Where can you go to see a Christmas tree decorated with cats and cocktails? What do cat ladies do in preparation for the Christmas holiday, and how do these questions tie together?

Volunteers and staff members of The Blue Bell Foundation for Cats (“Blue Bell”) have been working hard on creating ornaments for our Christmas tree at Sawdust Festival’s Winter Fantasy, which opened on Friday.  Our handcrafted ornaments are all things feline, mais oui, but we put festive New Orleans spin on these cute kitty tree decorations.

Come see Blue Bell’s lavishly decorated Christmas tree themed “Meowi Gras” at the Winter Fantasy, which runs every weekend through December 17^th at the Sawdust Festival grounds in Laguna Beach. The Winter Fantasy is Sawdust Festival transformed into a winter wonderland, complete with Santa’s house in the “town square” and Christmas trees strewn throughout the grounds, each representing a Laguna Beach based nonprofit organization.

Jenna, Terri, Leesa and yours truly, transformed basic kitty ornaments into feline Mardi Gras party goes, including ornaments showcasing our very own Blue Bell residents, each embellished with crowns and cocktails.

We decorated our tree on Wednesday, navigating through rain then wrapping it with tarp to protect it until opening day on Friday.

Last night was the tree lighting ceremony during which awards for tree décor were granted. Blue Bell is honored and thrilled to have won the Most Creative tree award. What better way for a cat lady to kick-off the holiday season? I’m grateful to be a part of Blue Bell for the past ten years. And I’m grateful for the down-home sense of community and joy that Winter Fantasy evokes.

A big thank you to all who read and support my blog and to all who’ve purchased Two Cats, a Mermaid and the Disappearing Moon. It means the world to me!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!