How will you be spending this last weekend before Christmas? I’ll be doing some last minute shopping, but hope to do some things with my family that will represent the holidays and remind us what we are celebrating.

• 10 low-stress gift-shopping tips for those who wait until the last minute. I’ll be reading this article to find ways to stretch my time this weekend.
• Tips to stay stress free during the holidays. My favorite tip from this blog is “don’t do it all.”
• Need some gift ideas? Visit Lastminute.com.

If you are in Orlando and want some ideas of what to do, here’s a quick list of my favorites:

• ICE! The Gaylord Palms hosts this chilly event every year. If you haven’t been it’s worth the admission — especially for Floridians who don’t get to experience snow. Read my full post from our visit last year.
• An Orlando Christmas — if you are visiting the area this Christmas, here’s a list of things to do. It includes the Grinch at Universal, hotels to visit and the best place in Central Florida to see Santa.
• Don’t miss my post the other day to see video of the lightening of Cinderella’s castle.

From ICE! the exhibit.

We headed to Walt Disney World the other night to experience the Magic Kingdom at night — to see how Disney does Christmas. The park was packed. It was more like a madhouse to be accurate. But it was lit up in all its Christmas glory. The place looked truly magical.

At 6:30 p.m., daily, the park lights up Cinderella’s castle in a short, but memorable ceremony. Cinderella’s fairy godmother comes out of the castle and says some bib-bidy, bob-bidy-bo something or other and the castle starts to light up, one section at a time.

This lovely gem of a photo was taken by Chris Murray, husband extraordinaire.

Even though we had to fight through throngs of people it was totally worth it to take a break from the rush-rush of the season and enjoy some time celebrating the holiday.

As a busy mom I’ve neglected my home lately. I want to redecorate and make our space unique and inviting. Designers are typically expensive and I don’t have time to watch HGTV anymore, so when I heard about a design event at the upcoming Orlando Home Show, I was intrigued. Called “Speed Design,” it will help busy people like me get expert advice in minutes.

The premise is like speed dating. Just bring photos of design dilemmas from your home and rotate between five different local interior designers. You’ll have five, five-minute sessions where you are one-on-one with each designer. You’ll be sure to walk away with a variety of solutions from each designer. Once you enter the Home Show, there is no cost for the event.

If you go: Speed Design takes place at The Orlando Home Show, on SATURDAY ONLY (September 20, 2008) at 11 a.m., 12 noon, 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. Arrive early — registration for this event is on a first-come, first-served basis.

The Orlando Home Show runs, September 19-21 at the Orange County Convention Center. See its Web site for details, ticket pricing, parking information and a list of exhibits.

Win Free Tickets!
Two readers will win a pair of tickets to The Orlando Home Show. Just submit a comment to this blog post.

The two lucky winners will be randomly selected.

Deadline for submissions is 11:59 p.m. Eastern time, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2008.

Only one entry per person please.

Winners will be announced on Friday.

Photos courtesy Marketplace Events.

Related:

• The Orlando Home Show
• Florida Home Shows
• Home Shows

Post a comment in the section below (even if it’s just your name or to say hi) to enter to win the Orlando Home Show tickets.

My friend, Ashley, has a great blog about the goings-on in Central Florida. Ashley and I used to work together in the media business so we have the same love for great content and story telling. He recently asked me if I would participate in a profile story for his site, Pulse of Central Florida. He titled the piece, “A Central Florida mommy blogger you should know about.” Aww.

If you live in Central Florida, make time to visit the blog … you never know what you’ll find there. They cover everything from a hyper- local perspective and have features about pets (yours could be next), restaurants, and just interesting tidbits in their “out and about” section. Oh, and they cover pretty cool people too!

We spent the “Day Out With Thomas” on Saturday and it was a great day. Thomas the Tank Engine was there, large as life. I think the sight of the real Thomas scared my son. After all, he’s used to playing with a Thomas that is only 2 inches high!

The event features Thomas the Tank Engine in all of his glory and a train ride with Thomas — we’re on the coaches he’s pulling/pushing. Although the train ride and meeting Thomas are the highlights of the day, there are several other activities to keep the little tykes occupied until it is his/her turn to see Thomas. Sir Topham Hatt makes appearances and poses for photos too. And there is a fake tattoo station, cotton candy vendors, a bounce house, and an imagination station where kids can play with Thomas toys.

Thomas is making his yearly tour across the country, so check the events listing his Web site to see if he’s coming to a town near you. One little boy on our train ride, summed it up best, “I love you Thomas!” he proclaimed.

Thomas in all his glory! Truly a sight to see.

Sir Topham Hatt.

Related:

• Find a Day Out With Thomas event near you.
• The official Thomas the Tank Engine Web site.