03 Dec 2023 Home for a Central Arkansas Christmas

It’s not only the most wonderful time of the year, it’s a favorite season in the Brazile home—except for all of the glitter that inevitably ends up on the floor or in someone’s eye! I enjoy putting up our decorations and looking at the photo Christmas cards that chronicle our lives over the past several decades.

All decorations center around the tree, which changes slightly each year, but the one constant is the star we place at the top. It reminds us of the wise men from the East who followed the star in search of a king. As a church steeple points us to the heavens, the star topper points us to an ancient story of the birth of the Savior.

I’m excited to gift our “Christmas in Central Arkansas” issue to our readers. We have loaded it with festive stories and images from the 501 to inspire you. We bring you collections of nativities, nutcrackers and Christmas trees! We also feature light displays and the three-foot-tall chocolate Santa at Kilwins in Little Rock that you can visit and dream about finding under your tree on Christmas morning.

We are grateful to Christina Gore, who is our Artist of the Month. She is featured on the cover and is making the world more beautiful—one home at a time. Chef Don Bingham is serving Tres Leches French Toast this month. He recommends preparing this decadent breakfast dish on Christmas Eve and popping it into the oven on your way to see what Santa left in your stocking.

After shopping, melt into your favorite chair and enjoy our tour of homes. From the Varela home in Saline County to the Hurd home in Faulkner County, and then over to Jim Gatling’s home in Conway County—I’m confident that you, like Santa, will enjoy each stop.

Merry Christmas from the Brazile and Higginbotham Families! We hope you embrace the joy and peace that accompanies the season—and which I often find in quiet moments sitting beside my Christmas tree and looking up at the real star of the show.