Christmas at Smokies Baseball

Just a few pictures of the fun we had at the Tennessee Smokies baseball game last night ~ since the team lost, I think we had a little more fun than they did…but it was a marvelous night for a ballgame.  The staff of the Smokies are a delight to work with – and the fact that they really enjoy bringing baseball to East Tennessee shows in their service style.  The stadium is situated high above the highway, convenient but with a good view of the mountains, and I hear the fireworks are spectacular on Friday nights.

Our beautiful Christmas Place & Inn at Christmas Place banner

Christmas wreaths adorning the entrance gates

Letters to Santa Mailbox

(Yes, we do read all the letters – several people at the park mentioned that they love the name Bob.  Hmmm.  Not sure what Santa is expected to do with that.)

Pre-game interview with Santa and elf Dwight from The Inn Santa throws out the first pitch

There's always a line to see Santa!

Santa gives autographs

Santa enjoys a Christmas cookie on the big screen

Armchair Viewing

Two lucky winners enjoy watching the game from a pair of lounge chairs!  This pair won a couple of Singing Santa Cds and a batch of homemade Christmas cookies from Mrs. Claus’ Candy Kitchen.

In addition to the decorations we provided at the stadium, the field games were all Christmas contests, like a wreath toss and a wrap-a-package race.  Winners received fudge from our kitchen, a gift card to the store, and a stuffed teddy bear.   The grand prize winner will get to experience a stay at The Inn at Christmas Place, including a night on our Sleep In Heavenly Peace mattresses and pillows and a hot breakfast in the morning.

One of our team, Cody Myers, also got to throw a pitch at the game, but it happened so fast I didn’t get to focus - he’s got a lightening arm, I tell you, too fast for my camera.  Congrats on a great job, Cody!

I’m just saying, that Chicken Man is the stuff of nightmares – shudder.  I would not chase that thing around the field, no way, no how.  Well, maybe in a really big car.  With one of those big cattle guards mounted to the front.  (Why do SUVs in East Tennessee bolt on cattle guards, when it’s clear they are nowhere near any herds of water buffalo, rampaging or otherwise?)  No offense, but men should be men and chicken should be chicken (preferably boneless and skinless), and let’s leave it the way nature did it first.

Hey, sure hope you can join us the next time we do Christmas In July – at the Smokies, or at The Inn, or anywhere else.  It’s a fun thing to do in the middle of summer!

~Janet @ The Christmas Place

Dolly Parade this Friday in Pigeon Forge

We just know the skies are going to clear in time for the Dolly Parade this Friday, May 8, when Santa will lead his sleigh and a team of reindeer along the parkway in celebration of Pigeon Forge and summertime.  Come on out and share a Merry Christmas greeting with Santa and his elf escorts from Christmas Place and The Inn at Christmas Place.  It’s the ~ second ~ most wonderful time of the year.

2008 Christmas Place Santa Float

There’s nothing quite like the joy and delight on the faces of children ~ and adults ~ when Santa waves to the crowd!

~Janet @ The Christmas Place

The Wisdom of Dove chocolates

I guess I’m a nerd.  I seem to be the only person I know who reads the messages on Dove® chocolates.  You really should take a look  next time you are “indulging yourself in an unforgettable Dove® chocolate experience” ~ they are little nuggets of encouragement and positivity.

Here are some messages I received from the few chocolates that, tragically, did not fit into the bottle of goodies I recently mailed to the favorite niece.  Did you know that the post office will mail a plastic water bottle filled with chocolates or just about anything non-hazardous, as long as they can stick a stamp on it?  But I digress…back to the wisdom of Dove®.

Believe the best in yourself.

Kick a bad habit today.

Think of someone who makes you smile.

Life is all about making memories.

Make someone feel good.

In chaos there lies opportunity.

Learn to say hello in another language.

Find little ways to make everyday a holiday.

See, aren’t those worth reading?    A chocolate that is uplifting both to the palate and the mind…more reasons to love the Dove®.

If I’ve inspired you to run out and buy a bag of chocolates, it is only right that I also suggest the dish in which to place them~

Star Plate Set

We use these dishes in our rooms at The Inn at Christmas Place, to hold bath soaps and wash clothes, but I’m picturing them piled high with caramel Dove squares.

Am I not brave, to have spent an hour this morning writing about chocolates and I don’t even have any to sample here at my desk!  Thank goodness it’s time for lunch now.

~Janet @ The Christmas Place

Singing Santa

Have I ever told you about our Singing Santa?  I know I have mentioned him before, but I don’t think I’ve even shared a photograph! 

