Get into the festive spirit this holiday season with original ways to decorate and celebrate Christmas.

FLYP lets you in on some of the best places near you to get in the Christmas spirit, from walks through Christmas history to gigantic gingerbread houses to homemade hot chocolate to cul-de-sacs decked out in glittering lights.

 

California Christmas
Where: Rancho Penasquitos
What started as a humble cul-de-sac tradition over 25 years ago now includes over 200 households in this neighborhood just outside of San Diego. Head over to Christmas Card Lane—the most festive neighborhood in the state—and grab some homemade hot chocolate.
Walk from Ellingham Street past Oviedo Street and Renato Street, checking out this community’s glimmering display of festive spirit along the way. Each house features a different holiday theme, which range from classic and biblical to Disney and Santa’s workshop. The whole family will enjoy the sights and sounds, and a little envy at the gigantic blow up Santas might be in order.

Edible Experience
Where: Mall of America
Come to the largest mall in America to see and experience what is billed as the “World’s Largest Gingerbread House.” At an astonishing 1,496 square feet (the average home in America is 2,349 square feet), this 60-foot-tall gingerbread house took over 1,700 hours to create.
The gingerbread artist, Roger Pelcher, currently holds the world record for the size and scope of his creations. This year, the exhibit required a staggering 14,250 pounds of gingerbread and 4,750 pounds of icing.
Guests can walk through the gingerbread creation for a donation, which benefits the Saint Therese Foundation.

River Reverie
Where: Willamette River
This year marks the 54th anniversary of the Christmas Ship Parade in Portland.
The bedecked ships will travel down the Columbia and Willamette Rivers with their twinkling lights glittering on the water. For a bit of civilized holiday fun, enjoy a meal at one of the riverside restaurants as the decked out dinghies float by.
The Christmas Ship fleet, an all-volunteer organization that averages 55 boats, parades every night for two weeks during the holiday season, donating the time and paying the fuel costs. Funded also by donations from restaurants and hotels along the waterfront, it is definitely a community effort everyone can enjoy.

Keep on Giving
Where: Dallas Convention Center
Get an early jump on holiday shopping and give yourself a holiday spirit boost at the 30th annual Chi Omega Christmas Market. Labeled the “market in the meadow on steroids” by locals, it offers stalls from more than 150 merchants from all over the country, who push everything from handmade jewelry to specialty foods.
When you’re ready to drop you can warm yourself up with a cup of tea at the local café and the knowledge that 70 percent of the market’s gross income goes to local beneficiaries like the Austen Street Center for homeless, Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children and Equest Therapeutic Horsemanship. To date, the market has raised $4.95 million.

Party with St. Nick and Baby Jesus
Where: Near the University of Tulsa
German Christmas markets (or Christkindlemarkts) have a strong European tradition, but they are also popular in down-home Tulsa. Every year, the German-American Society of Tulsa transforms their home into a German Christmas wonderland.
The market offers all sorts of German delicacies, from Christmas stollen cake to a variety of wurst and kartoffelpuffer to hot apple cider. Walking along the booths, where crafters display their goods (like old-fashioned nutcrackers), you can tilt your hat and send a “Grüß Gott” to other good citizens of Tulsa. Children will be delighted to run into St. Nikolaus (the original Santa Claus) and the Christlekind.

Recalling Yuletides Past
Where: Downtown, the North End and Charlestown
The Freedom Trail, one of Boston’s premiere tourists destinations, offers something a little different when the holidays roll around.
Follow the guide (who will be wonderfully dressed in 19th-century Dickensian garb) past the USS Constitution, Old North Church and Faneuil Hall, all while recounting unique Bostonian Christmas traditions, as well as tales of the days when the city hosted the U.S. premiere of A Christmas Carol.
If the Boston chill gets you down—and it will—snuggle up at trail’s end with hot chocolate or tea and crumpets at the Omni Parker House Hotel.