When both Hallmark and Lifetime film holiday themed movies in your town, you know it is picture perfect for Christmas. Meet Dahlonega,GA, where every year they host an Old FashionedChristmas, complete with carriage rides, Santa, a festival of trees, caroling (in costumes_ and a “magically” lit square. The celebration goes on until Jan. 9, 2022.
This national historic register town, with its 1800s storefronts and great restaurants, is beautiful anytime, but really sparkles during the Holiday Season. For 2021, an extended season gives visitors an extra week to experience the town’s Hallmark-esque ambiance encouraging people to spread visits out and keep traffic and crowds to a minimum.
Bedecked in thousands of twinkling lights, a show-stopping two-story Christmas tree on the square and the second annual Festival of Trees with 10-12 brightly decorated Christmas trees on display outside in Hancock Park, the town looks and feels like a holiday wonderland. Of note, all of the trees used in the Festival of Trees will be wild trees that will be planted at the end of the season. Family-friendly holiday special activities include carriage rides (additional cost), socially-distanced visits with Santa, boutique holiday shopping as Dahlonega’s eclectic selection of merchants offer extended hours and the annual Christmas Market, put on by the Dahlonega Women’s Club, a live nativity, old-time carolers and a holiday show at the historic Holly Theater.
