After dinner last night, Mary and I decided to go see some Christmas decorations. We went to the Willow Glen area of San Jose, which is usually quite well decorated. Many of the houses in this neighborhood have a small evergreen tree in the front yard decorated with lights. Some houses don’t have much beyond that, but others are quite extensive. This year we saw a multi-house decoration that was pretty cool. It consisted of 3 reindeer (one of which was Rudolph) and Santa’s sleigh. It spanned some 5 houses, connected together with Christmas lights. Usually, the most amazing house is the one at the corner of Minnesota Avenue and Curtiss Avenue, but it was not lit when we went by. I’m not sure if they are skipping the decorations this year, or they just aren’t done yet. More pictures here.

After driving around Willow Glen, we went to Christmas in the Park in downtown San Jose. Christmas in the Park is an annual festival in and around Plaza de Cesar Chavez near the Fairmont Hotel. The park is filled with Christmas displays and trees decorated by various community groups and schools. The tradition was started by a community leader in the 1950’s, and moved to it’s current location in Plaza de Cesar Chavez in the 1980’s. The festival includes rides, food vendors and various entertainment throughout the holiday season. There’s even an ice skating rink in front of the Fairmont Hotel. Mary and I strolled around the park checking out the displays and “community trees” and sipping on piping hot Mexican hot chocolate. It was a very nice evening. I have some more pictures posted in my gallery. Next time I should probably take my tripod…