We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Are you ready for December and the merry and bright holidays it brings along with it? To help you get this holiday season started off right, plan some good, old-fashioned fun times with the Friday Five, our weekly roundup of five fun events happening in the Charleston area this weekend. Enjoy a holiday parade or festival, shop local, hear some sweet carol bells and more. Whatever you choose to do, as always, the staff and agents at Johnson & Wilson Real Estate Company hope you have a very happy and safe weekend!

Once all the hubbub of Black Friday has passed, please don’t forget about Small Business Saturday! Be a part of the 10th annual holiday shopping tradition that brings together communities in support of their favorite small businesses. Be a part of the Shop Small Movement and support those local shops and businesses not just this Saturday, but as often as possible. Many small businesses throughout the Lowcountry will be running specials for Small Business Saturday. So get out and support your neighbors, friends, and acquaintances in their small business ventures. 

This Saturday, the Goose Creek Small Business Alliance along with Oak Landing Pediatric Dentistry will host the first annual Goose Creek Holiday Festival. This festival features more than eighty local businesses, artisans, craft vendors, food trucks, fun and games for all ages, live music, and last but certainly not least, Santa Claus himself! The event takes place from 10am until 3pm and is FREE to the public. Please note that this event is put on by a private groups of business owners and is not affiliated with the City of Goose Creek’s official Christmas parade or events. 

Kick off the holiday season in a big way at the City of Charleston Holiday Parade 2019 this Sunday. The parade begins at 3pm near Colonial Lake and continues up Broad Street to Meeting Street, dispersing on Calhoun Street near Marion Square. Grab your chairs and blankets, pack a thermos of hot chocolate, pick a prime spot, and get your waving arms ready! Some of Charleston’s favorite organizations, schools, sports clubs, shops, and more will march along the route—some handing out treats if you’re lucky! The parade will be followed by the annual Tree Lighting Ceremony in Marion Square, beginning at 4:30pm. 

Children within every spectrum of special needs are invited along with their families to a private photo session with Santa Claus at Mt. Pleasant Towne Centre this Sunday from 9am until 11am. Santa Cares: A Sensory-Friendly Santa Photo Experience gives children with special needs access to the time-honored tradition of a visit with Santa during dedicated hours. Santa Cares is held in partnership with Autism Speaks, an organization dedicated to promoting solutions, across the spectrum and throughout the lifespan, for the needs of individuals with autism and their families. This event is not limited to children with autism, but is open to anyone who needs a little more time and a little less sensory stimulation. Visits with Santa are free, and photo packages that capture holiday memories will be available for purchase. One complimentary ticket per group or family should be reserved ahead of time on EventBrite. 

For some peaceful and glorious music to wrap up your holiday-filled weekend, head to Summerville Baptist Church on Sunday evening. The Palmetto Bronze Handbell Ensemble will present Need a Little Christmas?: a Free Holiday Handbell Concert. From 4pm until 5:30pm, enjoy many of your holiday favorites played on seven octaves of handbells and six octaves of hand chimes. Toe-tapping favorites like Have a Holly Jolly Christmas, Deck the Halls, All I Want for Christmas Is You, Wizards in Winter, Christmas Eve Sarajevo, The First Noel, and more will be featured at this event that is sure to please holiday-lovers of all ages.