Singing Santa is a Grammy-award-winning artist who sings and plays guitar, and has performed with several national country and gospel groups and in theatres.  He has been entertaining kids and adults both at the store and at The Inn for the past eleven years.  Santa has recorded several CDs of Christmas, sacred, and patriotic music.  From Memorial Day through Christmas, he entertains store patrons with concerts five days a week, and greets and performs for Inn guests as well.  He is appearing every weekend at the hotel now – there has been no long winter’s nap for our Santa! 

A generation of children is growing up with our Singing Santa as their go-to guy for Christmas.  Santa enjoys hearing children’s wishes here at the store, and posing for photographs with children, adults, families, family pets – you name it, he’s happy to be in the picture!  His beard is real, as is his round little belly.

On Tuesday, we filmed a concert at the Inn, and we’ll soon be sharing the footage with our readers.  Here’s a still image from the show.

Singing Santa in concert at The Inn at Christmas Place

We invited our Christmas Place employees to bring their children to this special concert, and I think the parents shot as much footage as I did.  To protect the innocent parents, we will not be identifying the children in any scenes…  They always have a great time with Santa, and enjoy helping him sing Jingle Bells.  One little girl stood right beside Santa with her hand lightly resting on his knee for the rest of the show that night.  Santa is assisted by his elf, Buttons.

Santa monkey-s around!

NO, this is not one of the kids from the concert!

Be watching for the video – I don’t think you can hear my vocal accompaniment on the tape – I really hope not!

If you haven’t yet met Singing Santa, we hope you’ll come by the store later this year and take in a concert and have your picture made with him.  He has a beautiful voice, and a winning way with children and adults ~ he is a living embodiment of the spirit of Christmas.

~Janet @ The Christmas Place

If the kids weren’t out of school already, they’d get the day off!

Yay – we’re getting a little snow today!

The temperature is dropping tonight, so we’re anticipating a late store opening tomorrow – keep our elves safe, we do!

~Janet @ The Christmas Place

P.S. When is the city going to put all those electrical lines under ground so we’ll have a nicer view of the hotel from here??

Gatlinburg Fine Arts Festival

Saturday and Sunday, May 17-18, 2008, Gatlinburg is hosting the fourth annual Fine Arts Festival of the current century.  The Southern Highland Craft Guild first held a craft fair event in Gatlinburg in 1948, but moved it to other locations over the years.  They have recently brought this juried art fair back to Gatlinburg, and at least 10 exhibitors are members of the prestigious Guild.

Staged on River Road and at Ripley’s Aquarium plaza, there will be demonstrations and sales of a variety of fine arts and crafts in traditional and contemporary styles, ranging from sculpture, painting, and photography to basketry, fiber and leather crafts, ceramics, jewelry, and more.   Singing, dancing, storytelling, kids’ activities, and food add to the fun.  Local artist Jim Gray will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at a pre-festival event.  (We display several of Jim’s prints in our decor at The Inn at Christmas Place.)

Admission to the event is free – can’t beat that – and benefits the Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts and the Sevier County Arts Council.  Visit www.gfaf.net for additional information.  This a wonderful opportunity to support the local arts community, meet talented artists and discuss their work, and purchase original creations.  Hope I see you there.

~Janet @ The Christmas Place

Committed to green practices at The Inn

Green. Green. Green.  Carbon footprint (as in, minimize it).  Reduce, reuse, recycle.  Is paper or plastic worse for the environment?  Printing paper content and green manufacturing of same – what are your standards? 

I am one who is delighted with the renewed and growing focus on protecting our environment and resources – I’ve brushed my teeth with the tap off for decades.  I took my own shopping bags into every store – even Wal Mart – long before it became so popular (yes, that was me, holding up the line).  In high school, I researched and wrote about solar energy.  My Hondas have given me 35 mpg city/40 mpg highway for years – I’ll get a hybrid when my current car wears out, no reason to give it back to the environment just yet.

Over two years ago, while the Inn was still in the planning stages, the owners were already thinking green, too ~ and to spectacular effect.  Take a look at the ponds area in front of the Inn.  Even though we border  the main street in town, when you are on the Inn side of the ponds, flowers, and trees, there’s the surprising feel of relaxing in a luxurious oasis of earth, color, and sky.  It’s quiet charm will delight you.

The best aspects of our pond installation are not visible, though.  Together, the small pond on the right and the larger pond on the left manage up to 31 cubic feet per second of storm drainage in an environmentally responsible way.

First, we filter sediments and grease out of the runoff water from the bordering street and our parking lots (yeah, I know, icky to think about that part).  Then, water flows into a basin filled with water plants that further remove contaminates before the water enters the larger pond.  Finally, overflow feeds into the city drain, but at a manageable flow rate and with much-improved water quality.  Our storm water filtration system is the first of its kind for a commercial property in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

Don’t you think it’s wonderful how beautiful green can be?

