Deck the Palms: How Charleston Locals Do the Holidays

The holidays are my Super Bowl, plain & simple. Making them fun, festive and downright magical is a job I take very seriously (and happily). Bringing Cameron into family traditions while creating our own along the way has been pure joy.

Our traditions include a baking day with Grammy where we plan out a few different cookies to bake and Cameron checks out after baking one tray and happily checks back in when it’s time to either decorate or enjoy ‘her’ creations.

We prioritize certain Charleston events because, quite honestly, there are far too many incredible events happening all season long & I can easily burn out. Here is your reminder that you don’t have to do it all.

For us, we always go to Holiday Festival of Lights at James Island Country Park, Aquarium Aglow at South Carolina Aquarium , Holy City Christmas at Holy City Brewing & we love going to the hotels in downtown Charleston to look at their decor and trees. A few of our favorites: Hotel Bennett, The Charleston Place and The Dewberry Charleston.

At some point between November & December, we always travel up to the Charlotte, NC area to go to Winterfest at Carowinds and Speedway Christmas at Charlotte Motor Speedway. If we have time, we will stroll through McAdenville, NC aka Christmas Town USA. If you don’t mind the trip, all of these are so worth it!

Charleston Locals Holiday Traditions
Recently, I reached out to a few of my friends to see how they spend their holidays with their families. Charleston is truly magical and it’s fun to see how everyone enjoys it in their own way. Check out my friends below, read about their family traditions and give them a follow over on Instagram.

Dawn Burns, author of This Is Charleston
Dawn has given us a peek into how her family celebrates the holidays and it includes something called Jammy Cocoa Christmas. Honestly, the name alone had us sold but here’s the scoop. Each year, Dawn and her crew get into their coziest Christmas pajamas, grab hot cocoa to go (dogs included, of course) and hop in the car for a festive drive around Charleston, soaking in all the twinkling lights and holiday decor.

Inspired by her love for all things Christmas, Dawn brought her favorites to life in her newest work, Christmas in Charleston. Just a quick holiday plug: this one’s the perfect stocking stuffer or an adorable welcome gift for visiting families with kids.

You can follow along with Dawn over on her Instagram! Give her a follow and enjoy her love for all things Charleston!

Samantha Regan, Creator with @samantharegan_
Matching Christmas pajamas are a non-negotiable in Samantha’s house and her family does it so well. Each year, they count down to breaking out their holiday jams, whether they’re snuggled up reading together or cruising around with hot cocoa in hand to check out Christmas lights (a tradition we’re officially calling a Charleston classic). It’s one of those simple moments that the kids look forward to most.

When they’re not at home, Samantha and her family love soaking up Charleston’s holiday magic around town. Year after year, their go-to favorites include the snowfall at Charleston Place and the always festive, Festival of Lights on James Island.

Give Samantha a follow on Instagram for all things Interior Design, Charleston lifestyle & family!

Brianna Steele, Creator & Blogger at @adventuresofatwimmom
If there’s one thing Brianna’s family knows, it’s how to do the holidays in Charleston. They love filling the season with local traditions like Skate the Stadium, catching the snowfall at Charleston Place, cruising through the James Island County Park lights and visiting Aquarium Aglow at the South Carolina Aquarium.

When they first moved to South Carolina, they wondered if Christmas would still feel magical without the cold and snow, but Charleston happily surprised them. Now, they wouldn’t trade a Lowcountry holiday season for anything.

Follow along with Brianna for all things family & travel!

Ariane Lovell, PR Exec
A holiday must for Ariane is a day of baking with her son, Miles. The best part, I am pretty certain he loves it even more than she does (if that’s even possible). He won’t let her make a single Christmas cake or cookie without jumping right in. Since he was 2, Miles has been Ariane’s little helper every Christmas season!

Ariane is an absolute gem and you should follow along with her for some family shares or her life as a PR Exec! If you can’t tell, it’s family first & hers is all joy!

Meredith Rutland, Owner of Charleston Bachelorette & Lowcountry Party Mom
Christmas baking is a priority for many and I love that it becomes a shared holiday tradition with the kiddos! To help the little ones feel very involved, Meredith gets one of those cookie decorating kits from a local baker. This way, in-between baking, the kids can keep busy decorating! Such a brilliant idea that I will definitely be implementing for baking day. We’ve done the cookie decorating kits before but adding it to baking day is perfection!

There are multiple ways to follow along with Meredith! Check out: Charleston Bachelorette, Lowcountry Party Mom or enjoy every day life with Meredith!

I hope some of these traditions or mentions of Charleston events resonate with you. Maybe you’ll add something in or tweak something you already do. There’s no right or wrong way to do the holidays but there’s always room for more magic and more fun!