Krewe of Jingle Parade 2018

The Canal Street Home for the Holidays Krewe of Jingle Parade is a perfect way to kick off the holiday season. The 80 degree weather brought out a big crowd for the dance troupes, marching bands, majorettes, stilt-walkers, floats, Santa and local favorite – Mr. Bingle.

Christmas in New Orleans 2016

This is my 8th Christmas in New Orleans. But not really since I’ve been coming here to visit family my whole life. More accurately, this is my 8th Christmas tree in New Orleans. If you know me or this blog, you already know I make most of my ornaments using polymer clay, beads and crystals from an old chandelier. I’ve been far too busy to even blog much less make ornaments, but I did manage to add a few to the collection. New additions include my Pussyfooter uniform from the 2015 Krewe of Jingle parade and our wedding day in 2014.

New Orleans is always beautiful but Christmas can add another layer. It’s one of my favorite times of year to walk around. Homes in the historic Garden District use a lot of boughs and bows. The French Quarter tends to use a lot more lights and whimsy.

Krewe of Jingle Parade 2015 (finally)

After 2 catastrophic computer crashes and losing this blog post work (twice) as well as many photos, here is finally my post on the Krewe of Jingle Parade 2015. Organized by the Downtown Development District, the Canal Street Home for the Holidays Krewe of Jingle Parade features marching bands, majorettes, dance troupes, stilt-walkers, festive floats, Santa and local favorite – Mr. Bingle. (For the history of Mr. Bingle, click HERE). As one of the 125-or-so Pussyfooters dancers, I get to see the spectacle from the inside-out including festively dressed children and kids-at-heart waving as we pass. 

Krewe of Jingle Parade 2012

The good news is that I am very, very busy preparing for the release of Django Unchained and the debut of my part as Leonardo DiCaprio’s sister, Lara Lee Candie-Fitzwilly as well as another project I’ll be announcing soon. The bad news is that I haven’t had much time to blog (or do laundry, etc.). We stumbled across my beloved Roots of Music marching band and founder, Derrick Tabb (of Grammy-winning Rebirth Brass Band) as they prepared for their upcoming trip to the Tournament of Roses Parade in California while on our way to catch The Krewe of Jingle Parade.

Krewe of Jingle Parade

This weekend was the 4th annual Krewe of Jingle Parade on Canal Street. The Downtown Development District created Canal Street: Home for the Holidays to draw shoppers and families looking for holiday activities. They wisely scheduled the parade to finish before the LSU game and many in the crowd were sporting their purple and gold as they waited for the Mr. Bingle float to open the festivities.

Fake tree, real Christmas

I’ve never had a fake tree before, never wanted one. My extended family has had a tree farm for 4 generations, real trees smell wonderful, they’re beautiful and they are a part of every Christmas in my home. I’ve heard it’s more ecologically friendly to buy a fake tree and reuse it, but it seemed… fake! Last year, I discovered the Mardi Gras tree tradition and realized that my trees now have to last until February or March every year. Hello fake trees!