Holiday Season in Estes Park, Colorado

Tradition: Estes Park always has treasured families. Holiday activities here are planned so people of all ages will enjoy the outing.

The Lights: At one time, no holiday lights in Estes Park were turned on until the official lighting at dusk the day after Thanksgiving, a tradition that began in the early '50s. The ceremony featured a small contingent of locals and high school band members who gathered around a spruce tree in Bond Park (the park in the center of downtown) to play and sing Christmas carols.

In 1951, the town's light and power department first created re-bar Christmas trees and attached them to poles throughout the area. The design plans have been shared with communities across the United States and our village now has 120 "trees" in the collection. Along Elkhorn Avenue (the town's main street) trees now wear thousands of white twinkle lights, creating a storybook look after dark. In all, there are 175 decorated trees downtown. Merchants carry out the theme in their storefront windows.

The Murals: Between 1957 and 1966 Buell Porter designed and constructed the billboard murals seen around town. All are individually lit and provide a special addition to the ambience of the holiday season here. Six of them were refurbished between 1988 and 1993 by local artists. Santa Claus (constructed in 1957 and reconstructed in 2005) was the first mural designed by Porter. With Rudolph leading the sleigh, Santa appears to fly over Estes Park from the green space known as "The Knoll" just north of Town Hall. The display stretches 80 feet.

Facts about Estes Park's Holiday Season

The Nativity Scene (resorted in 1989) is at the corner of Virginia Drive and Elkhorn Avenue in Bond Par. It was Porter's second mural and originally was constructed and painted in 1958. The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe is the first display seen when entering town on U.S. Highway 36 (from Boulder and Denver) and was added to the collection in 1965.

The Three Wise Men on the hill above the Riverwalk (south of Elkhorn Avenue) are nearly 20 feet tall. Shepherds, part of the scene above the Riverwalk, features sheep that are six feet tall. Years ago, local high school students protested that the herd wasn't politically correct and made frequent attempts to make certain at least one of them was a black sheep. The town eventually helped the youngsters out by officially painting at least one of the lambs black.

Christmas in Bugville (restored in 1990) now is in Bond Park, at the corner of MacGregor and Elkhorn Avenues.

Santa's Card Shop (restored in 1988) is on Elkhorn Avenue in front of the Public Library.

The Holy Figure overlooking the West end of Elkhorn Avenue provides a special religious message for the holiday season. It was constructed in 1966.

The Parade The lighted, evening parade was started in the late 1980s so the town could share its Christmas magic with others. The first three years, the parade was billed as "Santa's Storybook Parade" and featured walking characters and a few floats depicting storybook themes with Santa Claus. Later, the theme of the parade swelled as the floats became Disney-like: large, lighted floats and units. Floats are constructed by a team of volunteers beginning months before the parade. Some are more than 40 feet long, 12 feet high with more than 6,000 lights.

Community participation is widespread with school children of all ages riding the floats, carrying banners and portraying costumed characters. Parade attendance has grown steadily over the years, with last year's estimate placed at nearly 25,000.

Author : Brandice A Thorn

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Find Your Cheap Holiday in 4 Easy Steps

Being picky when choosing for the right holiday for you is understandable seeing as how the recession has affected the whole world. So its only right to become more practical and choosing for the right holiday means something that suits your budget. The failure of some major Tour operator in 2008 has made the British general public to be more cautious in making transactions especially in handing their money over. Having an experience of more than 20 years in the Package Holiday business, let me share some tips on how you can have a perfect holiday for summer.

1. The first thing to enquire in the company that you want to have a deal with is if they have ABTA (Association of British Travel Agents) or ATOL license (Air Travel Organisers License). These two licenses can cover you if ever the Tour operator cease trading or go into liquidation. Your flights, and hotel will be covered by ATOL if you are on your holiday when something goes wrong with the Tour Operator's business.

2. The best time to book for your holiday is not on the last minute. There are only a few tour operators left today due to the consolidation in the UK leisure travel industry. The small specialist tour operators have been bought by the two main tour operators, Thomson/First Choice Holidays and Thomas Cook Holidays. So as part of their cost cutting measure, they have reduced the capacity that made an effect to the traditional last minute booking. The tour operators have been enticing travellers to book in advance by giving them discounts or free addons like inflight meals. Another advantage of booking your holidays early is that some tour operators accept a low deposit with the balance to be completed up to 8 weeks prior to departure. So it won't be too hard to pay on that since its like you'll be paying it in installment.

3. Never forget to do some research. Reviews on different hotels are available in the internet. Try to visit hotel review sites so as to give you an idea of the quality of the hotels. Put in mind though that some hotels are known to put up a bad review about other hotels. Another thing is that most holidaymakers would only share their negative experiences over a hotel so you might just get a lot of negative reviews on some really good hotels. You can get good advices about a hotel from holiday specialists if you want by calling them. If you want to look for good quality price comparisons, try to visit teletextholidays and travel supermarket for they have thousands of offers from hundreds of Tour Operators and Travel Agents.

4. If you use a credit card when booking your cheap holiday, most travel agents will charge you around 2%. Whereas if you use a debit card, there would be no charge at all. Once you have chosen your holiday and feel ready to book for it, don't forget to ask the company if they can give you free insurance or transfers. Most of them will give in to your request if you are ready to book immediately. When you think you've got the perfect deal and it fits your budget perfectly, book for it right away. Such good deals run out fast. Another thing to remember is do not call too many tour operators or companies for the same holiday because if you do, these operators and flight companies alike might increase their low cost packages if they get too many hits for the same holiday date and hotel. So when you do your research, enquire only to about 3 companies to have a general idea of the cost.

