Taste of Christmas Southern Style

If you're from the South you'll know well that the "Southern Shows" are a huge deal out this way! Yessireee! The first offering was the Southern Women's Show in September where the infamous Kate Gosselin was the main "attraction". Yup her. As to date the Southern Christmas Show is currently on exhibit. I'm very fortunate to see both the shows this year - for the first time - and actually enjoyed it in spite of the narrow, crowded hallways, overwhelming number of vendors and the long trek on all 3 building halls!

I was thrilled to see the Carolina Classic Cloggers. I finally understood what clogging means! But my greatest find at the Southern Christmas Show was discovering the National Gourd Lady!  She is the un-hidden treasure of Conover, NC who have been featured on The Jay Leno Show three years ago and on WCNC 36's Carolina Traveler to name a few! She's a very remarkable lady and I tell you she is hard to miss when she walks around the show area! Upon talking to her I found out that she have been carving gourds into unique decorative items for 48 years! For a crafter like me, that is phenomenal!

All Gourd up!

Planning on visiting? here are 5 tips to help you enjoy the show:

1- Wear comfy shoes (sneakers preferably - think half-marathon walks) and make sure to be on the lookout for shops offering Holiday Morsel samples! They're oh so yummy!

2- Check the display wall on the way to the check-in lane before you go into the show - The decors' are winning pieces. You don't want to miss those. They're fabulous!

3- Take a little detour on the Enchanted Village as you go in. Miniature scenes are displayed here and get a chance to oogle at the winning pieces.

4- Get a toot of fun at the Tiny Train Station! -  A whole miniature village filled with fully functional mechanical trains. I had to extract my daughter from this exhibit area!

5- Lastly, be prepared to have lots of cash handy in your wallets or pockets. Some of the stores only accepts cash including the ladies who sells the in-house shopping bags imprinted with the Southern Christmas Show logo and costs $8.00! - Better yet, bring your own bags and shopping bag Strollers!

And oh, don't you forget to visit the Gourd Lady! Who knows, you might never get the privilege to meet her around this way again! She's on booth #2010 in Independence Hall and she's offering this coupon! Grab it!