Merry Christmas from Folly Beach

Folly Beach, SC

As close as I live to the beach, I am most likely to be there in the winter when the rest of the country isn't. The crowds driving to the beach on a warm sunny day take much of the appeal away. Luckily we still get bright days in the winter. Someone decorated trees like this last year so I went hunting and sure enough, I found it! Merry Christmas!

Merry, merry!

Charleston, SC  

I had to look twice to determine if it was part of the wrought iron work. Hi little fella!

Charleston at Christmas

Charleston at Christmas, Charleston, S.C.

A reader emailed asking if I had Charleston Christmas cards from any of my pictures and not only do I not, I didn't even have any seasonal photos for this year. Thanks to this morning's walk I do now. Here is a start with more to come.

Want more now? You can check this album of Charleston Christmas pictures from past years. Enjoy!

Meanwhile, who has the best Caramel Cake recipe? I am feeling ambitious.

'Twas a couple of nights before Christmas

Festive Carriage Ride, Charleston, S.C.

I'd better use up the rest of my Christmas photos before the day has come and gone!

My house smells like gingerbread cake. Yum. I made the Smitten Kitchen recipe and it turned out great. I didn't have the bottle of stout that it called for along with the molasses so I tossed in a cup of spicy hot Blenheim Ginger-ale. I'm going to have to fatten up my son because I can't keep the whole cake around here for me to eat.

One of the best things about holidays in my opinion is sharing in everyone's family fun as Facebook pictures are posted. It's been a treat watching kids celebrate, bake cookies and sit on Santa's lap. Enjoy every minutes folks and keep the pictures coming, they grow up too fast!

I went to a brunch on the Isle of Palms and half way through I figured out I was seated next to the former Mayor and current House Representative Mike Sottile. Then I got to explore artist Carol McGill's studio and see her work. It was a good morning.

I hope everyone get's what they want for Christmas, because you know what? People are trying to make you happy. I walked through Citadel Mall on Friday night (big, big mistake) and was struck by all the shoppers intent on finding things to please their loved ones. They were holding things up, consulting friends, scratching their heads and digging deep in their pockets. They tried!

It's a Baby Tree!

Ashley Oaks Ob/Gyn Christmas Tree, Charleston, S.C.

Isn't this the cutest thing? Dr. Kathryn Hargrove from Ashley Oaks Ob/Gyn flagged me down and said I should get a picture of her office Christmas tree. It's become a tradition for new mothers to bring or send in a picture of the babies she delivered during the year. The tree was full of adorable baby pictures!

Christmas Quotes by Famous Folks

Charleston, S.C.

Christmas creates a happy and pleasant atmosphere for most people, but the Christmas atmosphere can be hard to describe in words. Here you have a series of great quotes about Christmas phrased by famous people.

1. Agnes M. Pharo: What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future. It is a fervent wish that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and eternal, and that every path may lead to peace.

2. Carol Nelson: Christmas is a time when you get homesick – even when you’re home.

3. Helen Keller: The only blind person at Christmastime is he who has not Christmas in his heart.

4. Harlan Miller: Probably the reason we all go so haywire at Christmas time with the endless unrestrained and often silly buying of gifts is that we don’t quite know how to put our love into words.

5. Shirley Temple: I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother took me to see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph.

6. Norman Vincent Peale: Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.

7. Mary Ellen Chase: Christmas, children, is not a date. It is a state of mind.

8. W.J. Cameron:There has been only one Christmas – the rest are anniversaries.

9. Larry Wilde: Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree. In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall.

10. Charles Dickens: I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.

This little festive piggie....

Charleston Window Box, Charleston, S.C.

Oink, oink. The festive window piggie is decorated for Christmas. We don't lack for holiday color do we?

Lowcountry at Christmas

Nathaniel Russell House, Meeting St., Charleston, S.C.

Charleston is decked out in it's finest holiday wear. Meanwhile, I have volunteer holiday parties all week and have nothing festive to wear. Red and green don't seem to be my usual colors. When is the black and blue holiday? I have a closet full of those colors.

 

Christmas Elves hard at work in Charleston

Meeting & Tradd St., Charleston, S.C.

How perfect was it that I was walking up Meeting St. as this glorious house was being decorated? Perfect, perfect, perfect. This scene will be in a thousand photographs just as it is at Halloween but mine will be the first because I stood on the sidewalk with the owner of the property as she watched her elves adjust the hat designed by a sail maker for her house. What a gift of joy she gives to Charleston each year with the creative and original decorations. Thank you Rebekah!