12 Days of Christmas

1. Take in Christmas lights    

Take out your family for a walk, bike or drive around your favorite neighborhoods to tour light and decoration displays. Be sure to see the Christmas trees lining yards on Broadway Street and to stop by the house dubbed “Santa’s Trailer Park” on the Wacky Tacky Christmas Light Tour. 

Marty and Casey Dunn deck out their yard with a collection of inflatables at 115 Hawthorne Road each year that attracts visitors from Thanksgiving until Christmas.

2. Attend a Christmas service

Homewood’s churches have been planning musicals, pageants and more for the weeks leading up to Christmas. 

See a full listing of what is happening when, including Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

3. Watch the parade

Santa Claus will be riding on a fire truck through downtown Homewood for the annual Homewood Christmas Parade Tuesday, Dec. 9. The procession begins at 6:30 p.m.

After the tree lighting ceremony, Santa will be available for pictures with the children of Homewood.

The parade route begins at the Homewood Library and travels east on Oxmoor Road, turning left onto 18th Street South. Then it goes under the Christmas Star, turns right onto 29th Avenue, then left onto 19th Street, past City Hall, turning left onto 28th Avenue South. Next it goes through the intersection of 18th Street South and ends after passing through the intersection.

To learn more about the parade, read this month’s cover story.

4. Watch a Sugar Plum Fairy

The Alabama Ballet will present George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker at the Wright Center this month.

Alabama Ballet is one of only seven dance companies around the world granted permission to present this traditional holiday classic due to strict choreography, costume and set specifications. Balanchine’s version of The Nutcracker is a holiday tradition for many. 

Before each performance and during intermission, a Nutcracker Boutique will be open in the lower lobby of the Wright Center. Popular nutcracker gifts and collectables will be available for purchase. 

Show times include Dec. 12, 13, 14, 19, 20 and 21 at 7:30 p.m. and Dec.13, 14, 20 and 21 at 2:30 p.m. 

Tickets start at $20. For more information and tickets, visit samford.edu/wrightcenter.

5. Witness the star lighting

The top of 18th Street will come aglow on Dec. 2. at the annual star lighting.

The 200-pound star, crafted by Douglass W. McConnell more than 60 years ago, holds about 1,200 lights and takes about a week to prepare and install.

This year’s celebration will feature performances by school choirs as well as refreshments for attendees. Homewood Mayor Scott McBrayer will light the star, and Santa will make an appearance.

New this year, downtown stores will be staying open late for people to eat and shop when they attend the star lighting.

The area at the top of 18th Street between LAH Realty and Ridout’s Valley Chapel will be closed off for the event.

6. Deck your halls

Jennifer Lee’s home will be filled with festive gifts Dec. 3-4 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. for her annual Holly Days Show. Her address is 117 Eastwood Drive.

Each of the last 13 years, Lee has sold her line of Jennifer’s Kitchen pepper jellies, and her friend Liz Landgren has sold her artwork. Regulars at recent shows have included HomeTees created by Kelly Dorough and Paula Smalley and rustic art sculptures by Dana McCleland. This year Kerri Malone will also feature her handmade jewelry, and in the past Stefani Hudson, Paige Willcutt, Janie Ford Mayer, Sherri Scruggs and Joan Stough have all sold items as well.

The show always features a GNO (Girls Night Out) with hors d’oeuvres and refreshments.

For more information, visit facebook.com/HollyDaysHomewood or email fromjenniferskitchen@yahoo.com.

7. Take a home tour

The Samford University Legacy League will hold its third annual Christmas Home Tour on Thursday, Dec. 11. The 2014 tour features five homes, and proceeds will go toward endowing a new need-based scholarship.

All homes will feature their holiday décor, and one stop, the Samford president’s house, will serve holiday hors d’oeuvres.

1647 Panorama Lane 

Laura and Larry Merrill

Completely gutted and renovated in 2007, this home has several vaulted ceilings. Freely acknowledging that she “loves Christmas,” Laura uses multiple wreaths she makes from fresh greenery, and her tree is different every year. The Merrills’ decorations also include clay sculptures and pottery, as well as a homemade nativity. 

