I love Christmas! Besides the good eats and the love of family and friends, there are places to see Christmas lights and decorations. This post is about two of my favorites.
Feeling nostalgic during this time of social isolation, I look forward more than ever to my Christmastime! Especially my favorite places for Christmas lights and decorations!
Aldiks store in Van Nuys
Boy, talk about a delightful distraction! Aldiks is a longtime home-goods store with a large selection of silk & artificial flowers, and more. But for Holiday decor? When it comes to Christmas lights and decorations, Aldiks is a hard act to follow. It is so richly decorated with holiday decor it could charge admission. Breathtaking is an understatement! For me, it is a must-do to kick off the Christmas season. I visit it shortly after it announces it is ready for the holidays – which is in mid-November.
The Mission Inn in Riverside
The annual Festival of Lights at the historic Mission Inn has become a holiday tradition. Especially for Christmas lights and decorations. However, it is a splendid visit year around. The Inn occupies an entire city block and still extorts the grand style and ambiance it introduced when it opened in 1876. During its 150-year history, many people of note have walked its floors including Presidents Roosevelt, Taft, Hoover, Nixon, Reagan and Bush Jr; social leaders such as Booker T. Washington, Susan B. Anthony, Amelia Earhart, Albert Einstein, Helen Keller, and John Muir; and entertainers including Judy Garland, Bette Davis, Clark Gable, Tom Hanks, Barbra Streisand, and James Brolin.
The annual Festival of Lights has been voted one of the top ten locations for Christmas lights in the US. When I go, I stay overnight as it is a long drive from where I live. It also affords me more convenient access to the grounds (hundreds of people line up outside to visit the Inn’s exterior and interior lobby.) Their holiday package includes a $25.00 dining certificate and two free cupcakes from their delightfully pink Casey’s Cupcakes shop. I dine at the Las Campanas Mexican restaurant. It is outside and set in a lavish garden. It serves excellent food at a reasonable price.
See for yourself!
I have created videos of my photos taken at both Aldiks and the Mission Inn. If you live in Southern California, you may be inspired to include these locations as part of your holiday festivities.
