Grand Geneva's Christmas in the Country

For the past few years we've taken the short drive over to the Grand Geneva Resort in Lake Geneva after we've finished our Thanksgiving dinner to enjoy their Christimas in the Country outdoor and interior decorations.  This year Wayne did all the cooking and most of the clean-up as usual, and opted out of the drive after having a game of cribbage with my dad while everyone had pie.  Well, everyone but me, who had the surprisingly delicious gluten-free chocolate cupcakes with creamy vanilla frosting.

Katrina didn't make it home for Thanksgiving from Eau Claire this year, but we had my mother's cousin from Georgia as a very special guest and Cory's girlfriend Kati join us for dinner and for our after dinner outing.  Kati lives minutes from the Grand Geneva and has seen their elaborate outdoor display featuring the 12 days of Christmas before but had never gone inside to see the gingerbread house competition entrants or the interior decorating.  We all grabbed pencils and ballots and voted for our favorites in each category, being careful to notice whether the younger group maybe had a little too much help!

Notice Toto and the witch's hat on the left!

Feliz Navidad! I especially liked the use of rock candy in front of the gate.

Nothing says wintry fun like hot chocolate and pond skating!

The Grand Geneva changes their interior decorations every year, and this year it was all about candy and was very "sweet".  I felt there was a message in the m&m's display that I wasn't quite getting, perhaps someone will explain it to me!

Of course all of this was just a warm-up for my upcoming trip where we're hitting the Ashland Estate in Lexington, the Biltmore in Asheville, and the Atlanta Botanical Gardens for more holiday eye candy. Yum!