The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade has always been the official start of Christmastime for me. As soon as Santa comes riding in on his sleigh, I know it’s time to break out all the Charlie Brown. The sounds of Vince Guaraldi playing the jazz classics of ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’, the actual ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ cartoon classic, and for us in 2017, Carowinds Winterfest where we got to stroll through Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree lot.
What is Carowinds Winterfest?
Traditionally, Carowinds has closed after it’s annual Scarowinds event, but in 2017, they began staying open until the start of winter for a new event – Carowinds Winterfest. Think Disney’s Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, except with Charlie Brown and the gang in place of Mickey and friends … also without the Disney price tag (yay) or complementary snickerdoodle cookies and hot chocolate at various locations throughout the park (bummer).
How Was It?
Better than I thought. I have a really bad habit of comparing Carowinds to Disney (see above for proof) and I wondered if I was going to be as excited and filled with wonder as I was when I’d taken my kids to Mickey’s party. It wasn’t quite the same kind of wonder, but I was definitely still excited – maybe even more so. I associate Charlie Brown with every major holiday, especially Christmas, so there was something extra special about walking through Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree lot and hearing the music playing above us as we frolicked through the faux snow. It’s Charlotte, so it wasn’t exactly walking through a winder wonderland but it definitely sparked childhood nostalgia nonetheless.
Charlie Brown aside, I’m working off of memory from 2017, so I can’t completely recall everything that happened. There were carolers and holiday themed foods, but we’d eaten before attending, so we didn’t partake in the latter. Because I love my life on the ground, we did all the rides sans roller coasters but those were an option if you’re into that. Our favorite was definitely decorating the jumbo Christmas tree cookies with all of the different sprinkles, candies, and icing. Last, but not least, we can’t forget the petting zoo with Baby Jesus and the manger.
Is ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ a big part of your Christmas celebration? If you’re in Charlotte, have you had a chance to go to Carowinds Winterfest? Please, let me know in the comments and, while you’re here, check out yesterday’s Blogmas post. As always, thank you for reading!
