Christmas in Puteaux

So every year the town I live in puts out Christmas decorations. I don't know if its always the same theme or not, but this year was a circus. They also set up a huge advent calendar in the center of town right outside one of the schools (left). Every day they would open a new door with a new image on either side of the Christmas scene in the middle. The large circus decorations were set up all over "downtown" Puteaux, and each side street had circus decorations on the lamp post (lions, seals, elephants, giraffes) and hanging over the road. Our street had two elephants standing up and facing each other with a circus tent in the middle. The street decorations were accompanied by larger versions around town. The two standing elephants face eachother in front of the Mairie (see the building all lit up). There is also a giraffe standing near the entrance to the Mairie around the right side of the building. The Mairie is lit up at night year round, in different colors, but it is really beautiful to see it at night during the Christmas season.

Further down, on a little island in the street was a tent of lights complete with snow on the ground with an elephant, a cople seals, and a polar bear. There is a doorway into this tent of lights so that the children can go in and look at the animals and take pictures with them. Puteaux also sets up a series of winter activities including ice skating and sledding at the town's recreational park on the island of Puteaux at the bottom of the hill. There they have an entire "winter wonderland" for children where families can go and safely enjoy some skating or sledding without taking a trip out to the mountains.

The museum next to the Mairie had a waterfall of lights with two seals playing with balls out front. I swear, every time I got a chance to get out after dark I found some new light statue of a circus animal! We will have to see what shows up next year. Because of exams, I didn't get a chance to get down and see the winter wonderland, so I don't have any pictures of that part of town yet. There is always next year!