A Lowcountry Christmas
Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year. Maybe it’s because I’m a December baby, but I think it’s related to the fact that everyone puts up some decorations and gets into the holiday spirit.
Growing up in Georgia, we always went to Fantasy in Lights at Callaway Gardens sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas. They do such a great job executing the full Christmas experience with a market, food vendors, two stories with lights on the beach, and then the miles of lights to drive through. When I heard that Boone Hall Plantation was going to be hosting their first “Lowcountry Christmas,” I was immediately sold.
I initially planned to go the first week of December to check it out, then I read the opening weekend reviews. Apparently it didn’t go well…to the point where they were issuing refunds {yikes}. We opted to wait a few weeks so they could get it together and try again. I finally had the chance to check it out, so here are my thoughts:
A Lowcountry Christmas is broken down into 3 “attractions” that you get admission to: Santa’s Castle, Christmas Town, and a Holiday Hayride. Santa’s Castle was interesting to say the least. Maybe I’m just not a big fan of 3D, but it was kinda odd to walk through the castle and see 3D images on the walls. As you leave you have a chance to get your picture with Santa, which would be a great family photo opportunity.
Christmas Town is built to be a festive main street decorated for Christmas. It’s covered in lights which I loved, but I expected some of the store fronts to be real. They did have some carts out there with snacks and beverages. I loved the fact that local choirs perform here most nights, and really enjoyed hearing their music.
The last attraction was the hayride. You go through the grounds and hear a curated version of A Christmas Carol from Scrooge’s point of view. This was probably my favorite part of the night. I love that story, and although some of the scenes you go through are a little amateur, you get the overall Christmas feeling and leave excited. They were pretty adamant about not taking pictures though :/
As I took a day to really think about the night before writing about it, I had to keep in mind that this was their first year doing this, and basically turned a Halloween fright night experience into a Christmas one in just a few weeks. Overall, this does get you into the holiday spirit. There’s food, music, and plenty of lights to get anyone excited about Christmas.
While there were definitely places for improvement, they aren’t a Callaway Gardens, Lake Lanier, or even the big light display at James Island County Park. It wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t terrible like some of the initial reviews said. I’m looking forward to seeing how this event grows over the next few years, and hopefully it will be incorporated into a Christmas tradition here in Charleston 🙂
