Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge is completely lit up for a quintessential Christmas.
With so much to do, my daughter and I were on the same page sticking with quaint shops in Gatlinburg and hands-down preferred Historical Pigeon Forge.
My most favorite store is the Savannah Bee Company with everything honey, I was in heaven. I feel I should open a location where I live.
We ate at the Pancake Pantry, a must do for Mariah. She & Jeremy ate here as on of their stops on their 3-week honeymoon and it was worth the themed pancakes they offered. The line was wrapped around the building and I for one am not a wait-in-line person.
We took our number, 61, and at about 10 minutes waiting a woman came up and asked our number. We cut ahead of at least 100+ people waiting to get in to eat, because we were a party of two. Yayyy, us!
Nestled behind the Pancake Pantry was a little village of shops and the Donut Friar, which made Southern Living magazine as the best donuts, so of course we stopped.
An absolute must see and do is the Hatfields & McCoys Christmas Disaster dinner theater! We were looking forward to an evening of comedy and music and it was so much more. We laughed out loud the entire evening as they integrated comedy, music and foot stompin' dancing into a show about the historical Hatfield & McCoy family feud. It was a funny and heart-warming show that ended in the true meaning of Christmas.
Pa Hatfield shared the true meaning of Christmas and one of the cast stepped up and bellowed O Holy Night. When she came to, "and the soul felt it's worth" ... I was most grateful for my print I just bought. It was powerful.
The food, amazing and sweet tea is plentiful.
After the show, we went back into Gatlinburg for the Christmas lights and decided to take the sky lift.
On top of that mighty mountain was a Christmas village like no other and completely unexpected. We perused the shops with grateful hearts we found this hidden treasure. Hallmark should seriously consider this destination for a Christmas movie!
What goes up, must come down. That meant us, too.
This ski lift had a simple bar that pulled over the lap to keep you in your seat suspended at least 100 ft in the air above the ground. Tall mountain + high off the ground, look how far we had to take it down this mountain into the heart of Gatlinburg. Sunny & 55-60 during the day and 30's at night, this steal bar was pretty cold on my death grip.
It was beautiful. Everything was beautiful. From the cabin, to the mountains, to the Christmas lights, quaint village shops, all of our senses were set on extraordinary for days.
This trip was a perfectly planned segue coming home to Thanksgiving and the Christmas season. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is on, I'm going to take my time cooking, and can't wait for my babies to walk through the door.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