1638 Panorama Lane

Denise Upton 

The 1970s home has been renovated and now boasts a reconstructed pool and upper and lower patios. Denise tries to keep her Christmas decorations somewhat simple, but she has a unique way of displaying nearly two dozen ornaments made by her two sons when they were young.

2104 Hickory Ridge Circle 

Dixie and Tom Brannon 

Dixie, a Legacy League member, was born and raised in Albuquerque, and American Indian influence can be seen throughout their home. Her decorations include a nativity scene made from Jerusalem olive wood and a set of Mark Roberts fairies with a “Twelve Days of Christmas” theme. The designs of three Samford School of Interior Design students will add flair to three of the bedrooms as well.

3632 Altadena Drive 

Alisa and David Belcher 

This relatively new home on two and a half wooded acres features a new outdoor living area. Alisa confesses to having “holiday sickness,” and she believes that the guideline “less is more” is definitely not true for Christmas! She loves to decorate and uses lots of greenery, both live and artificial, as well as ribbons of multiple textures and colors.

1994 Shades Crest Road 

Jeanna and Andy Westmoreland

The Samford president’s home is known for its multiple Christmas trees, a panoramic view of the Samford campus, and Jeanna’s collection of nutcrackers, which are always on display at Christmas.

Homes will be open from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and 4-8 p.m. Tickets are $25 in advance or $30 at the door. Advance tickets may be purchased through Dec. 9 at samford.edu/legacyleague. Tickets will also be available at all featured homes during tour hours. For more information, visit the website or call 726-2247.

-Submitted by the Legacy League

8. Add art to your shopping list

Local artists will fill a section of the bottom level of Brookwood Village for two weeks this month. 

The Mountain Brook Art Association will hold its annual Holiday Art Show Dec. 5-19 from 10 a.m.-8 p.m.

An opening reception for the show will be held Friday, Dec. 5, from 6-8 p.m. and will be catered by Brio. 

For full details on the event, see page A18.

9. Discover sounds of the season

The Symphony Band and The Wind Symphony Band of UAB will present a concert of Christmas music in the gym at Trinity United Methodist Church in Homewood on Tuesday, Dec. 2.

The bands will be directed by Dr. Sue Samuels and Dr. Cara Morantz. 

This holiday season event is free, and everyone is cordially invited to attend. 

Trinity is located at 1400 Oxmoor Road. For more, call 879-1737 or visit trinitybirmingham.com.

10. Take in holiday tunes

Michael W. Smith will join the Alabama Symphony Orchestra for a special performance on Friday, Dec. 5. The show starts at 8 p.m. at the Wright Center at Samford University. 

Smith, a platinum pop and Christian worship artist, brings his creative passion for music to the ASO, which comes alive with sweeping cinematic statements, rich melodies, an emotional range and musical twists.

The performance is part of the ASO’s Red Diamond SuperPOPS! Series and Smith’s The Spirit of Christmas Tour. Tickets cost $25-75. To purchase them, visit alabamasymphony.org.

11. Shop local

When you start on your Christmas shopping lists, there’s no need to go far. You can hit up a number of retailers in downtown Homewood and Edgewood without mall parking deck traffic.

If you’re not sure what to get for someone, the Homewood Chamber of Commerce offers gift certificates for a wide selection of Homewood stores.

The certificates are available in any denomination. A list of participating businesses will be provided at the time of purchase.

Certificates can be purchased at the Chamber office, which is now located at 7 Hollywood Blvd. next to Shades Cahaba Elementary. For more call 871-5631.

12. Buy local art

Homewood Creatives, a group of area women that specializes in different types of art, is planning a show for Dec. 5-6. The show will run Friday 5-8 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at The Exceptional Foundation.

Different types of art will be available for purchase including pottery, paintings, jewelry and photography. 

For more information, visit the Homewood Creatives Facebook page.