Author : Jessica Nielson

About the Author :
Learn more easy ways to book cheap holidays at Cheap Holildays 24. Also read our latest article on Hotel Tricks to find accommodations discounts or read more useful tips and guides in the Cheap Holiday section of the site.

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How To Enjoy Your Cheap Holiday In Egypt

When you hear the word Egypt, first thing that probably comes into your mind is the pyramids. But there are more in Egypt than those great heritage from the ancient world. Antiquities mixed with luxury river cruises and super-modern resorts are just some of the things that Egypt can offer for the holidaymakers.

Cairo

Cairo, or the Triumphant City is one of the largest urban areas in the world. It is located at at the side of the Nile River and became an important trading point during the medieval times. You can find thousands or even millions of artifacts that are more than 6,000 years of age at the Cairo Musem. It has been said that if it would take you 1 second to view each of the exhibits, then it will take you a fortnight to see everything in there. So it would help if you make a plan first before you go there. There is a massive collection of treasure in the tomb of Tutankhamun that most people are interested to see. The Gold Funeral Mask wherein the mummified pharaoh was found is the highlight among these treasures. Although the city of Cairo is not as ancient as its treasure but rather a modernized busy city. But the thing that you should not miss in Cairo is the Great Pyramid. It is magnificently built that you couldn't imagine how such amazing stature has been made. The Sphinx is also very impressive that it appears to be really guarding the Giza Plateau.

River Nile Cruise

If you want to explore the ancient Egypt, or want to see the sunset at the emerald Nile, then you're on for a Nile River Cruise. Egypt has a lush and verdant landscapes at either sides of the River Nile and barren desert almost everywhere. So if you are to see Egypt's civilisation, take a Nile Cruise. Famous sites included in most of Egypt cruise itineraries are Aswan, Karnak, and Luxor.

The Red Sea Riviera

After exploring Egypt's civilisation and ancient treasures, you may like to relax or spend the rest of the holidays at the Red Sea Riviera. The place, with crystal-clear waters and golden sand, was specially developed wherein a large amount of money was spent. It now has beach resorts, world-class scuba diving, and 4-star and 5-star hotels where tourists can stay, and even a golf course. Most of them offer all-inclusive board basis which means you can have your cheap holiday spent there. Then you may also bargain your extra cash left at the local markets.

Now that you have read this article, you now have the idea on what to do, where to go and what to expect in your cheap holiday in Egypt. A weekend off may not be enough for you to explore the beauty of the country so you have to make a plan months before you actually go there. Look for cheap holiday packages, bring a group or your family to avail more discounts, and be ready for your adventure in Egypt.

Author : Jessica Nielson

About the Author :

Learn more easy ways to book cheap holidays to Egypt at Cheap Holildays 24. Also read our latest article - Make The Itinerary For A Holiday To Cairo, which is an expert guide to know more about Egypt and its wonders.

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Learn How to Get a Cheap Holiday

Holidays are exciting treats for yourself, your family, friends or a love one. As holiday vacations come once in a while every year, it should be worth the money you spend. Sad to say but great holiday treats cost too much, especially the one's that offers package deals to the best tourist spots and destinations. And some people spend too much for a holiday that they didn't actually get their money's worth. The thing is, why waste an obscene lump of cash for a dream holiday package? It would be wiser to spend on a fair holiday offer and taking the odds of having a wonderful time when you get there.

A common mistake of tourists is they don't have an idea where to start looking for a good holiday at a relatively cheap cost. It is true that the best holiday offers are very expensive but on the contrary, one can actually take part of luxurious holidays at an affordable price. If you know where to look at the right time, some of the best holidays are also the cheapest!

The amount of money you will pay for a holiday relies obviously on what type of holiday you want to take. A cruise around the Caribbean or a river cruise up the Nile might cost a little more than a weekend in Paris. Eventhough you have the budget to burn on a Caribbean cruise with Amazon adventure it still doesn't mean that you have to waste buckets of pounds. And this is where the internet plays an essential part in your holiday. By using the technology today, you can easily find discounted holiday packages, plane fare price cuts, late booking bargains and so on.

Comparison is the key to any good research in the internet. First try checking the flight tickets fees, accomodations, transportations, insurance options etc. Then try comparing the prices, which is more suitable for your budget? which one can give more comfort? which one is more enjoyable? Its up to you to decide which one to pick in accordance to your lifestyle and always check your budget.

Now that you know where to buy tickets, where to book a hotel, where to apply for travel insurance etc, let's go back to the internet and search for holiday packages offered by tourist operators. The purpose of having the personal holiday plan is to get more information about the price so you can haggle with the agents. The more information you have, the easier it is to barter with them. They want your money, and they will bargain if they are being upstaged by someone else. Its easy to talk your way to a discount if you know your way around with the prices.

Plane tickets and accommodations are two things that would have a great effect on the budget. The price of tickets and hotel rentals will boost sky high on peak seasons. So, it is recommended to book flights and hotels a few months ealier to avoid the price hikes. Also, try to subcribe on their newsletters to keep yourself updated of for possible discounts and bargains.

Author : Jessica Nielson

About the Author :
Learn more easy ways to book cheap holidays at Cheap Holildays 24. Also read our latest article about 10 Tips for Booking Cheap Holidays at the holiday guide section of the website.

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