Asheville Happy Holidays Happenings

Christmas Tree in downtown Asheville

This holiday season in Asheville, North Carolina, and the surrounding mountains will be busier and more festive than ever. Here are the Top Holiday Getaway ideas for things to do and events featured on our RomanticAsheville.com Travel Guide:

Christmas at Biltmore: Asheville’s biggest holiday event starts on November 7, America’s largest home is decked out in festive finery with 60+ trees and miles of garland. Candlelight Evenings are especially magical with live music. See the decorations through January 11.

Downtown Asheville: Make shopping more fun and relaxing while finding truly special gifts. Browse 200+ local shops and 30 art galleries. For a break, stop at one of the 50 restaurants or many coffee shops. And finish your day at a craft brewery or a wine bar!

Gingerbread Houses: For a real treat, see the amazing display of gingerbread houses from the National Gingerbread House Competition at the legendary Omni Grove Park Inn on November 19-January 1.

Polar Express: Ride the magical train to the North Pole with fun for all ages. The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad conducts excursions on November 7-January 5, departing the depot at Bryson City.

Winter Lights: A new event for 2014 at the North Carolina Arboretum features a first-ever light display that transforms their gardens into a nighttime wonderland. It runs November 22-January 4 and advance reservations are required.

Comedy Tours: LaZoom’s holiday tours on their purple buses take you around Asheville with fun all the way.

Biltmore Village: Located across from the entrance to Biltmore, the Village is home to more than 40 boutiques. The area also has the best antique shops too! Visit the first weekend of December for Dickens in the Village.

Art: Asheville is a mecca for artists, so this is the place to find one-of-a-kind gifts. In addition to the galleries downtown and Biltmore Village, head to the Folk Art Center and the River Arts District.

Hikes & Waterfalls: For the best views of the year, take a winter hike to a mountaintop or a waterfall. With leafless trees, cool temperatures, less crowds and frequent bright blue skies, it may become your favorite time of the year to hit the trail.

Pick Your Tree: Visit a Christmas tree farm and choose-and-cut the perfect tree for your home. It’s a great holiday tradition for many.

Holiday Packages: Take advantage of a special or overnight package at elegant bed and breakfast inns, cabin rentals and hotels.

For more holiday things to do and a calendar of our favorite events, go to www.romanticasheville.com/holidays.htm.

Holiday Events this week in Asheville and NC Mountains

Christmas Tree in downtown Asheville

More great holiday events are coming soon in Asheville and the western North Carolina mountains! For more details and happenings, go our Top 10 Asheville Holiday outings.

In addition to the two biggest events in town, Christmas at Biltmore House and the Gingerbread House Competition at Grove Park Inn, here are our favorites for the next week or so:

Now through December 23, 2012: Lake Julian Festival of Lights drive-thru show with more than 50 animated light displays and thousands of colored lights from the comfort of your vehicle.

Now through January 2, 2013: Carolina Christmas at Smith-McDowell House museum with decorations from the Victorian period.

December 15, 2012: Santa on the Chimney at Chimney Rock State Park. Watch Santa practicing for his world-wide chimney-dropping tour on Christmas Eve.

December 11, 2012: Celebrate Hanukkah with Chanukah Live at the Renaissance Hotel ballroom in downtown Asheville. Hosted by The Chabad House, it includes the Billy Jonas Chanukah Show, grand menorah lighting, holiday crafts, gourmet kosher dinner. Festival admission is free, but tickets will be sold at the door for food and attractions.

December 13-16, 2012: The Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris at Asheville Community Theatre. They’re revamping the entire production after a highly successful 10 year run! This holiday tradition is much more naughty than nice!

December 15, 2012: “A Victorian Candlelight Christmas” at Thomas Wolfe Memorial. Discover some of the oldest Christmas customs in an authentic Victorian home in downtown Asheville with two special guided tours (5 & 5:30 PM) and an open house of the Thomas Wolfe home, a Queen Anne-style boardinghouse run by our most famous native son’s mother, Julia Wolfe.

December 15, 2012: Holiday Homecoming at Oconaluftee Visitor Center in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 10 AM-2 PM. Located near Cherokee, see old time crafts being demonstrated. Learn by observing the practical arts of quilting, weaving, and basket and doll making, apple cider and apple butter. Free.

December 15, 2012: Warren Haynes Christmas Jam in downtown Asheville with a stellar line-up: Warren Haynes Band, Blind Boys of Alabama, Sheryl Crow, The String Cheese Incident and Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue.

December 16, 2012: A Swannanoa Solstice is a tapestry of joyful and thoughtful seasonal reflection beautifully woven from the mountains’ Appalachian, Scots-Irish and world influences. Celebrate winter’s allure at a special 10th anniversary edition of this beloved holiday tradition.

December 19-30, 2012: Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol by NC Stage Company. We know what happens to Scrooge, but what about his old business partner Marley?

Plan a holiday getaway and see current vacation packages and specials at RomanticAsheville.com Travel Guide.

More Holiday Events This Week in Asheville

Santa on Chimney Rock

This weekend is perhaps the busiest for holiday events in and around Asheville, North Carolina in the Blue Ridge Mountains. In addition to Christmas at Biltmore and the National Gingerbread House Competition on display at Grove Park Inn, check out:

December 7: Asheville Downtown Gallery Art Walk with galleries open late with special exhibits and artist mingling.

December 7: Candlelight Christmas Stroll in Weaverville, 6-9 PM, with luminaries along the streets, local choirs and bands will provide music, and horse and buggy rides.

December 7-8 and 14-15: Dillsboro Festival of Lights & Luminaries with a winter wonderland of lights, candles, laughter and song, while shopkeepers provide live music and serve holiday treats.

December 8: Guild Artist Holiday Sale at the Folk Art Center with artists selling direct with great deals.

December 8: Experience an 1830s era holiday with a Christmas Candlelight Tour at historic Vance Birthplace.

December 8: Montford Home Tour explores Asheville’s oldest, most historic neighborhood.

December 8: Christmas at Connemara honors Carl Sandburg and the family holiday tradition of music at his mountain home.

December 8: Asheville Chocolate and Arts Festival at the U.S. Cellular Center downtown with music, dance and plenty of chocolate.

December 8 & 15: Santa on the Chimney at Chimney Rock State Park as he practices chimney-dropping tour.

For more information on these and other events, go to our guide for the Top Asheville Holiday Outings & Events.