New Orleans Holiday Festivities at ‘Celebration in the Oaks’

‘Celebration in the Oaks’, is one of traditions during Christmas in this city of Mardi Gras. And we were there to experience the holiday festivities.

‘Is this the line for Tickets’, we asked.

‘Yes’, was the reply.

Got in the line around five and it was long considering that we were there almost an hour before the park opens. Though it was tiring to stand for so long, once the tickets counter opened, it moved quickly and we were in by six.

This holiday light wonderland opens at six in the evening and we were excited to see all the beautiful displays. A snow igloo with Penguins, peacocks with their colorful wings, a rocking pony and a brightly lit drum – greeted us outside the entertainment tent. It was all shiny & vibrant and before starting the tour, we decided to fuel up with coffee and cookies from the food shack.

Began with the giant Poinsettia Tree in the Conservatory of Two sisters, the tree looked gorgeous in that perfect shade of red and we couldn’t help but clicked a few selfies. The conservatory extends on both the sides, one is the amazing ‘Living Fossils’ display which showcases ferns from different eras and the opposite side presents a Rainforest. It was so great to see a part of the Botanical Garden.

Next on, we walked towards the ‘Dripping snow’, where two live oaks were lighted beautifully with 50,000 LED bulbs and we loved looking at the falling light snow. But within a few minutes, a lot of people started gathering around one part of the tree, curious to see what was happening, we made our way through and saw a guy with a bouquet posing under the tree. Before we could figure out, the guy proposed to his girlfriend right there and I was instantly reminded, that this is a popular spot for wedding proposals. And we all gave our best wishes to the couple.

Adjacent to the Dripping Snow tree, was the ‘Cajun Night Before Christmas’, here a story was narrated with the help of various displays all along which lighted up corresponding to the storyline and we totally enjoyed it. From there, we walked by the numerous radiant Christmas trees, passed by the ‘Love Doves’ which glowed in the darkness and we were at the Rockin’ Around Christmas tree, a fun display for the kids dancing to the tunes of Karaoke Santa. Next up was ‘Buggin out’, this was one of the interesting exhibits with bugs, bees & caterpillars all around.

After a total bug out, we were in the ‘Sealabration and wonders of the sea’. It was fascinating to see such an array of colors – the star fish was ablaze in the shades of fire, Octopus was aglow in red and golden, spiral shell was dotted with browns & yellows and a pearl in a shell was glistening in a florescent light.

Following the way along the sea-labration, we were at the ‘Historic Train Garden’ with miniature New Orleans homes, streets cars and trains. And it was so much fun to watch the trains run through the streets of this mini city.

Later, we stopped by to see Mister Bingle which was crowded as a lot of families were getting their pictures clicked. We clicked a few too and walked on by the kiddie rides, Coney Tower to the Gift shop where we picked up a pretty souvenir. And in a few minutes we were back at the entertainment tent.

Took us about two hours to stroll around this beautiful Christmas spectacle. And we enjoyed every moment of it.

City Park Address – 1 Palm Drive, New Orleans, LA 70124. For more details, please check the official Website of New Orleans City Park.

Copyright © Vasudha Aggarwal & travel-defined.com . All rights reserved.

Here’s one for your Pinterest Board, Pin away !!