ice skating spectacular; and “A Holiday Homecoming,” a heart-warming, WWII-era Christmas story, and more.

The young and the young-at-heart alike are dazzled by the millions of twinkling lights and holiday splendor at Lake Lanier’s Magical Night of Lights from Nov. 20 through Dec. 30. Illuminated characters, delicious holiday treats, a bonfire for roasting marshmallows, a carnival and pony rides, are just a few of the amusements in store for visitors.

Take a break from the shopping and the cooking; the wrapping and the rushing around to usher in the season with one of Atlanta’s most beloved holiday traditions -- the 40th annual production of Atlanta Ballet’s Nutcracker at the Fox Theatre Nov. 27 through Dec. 24. From the lavish grace of the Dew Drop Fairy to the frantic footwork of the mischievous mice, the Nutcracker is a holiday treat, a story you grew up with and one you’ll want to pass on to family and friends.

Jekyll Island transforms itself to Holiday Island and invites families from around the southeast to gather for various events and festivities starting Nov. 27. From the Community Christmas Tree Light Festival in the National Historic Landmark District to world-class storytelling and the annual Gingerbread House Festival, there is no better place than Jekyll Island to enjoy your Christmas that feels like July.

Experience and learn about holiday traditions, decorations and celebrations from all over the globe at Christmas Around the World while visiting Habitat for Humanity International’s Global Village and Discovery Center in Americus, Ga. From Nov. 30 through Dec. 22, embrace the opportunity to see the entire world in southwest Georgia and share the Habitat story with people who are discovering the possibilities for the first time.

Enjoy a tour of holiday decorations, a variety of live Christmas music and refreshments on Dec. 3 at Christmas in Olde Macon. Tour some of Macon’s most historic homes, including the Hay House, Cannonball House, Sidney Lanier Cottage and the Woodruff House, which was built in 1836 and is normally closed to the public. Throughout the tour, historians will tell tales of Macon Christmases past.

Visitors stroll through 154,000 square feet of decorated trees, wreaths and decorator vignettes created by Atlanta’s top artists and designers at the 28th Annual Festival of Trees, Dec. 4 through Dec. 12. This nine-day event in the Georgia World Congress Center provides both beauty and purpose for those in Atlanta as it supports Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. The festival features more than 200 trees and holiday scenes, magnificent gingerbread houses, an assortment of specialty shops, a special venue of handmade dollhouses and an array of children’s activities. The main stage features continuous live entertainment and attracts people of all ages.

Columbus will welcome the Moscow Boys Choir to the RiverCenter on Dec. 4. This amazing 40-voice ensemble offers a careful blend of heavenly soprano voices with the rich resonance of bass, tenor and baritone sound that brings a distinct Russian flavor to the choral experience. Their triumphant Christmas Around the World tour comes to Columbus after playing major concert halls, the White House and many other prestigious locales.

A tradition in the Augusta community, the Ninth Annual Holiday Artists Market offers a wide variety of paintings, drawings, pottery, photography and other artwork from Dec. 9 though Dec. 11. Enjoy the sounds of the season, sip on traditional hot wassail as you stroll through the hallways of one of Augusta’s oldest homes, Ware’s Folly, and view the work of more than 40 artists from the Central Savannah River area.

Visit historic downtown Thomasville for a Victorian Christmas Dec. 9 and 10. Enjoy carriage rides, strolling carolers, culinary delights of all descriptions, street vendors, musicians and a host of unique shops and restaurants.

The Annual Holiday Tour of Homes and Gardens on St. Simons Island and Sea Island from Dec. 10 through Dec. 12 takes visitors through five homes, a designer showcase house, as well as two former slave cabins at Gascoigne Bluff.

New this year at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, “A Very Merry Holiday Pops” is an Atlanta Christmas celebration like no other. Dec. 18 and 19 only, enjoy the von Trapp Family Singers, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, choirs, dancers, a few surprises and all of your favorite songs in this Yuletide extravaganza. Watch and listen to Michael Krajewski conduct a holiday masterpiece for all to enjoy.

The annual Sam Shortline Santa Excursion will be chugging into Vidalia on Dec. 20. Families can visit the Christmas Village, share their wishes with Santa and dance in the street with Yumion. This festive holiday event will have live entertainment, sidewalk sales, food and will prove to be a delight for the entire family.

Drawing in more than 100,000 spectators a year, the Peach Drop continues to be the southeast’s largest New Year’s celebration. Shortly before midnight, the descent of an impressive 800-pound peach will begin the much-anticipated countdown to 2005. The dropping of the enormous peach will then culminate into a beautiful explosion of music and fireworks with the breathtaking downtown Atlanta skyline as the backdrop.

The Georgia Department of Economic Development is the state’s sales and marketing arm, the lead agency for attracting new business investment, encouraging the expansion of existing industry, locating new markets for Georgia products, attracting tourists to Georgia, promoting the state as a location for film and video projects, as well as planning and mobilizing state resources for economic development.