If modern Christmas celebrations bring out more Scrooge than Santa, it may be time to take a bright from the hustle and bustle of the holiday season and go back in time to an old-fashioned Christmas celebration.

The perfect place to find that old-fashioned Christmas celebration, the kind of holiday season sung about in Christmas carols and portrayed on heartwarming holiday movies is at Silver Dollar City near Branson, Missouri.

The 1890's theme park is open most of the year as amusement park with a twist, featuring Ozark artisians and old time fun but when the main season ends, the park transforms into a holiday wonderland.

An Old Time Christmas this year opens on November 3 and continues through December 30. Just in time for the Holiday season, An Old Time Christmas at Silver Dollar City features everything anyone could want for a special holiday experince.

The Square - main entry point - at Silver Dollar City becomes the focus for a brand new light extravaganza called Christmas On Main Street. Delight in the five story tall Christmas Tree that claims the center of the Square and be dazzled by the more than 300,000 lights that light the night around the Square.

This is just the start to what is an annual holiday wonder for guests from across the country and even the world. Silver Dollar City lights up with an amazing array of holiday lights but there is much, much more.

Even the most hard hearted Grinch will melt at the sound of the Christmas music that rings throughout the park during this festive season. Traditional carols, holiday songs, and brand new favorites all echo through the trees and the open air in a musical experience that will be remembered for a lifetime.

Other highlights of the holiday season at An Old Time Christmas at Silver Dollar City include a trip back in time to Bethlehem with The Living Nativity.

A musical adaptation of Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol is performed each year with Broadway quality special effects, beautiful scenery, and period clothing that will transport those who watch back to the days of Dickens and Ebenezer Scrooge! Fourteen actors bring the story to life in the park's Opera House Theater and they play to a packed house so those who want a seat should come early!

Other holiday shows are performed as well and schedules with the daily line up are available on entry to Silver Dollar City.

Twice each evening, the Holiday Light Parade winds through the streets and over the hills of Silver Dollar City. The official name of this parade is "Gifts of Christmas Holiday Light Parade" and it is a parade bursting with sounds, lights, and floats.

At Kringle's Krossing, children and the young at heart can visit Santa Claus in what is billed as his Ozark home.

This year, visiting world class craftsmen on hand at the park will inclue Emanuel Fontanini (of the Fontanini family well known for their exquisite nativitys from Italy) and Ibrahim Giacaman, creator of the Wilderness Woods nativities from the Holy Land.

Rides open during the holiday season, weather permitting, including the Frisco Silver Dollar Line Steam Train (transformed with decorations and lights into a holiday sing along party), rollercoaster Fire-In-The-Hole, The Giant Swing, Thunderation, Powder Keg, Wildlife, and Geyser Gulch

The park's newest area of family friendly rides called The Grand Exposition is also open, weather permitting.

Attractions open during the holiday season include fun house Grandfather's Mansion, Marvel Cave, and Tom Sawyer's Landing, home of the park's vintage carousel.

The tastes of the holiday are also found throughout the park, from a traditional turkey dinner to fun favorites like roasted chesnuts and much, much more. Chef Zader prides himself on the quality holiday fare offered up during An Old Time Christmas at Silver Dollar City.

Whether it's a family celebrating the season together or a couple enjoying a romantic interlude in the lights of a Victorian style Christmas, An Old Time Christmas at Silver Dollar City is the place to be during the holiday season.

Many other Branson attractions are open for the holidays as well and the season is fast becoming second only to the major vacation season of the summer.

Full details on operating hours and more about An Old Time Christmas can be found at the park's website, www.silverdollarcity.com.

Enjoy a merry Christmas from the past at an Old Time Christmas at Branson's oldest amusemet park, Silver Dollar City!