Twas the Friday Before Christmas...

I love the holiday season in New Orleans. Ever since before I moved here, when I came here for Christmas to visit, it was just the best. It's celebratory, yet chill. Folks around here really attack the countdown to the darkest day of the year with festive fervor.

Some of my favorite things about the holidays:

• The Roosevelt Hotel lobby

• The Thanksgiving poboy at Parkway

• Mardi Gras beads on Christmas trees

A nod to my heritage and its incarnation in bead form

Also, Who Dat Santa

• People hum/sing along with Christmas carols playing in Rouses.
• Kickass Hanukkah dinner at Domenica
• Watching the ladies on Poydras Street all gussied up for their office holiday party
• The Reveillon tradition - yum.
• Celebrationin the Oaks in City Park
• They still have eggnog but you don't have to wear long sleeve shirts, winter coats, or socks.

And of course, my favorite thing about the holidays in New Orleans is that it's the prelude of the best time of the year - King Cake Season! I mean, Parade Season! I mean, Carnival!