New Orleans, Louisiana, US (file photo)

6 New Orleans, Louisiana, US

Those searching for a way to celebrate the holidays in a unique southern fashion need look no further than New Orleans, where the poinsettia gets as much love as the fleur de lis. In this French Creole town, Christmas events start in November, and they ring in the holiday spirit in ways you've never seen before. Take the Celebration in the Oaks, for example: a pop-up Christmas theme park that brings bright lights and carnival rides to New Orleans City Park, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. On Fulton Street, travelers will find spinning multicolored Christmas trees and fake snow, which drifts down four times an hour.