The year has flown by, and now Christmas is just around the corner. This time of the year is filled with joy and happiness. Winter is the time to enjoy yourself and do some fun things, so here are a few different activities you can do this year, even if you don’t celebrate Christmas.

First, there’s the NC Chinese Lantern Festival. The festival goes from November 18th to January 8th, which allows you to go whenever you have time. This festival has parades, fireworks, lion and dragon dances, and more. There are beautiful lanterns, as well as cultural arts performances that are done every night on the main stage. They have different ticket options for you to choose from, like “Any Night tickets.” which allow you to go any night you are available. They also have “Twilight tickets” and VIP tours. This event would be fun to see with family or friends–if this is interesting to you, here is the link to their website.

The Country Christmas Train is another activity that you might find fun. (It might be more for younger kids, but you can check it out to see if it is something you enjoy.) For this, there is a train that you get on to see different Christmas lights. The train takes you to a place where you can see things like a Gingerbread house, a Grist Mill, and a petting zoo. There are horse-drawn carriage rides, museums to explore, and you can see what life was like long ago, from how they cooked to what they did as careers. Here is the link for this fun experience.

Lastly, of course, there are the Christmas lights. If you are near the Holt Road Christmas Lights, I highly recommend taking the time to drive through. Every year, the owners of this property set up an expansive and decorative light display on their home and the surrounding property. You are allowed to drive through the display at no cost. It is short and sweet but fun if you want something to lift your spirits or get you in the holiday mood. One of my favorite ways to enjoy the lights is to grab a hot chocolate from Starbucks and sip it while enjoying the sights and sounds of this holiday activity. Here is a link to a webpage that describes this inspiring display.

Hopefully, the suggestions provided will help give you some much-needed fun this holiday season. We students are busy with school and extracurricular activities, so give yourself a break and make some amazing holiday memories.