Christmas Tree Display Scaled Back This Year

The gingerbread house is a highlight with the kids.

Leah and Meah at a Dr. Seuss tree.

The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center's annual Christmas tree display is always a highlight of the season for me, but last night's visit with my friend Leah Weiss left me wondering if perhaps some budgets have been cut.

The display, lovely as it is, had but a fraction of the displays we have come to expect and most were considerably more modest than usual. The past few years, the displays of corporate/company sponsored trees and their stories have been elaborate and expansive. A real joy.

Still, it is a treat for children and adults, though the love o' me life, Madeline, is not here to enjoy it with me this year, so I was left without a kid to share. Leah was a good companion, but there's nothing like the eyes of a child looking at Christmas.

Go see the display. You'll like it, but lower your expectations a smidge.

It's all about light and color.

That, of course, is the Grinch and me.