Some of us stay at home, celebrating with close family and bouncing betweenholiday parties.
Not to mention, we have the best holiday food around.
Here are 30 quintessential ways to celebrate Christmas in the South.
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Nestled near a charmingsmall townthat goes all out for the holidays seems like the ideal place to celebrate.
Flee To The Sea
Rent a beach house and welcome Santa seaside.
Build your snowman out of sand instead of snow, and take in holiday lights along the boardwalk.
Charles Bunion Smoky Mountains National Park.Credit:Courtesy of NPS
The decorations are so inspiring, you’ll want torecreate the lookin your own home.
Revel In Creole Tradition
Experiencereveillon dinners, the New Orleans revival of an old Creole tradition.
Take the kids on a hayride and buy them some hot chocolate.
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(Yes, some of us have made the unspeakable leap to artificial trees.
Heaven help us if the Junior League finds out.)
He doesn’t limit his mode of transportation when it’s time to deliver those toys.
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Go All Out When Decorating The Tree
Pour yourself some eggnog and dive into your lighting plan.
This allows us to pretend we live in the Smokies.)
Undecorated surfaces at Christmastime make Southerners nervous.
Credit: Robbie Caponetto
Don’t Forget The Mailbox
Decorate your mailbox.
Light Enough Candles To Survive A Power Outage
Candles, candles everywhere.
Because that would be bad.
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No matter what other decorations there are, there’s a place for thefamiliar Christmas plant.
Our Cornbread Dressing recipe makes enough to feed a large family, yielding one large and one small pan.
Do not come at us with lesser swine at Christmastime.
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Don’t Forget The Cranberry Sauce
Cranberry saucein any shape or form.
It’s a staple on any holiday table.
Homemade is worth the extra effort and easier than you think to make.
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Our Homemade Cranberry Sauce can be made the day before the feast.
We’re talking homemade tamales if you live in Texas;she crab soupin Charleston.
Bake a sky-highcoconut layer cake, as well aschocolate,caramel, andred velvet layer cakes.
And maybe aMississippi Mud Cake.
And aTexas Sheet Cake.
Serve Coffee With A Slice Of Fruitcake
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Don’t forget the fruitcake soaked in brandy.
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Our Really Good Fruitcake really does live up to its name.
Always Bake Pecan Pie
Pecan pie.
Serve it in a cut-glass bowl so the oranges create a little pop of color on your table.
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When the punch bowl comes out, everyone knows it’s time to celebrate.
Get Out The Tablecloth
Send your grandmother’s tablecloth to the dry cleaners.
Your mother lets you borrow it once a year, and you had BETTER take good care of it.
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And Keep It Together
Pray the turkey is done when you hear the doorbell ring.
We can taste those leftover turkey sandwiches now.
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