The Inn at Christmas Place

Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring not even a mouse.

Snow was falling softly, but quickly from the darkened night sky above. Sounds were muffled from the streets below as people hurried home to their warm beds. An orange glow filled the night sky, and everything was peaceful. Inside, a Christmas movie playing, and Christmas lights blinking. It was peaceful, and magical.

It would sound like Christmas was here, but in fact, this scene was set last week, in February. Zach and I found ourselves completely in raptures during our adventure to a new to us town, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Our destination, the Inn at Christmas Place. Where the spirit of Christmas is held all year round!

For those of you who know us, you know we love Christmas. It is our absolute most favorite time of year. We may have put up our tree right after Halloween last year. And we got married around Christmas! It is a special time of year that we love to spend time with friends and family and spread joy and cheer.

So when we found out about the Inn at Christmas Place, we knew we had to visit. And finally, our time came to have a weekend getaway at the Inn! We booked our two nights, and drove up early (read er arrived at 3am) to Pigeon Forge because we knew snow was coming the next day.

The Inn at Christmas Place was everything we expected and so much more. From first glance to when we drove off, it was an exceptional experience, and I just had to share it with you all!

Christmas Place is a beautiful hotel, and reminds me of a Bavarian building, all decked out in Christmas lights, wreaths, garlands and bows. And of course, it was even more picturesque because snow was on the roof and ground!

The customer service at the Inn is second to none. When we walked in, we were greeted by some really friendly doormen, and then checked in to our room. We were even given some ornaments since it was our first time at the Inn! We were also informed at every night they put out fresh, homemade cookies for free for the guests. Yes, please!

Walking through the hotel to our room we were taking in every detail. Christmas paintings and art, every floor with a themed center desk at the opening of the elevator, there is even a Charlie Brown Christmas themed area playing the movie all day long!

If we thought everything was amazing to that point, our breath was taken away opening the door to our room. We had a mini kitchen area, cabinets, a spacious, clean bathroom with granite countertops. The beds were decked with a lucious red cover and fluffly white pillows. The TV armiorre was topped with a mino Christmas tree, and the walls adorned with winter paintings.

We were blown away. Never have I ever been to such a unique and special hotel!

Our stay only continued to get better as we took morning dips in the pool and hot tub. We also watched the snow fall from the indoor hot tub! We definitely enjoyed our nightly cookies, an incredible hot breakfast included in the mornings, and to top it all off, time with singing Santa on Thursday night!

If you love Christmas, and especially if you love near Tennessee, the Inn at Christmas place is absolutely worth your visit. The customer service that we received alone was well worth our stay. In our culture these days, you don't always find such great service. But the Inn went the extra mile to make sure our stay was incredible, and boy was it!

We will absolutely be back to visit the Inn at Christmas Place.

Some fun places to visit around the Inn:
-The Christmas Place store! Across from the Inn is a huge, amazing Christmas store! Well worth the visit, even if just to look.
-The Old Mill- a working mill from the 1800's, complete with fun country store and restaurant! Very picturesque.
-The Island- an upbeat section of town with some arcades and even a ferris wheel!
-Smokey Mountain National Park is less than ten miles away! A beautiful place for sure.
-Blue Moose Burger and Wings. Zach and I ate here and it was so good! A sports bar and grill feel, but they have some incredible burgers!

Pigeon Forge itself has lots of dinner and theater shows, Dollywood, and lots of fun seasonal outdoor race tracks, putt putt places, and the like!

So if you are near the area and looking for a fun quick getaway, Zach and I can highly recommend the Inn at Christmas Place!

Who else loves Christmas? 

Holiday Date Night Ideas

Okay, I know we have done a few date night idea blogs before, but this may be my favorite set. Because seriously, you can’t get much more romantic than the holidays, it’s just oozing with potential for fun ideas!

So grab a pen and paper and your steaming mug of hot chocolate and start plotting some fun holiday dates to do with your honey!

1.    Find a local Christmas event in your area and go to it! Atlanta is a hopping city, and I know there are a TON of free Christmas events going on the entire month. Some old neighborhoods are having candlelight walk through’s, there are square lightings, Christmas tree lightings, stores have pictures with Santa, and basically everywhere is decorated. So find some local events and go to one!

2.    Make your own hot chocolate bar and rent a new Christmas movie. Or find a cheesy Christmas movie to watch on TV! But go get a box of hot chocolate (or make your own home made), some mini marshmallows, whip cream, candy canes, and whatever other treats you want to have for your hot chocolate bar! Set it up on your table and make it look fancy, and then pop in your Christmas movie and snuggle while drinking your hot chocolate!

3.    Go to a local Christmas attraction. Like the first idea, there are probably some great Christmas themed attractions around you! Even when I lived in Arizona, they had zoo lights, a neighborhood decked in lights, etc. Atlanta has Stone Mountain Christmas, Lake Lanier Lights, Olympic Centennial Park is decked out….seriously there are so many options around Christmas. Find a place you both love and go make a new memory!

4.    Go ice skating! Bundle up and find your local ice skating rink, rent some skates and laugh your way through the night. Finish it off with a coffee date at your favorite coffee place to warm up!

5.    Build a fire and make s’mores. Don’t forget the blanket to cuddle under either (but don’t catch it on fire)! Whether you have a fire place, a fire pit or somewhere to make your own fire, grab some s’more fixings and have some fun!

6.    Bake and decorate cookies together. This is a great one to have right at home! Go out and shop for all your ingredients you need to make sugar cookies from scratch, make your dough (but be sure to have a Christmas movie on hand to watch while the dough chills!), then cut out your shapes, bake and decorate! You might end up even having some frosting wars. Just have fun with it (you can always clean up later)!

7.    Drive around and look at Christmas lights while listening to Christmas music and drinking hot chocolate (or coffee, or cider, whatever you like)! Find some nice neighborhoods that have lots of light displays and cruise on through, admiring all the lovely twinkling lights while staying warm and cozy next to your honey!

8.    Make a no-sew blanket together and then watch a Christmas movie! These blankets are super easy to make (you can check out a Pinterest tutorial here), and are incredibly warm! All you need in two pieces of fleece cut to two yards a piece, then cut and tie it up! Super simple, and it’s something you can keep using!

9.    Decorate a Christmas mug together or make an ornament together. Tap into your creative potential with your sweetheart! Go to the craft store, and pick out a blank mug and some ceramic markers, or get an ornament you can paint or decorate and then go home and have some creative fun!

10.  Trim a tree! If you haven’t already decorated your Christmas tree, make a date of it! Go out to dinner, then either go get your tree or dig it out of the closet, put it up and decorate! Share stories about any ornaments you may have and why you love them. Or you can even pick out a new ornament together and put it on! You can also make your own cranberry-popcorn garland to adorn your lovely Christmas tree.

There you have it, ten super easy, amazingly fun Christmas-time date night ideas! Seriously, this time of year is prime date night time! Don’t skip it just because things are busy. Invest in each other, invest in your relationship, have conversations about what you love about this time of year and make a new tradition with each other!

Take advantage of the whimsy and romance of the season and sweep your sweetheart off your feet with some fun date night ideas. Do you have your own favorite Christmas time date? I would love to hear what it is!

What’s your favorite Christmas season date night idea?