It's hard to believe that we are one third of the way through December with temperatures projected to climb into the 70s this weekend. Crazy! Even though our weather is warmer than usual, we are surrounded by the beautiful decorations and twinkling lights of this merry season. Franklin certainly looks lovely during the winter months, but there are other cities around the country that keep their holiday embellishments up year-round. Why, you ask? It's just who they are! Here are some samples of holiday signage from cities across our country with truly festive names.

North Pole, Alaska

"Where the spirit of Christmas lives year round."
You will definitely feel the spirit of Christmas in this adorable town.

You are pretty much guaranteed to have a white Christmas in this little town. Established on January 15, 1953, the city of North Pole continues to grow. The residents keep the holiday spirit alive, using Snowman Lane, Mistletoe, North Star Drive, Kris Kringle, and other such names for their local roads. Red, white and green can be found on buildings around the city, and the street lights resemble candy canes. They hold a Winter Festival each holiday season, featuring fireworks, an ice carving festival, a tree lighting, live reindeer and a winter wonderland village crafted with over two million pounds of ice. Sounds like a happy place to me!

Santa Claus, Indiana

This is the place to visit when you want your letters to come from Santa Claus!

This famous town is the only one in the world that has a post office with the name Santa Claus. Because of this, you can probably imagine the number of letters to Santa that arrive from adorable children each and every year! The town features Santa Claus attractions that are open all year, including Santa's Candy Castle (yum!), the Santa Claus Museum and Village, Santa's Stables, and Holiday World & Splashin' Safari. Although you can feel the spirit of Christmas any time you visit, they do feature the annual Santa Claus Christmas Celebration in December with special events for the entire family. 

Christmas, Florida

Sandblasted signs make quite a statement. This one, located in Florida, welcomes you to Christmas every day!
(Photo courtesy of sayhellotoamerica.com)

Even though you don't think of snow in Florida, you can think of Christmas! This cute census-designated place (CDP) is the busiest right before the holidays when people line up at the post office to get a "Christmas, FL" postmark. Who wouldn't want a holiday card from Christmas? In addition to the popular post office, Fort Christmas Historical Park and the Christmas RV Park make up a large part of the local attractions for the area. You will find a Christmas tree and Santa's reindeer and sleigh decorating the town throughout the year. With Orlando and the major amusement and resort attractions only 20 miles away, this is a fun little place to visit to get your holiday fix.

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

The open face channel letters light up the sky on the roof of the Bethlehem Hotel. The hotel is rumored to have friendly ghosts residing within the walls of the building.
(Photo courtesy of flickr.com)

I've had the pleasure of visiting this city on numerous occasions, and it definitely will get you into the Christmas spirit. The lights, decorations, musical events, and horse drawn carriage rides are just part of the beauty. The town was established in 1741 on Christmas Eve. In 1937, the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce declared that the city would be known as Christmas City USA worldwide. If you visit, look for the star that shines on top of South Mountain. It's quite a spectacular site! 

There are so many more cities with festive names, such as Christmas, MI, Comet, NC, Dasher, GA, Mistletoe, KY, Rudolph, OH, and Wiseman, AR. It was interesting to see that many cities are now abandoned haunts of what used to be. Some are even considered full fledged ghost towns with abandoned buildings left to break down over time. (Check out Blitzen, OR and Santa Claus, AZ!) It's hard to believe that anyone would abandon such quaint little towns with such joyful names. 

If you know of a festive city with unique signage, please share it in our comments section below. Looking for your own custom signage, contact us at (615) 595-6564 to get started on your project, or you can click on the link below. Happy Holidays!