Of course, we do all that other stuff that demonstrates our commitment to being good environmental stewards ~ self-regulating room thermostats, fluorescent bulbs, LED Christmas tree lights, Green Seal-certified paper and chemicals at the Inn.  The washers use an oxygenation system that virtually eliminates bleaching, and the ironing machine eliminates the dryer cycle.  Silverware, china, and glass instead of paper and plastics for food service.  We’ve even got a saltwater system for the indoor pool that dramatically reduces the use of chlorine in the water.

It’s really cool that, in addition to being the most beautiful hotel in town on the outside (and having the friendliest staff!), we’re also doing great things to take care of, protect, and improve the parts that you don’t see…for a more beautiful tomorrow.

~Janet @ The Christmas Place

Beautiful Courtyard

The tulips and flowers in the courtyard are spectacular this week! Here are a couple of pictures.

And our master gardeners have not overlooked the hotel grounds…

Redbud trees in the area have been particularly outstanding this year, and the dogwood are just beginning to unfurl.  The Dogwood Arts Festival is under way here in East Tennessee, with flower trails, open gardens, and a celebration of the arts in all disciplines – photography and visual arts, performance including music and dance, and even a cardboard boat race – something for all ages and interests.

Hope it’s as lovely in your part of the world.  Have a great almost-Monday day!

~Janet @ The Christmas Place

Unbelievable rooms at The Inn at Christmas Place!

First, I hereby declare that I work for the company that owns The Inn at Christmas Place.  That said - WOW!  I had my first complete tour of the hotel and first look at the guest rooms yesterday, and my brain is just saying ~ WOW!  They are outstanding.  I have visited my share of hotels around the country and the world, and this one is truly very special and quite fantastic.

Before you get to a room, there are bellmen at the front door, and plenty of staff to help and direct you.  They are all so friendly and welcoming, it made me feel good just walking in – and I’m so new to the company, they did not know that I was an employee (I work at the store across the street from the hotel) – so no “co-worker bounce”.

I have written a separate page about the Inn (look to the right on this page), so I won’t describe the public areas again here, just the rooms.  Except I will tell you that I found out yesterday that one guest so enjoyed the figure-eight slide at our pool that he bought one for his own swimming pool.  {{party at Doug’s place next Friday, bring your own towel}}

On to the rooms ~ and custom-made mattresses, which are a dream.  So my coworkers tell me.  I don’t have first hand knowledge of this.  Everyone else got to stay at the Inn this winter.  I did not.  I’m not bitter about it, either.  However, they have all truly said great things about the bedding – no peas under the mattress.

Flat-panel HD TVs, microwaves, and refrigerators in every room, along with the usual appliances.  Also, free Internet access in every room, so you can spend your vaca e-mailing home to let everyone know just what they are missing!

Now for the really good stuff – the bathrooms.  Normally I don’t spend excessive amounts of time in the bathroom (shut up, you know who you are)…except for that one trip to Encinada, Mexico… darn that agua fria…but nothing is worse than having a fabulous room with a yucky bathroom.  Me, when I’m away from home, I want something better than home – and these rooms deliver.  Gorgeous granite counter tops – and they’re big, too.  With decorative ceramic star-shaped trays holding the Gilchrist & Soames toiletries and a ceramic sleigh holding the hair dryer, the sink area is really attractive (can I write glowing things about a bathroom sink?).  The showers are really grand as well – some are traditional tubs, and others have walk-in showers with glass doors – that’s cool stuff in a hotel room.  And everything is very well lit – no gloomy caves.

The best rooms of all come with a fireplace with a granite surround and hearth, and a two-person whirlpool in the room.  The suite with a living room and full kitchen (including stove) has an enormous bedroom, with an arched entryway leading to separate areas for the whirlpool and bath.  Wicked sweet!  With a view of the mountains on one side and the courtyard grounds on the other ~ I see me moving in tomorrow.  Like I said at the beginning, WOW!  I’ll send you my new address.

On top of all these beautiful features, add the lovely Christmas decor of wreaths, swags, trees, figurines, and winter prints throughout the rooms and public areas ~ icing on the cake.  It really is a magnificent property, and I can’t wait for an excuse to book a room for myself!

~Janet @ The Christmas Place

and I didn’t even get to the private balconies and handicap-accessible rooms…

We weren’t kidding about the snow!

Here are pictures of the Shops and the Inn, covered in snow!  Click on each image to see it at full size.  Today, the sun is shining brilliantly over the scene, and the mountains to the south are white.

     

With views like this, I want to indulge in my favorite winter sport, competitive hot-chocolate-chugging in front of a warm fire!  What about you?  The roads are clear, so drive on over for a visit, and bring your camera.

~Janet @ The Christmas Place