Holiday getaways: twinkling lights, festive foods, yuletide crafts, and local customs await tourists in delightful December destinations

Travel America, Nov-Dec, 2004 by Barbara Gibbs Ostmann

At the Lake of the Ozarks (800-FUN-LAKE, www.funlake.com), in the central part of Missouri, there are several light displays, including the 15th annual Lights Festival, Nov. 20 to Jan. 1, throughout the Lake Ozark and Osage Beach area. At Laurie, visitors can enjoy 27 acres of lighted Christmas scenes at the Laurie Fairgrounds and the illuminated grotto at the Mary Mother of the Church Shrine at St. Patrick's Catholic Church.

More than five million lights will welcome visitors to three months of special events at Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The 15th annual Winterfest (800-WINTER-FEST, www.mypigeontorge.com) begins with the lighting ceremony Nov. 4 and World's Largest Outlet Extravaganza Dec. 2-12, and continues into January for Wilderness Wildlife Week and February for the Smoky Mountains Storytelling Festival.

With towns named Bethlehem and Nazareth, Pennsylvania is a natural for Christmas activities. Since 1741, Bethlehem (800-360-8687, www.historicbethlehem.org) has beckoned travelers, especially during the holiday season. From the day after Thanksgiving through December, the town bustles with Christmas activities, including Bethlehem by Night guided bus tours, Old Bethlehem historic area walking tours, carriage rides, and museum tours. There is a live Christmas pageant Dec. 11-12, and a Christkindl Market--in heated tents--Nov. 26-28, Dec. 1-5, 8-12, and 16-19.

In Nazareth (610-759-9188, www.moravianhistoricalsociety.org), be sure to see the Moravian Putz, an elaborate creche (nativity scene) complete with music, narration, and special lighting, near the Nazareth Moravian Church on Center Square. The Whitefield House Museum will feature a complete Moravian putz and other special holiday displays as well as its permanent exhibits. The second weekend in December brings the manual Christmas Candlelight Tour, sponsored by Nazareth Heritage, Inc.

You'll think you've stepped into a Currier and Ives print when you visit the snow-covered hills and dales of Connecticut's Farmington Valley (800-4-WELCOME, www.farmingtonvalleyvisit.com). If you can tear yourself away from the crackling fire in your classic country inn, you can take a horse-drawn sleigh ride on your way to one of the holiday events in the seven small villages in the area. The New Hartford Historical Society offers a holiday house tour Dec. 3-4; there's a Santa Fest in the Old Avon Village Dec. 4 and a candlelight tour of the Phelps Tavern Museum and Homestead in Simsbury Dec. 4-5.

An authentic Old World Christmas market is held in the heart of Chicago. The Christkindl Market, sponsored by the German American Chamber of Commerce of the Midwest (312-644-2662, www.christkindlmarket.com), runs Nov. 25 through Dec. 22 at Daley Center Plaza and Block 37, in front of City Hall in the Loop area. The event gets bigger and better each year. It's the next best thing to going to Germany to the markets.

For a German market with a Texas twist, celebrate the Weihnachten on the Marktplatz (market square) in Fredericksburg, Texas, Dec. 3-5 (888-997-3600, www.fredericksburg-texas.com). The open-air holiday market is part of the town's Christmas festivities, which include a parade, candlelight house tours, and a Christmas tree forest.