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As winter sets in across the country, here's a warm look back at the perfect summer job for one lucky SoWal local, Laurel Abbe.

When I saw the SoWal Forum posting for “Brand Ambassadors – South Walton Tourist Development Council”, I read it as Beach Ambassadors and I applied right away.

The job description included phrases like “Representing South Walton …on-site at the beaches… interviewing families… taking photographs… distributing promotional materials”. Who could pass that up? It would be a pleasure. So I applied and happily, I got the job.

For many of the locals used to seeing James “Jim” Herbermann as Santa, it will be a lump of coal this year.

Jim has been the Santa for Seaside, Alys Beach, Sacred Heart and other notable venues in the area since the Herbermanns moved to the area nine years ago. He has been a professional Santa for more than 37 years. He is the Emerald Coast Santa.
 

Three actors, in what starts out as a pared-down version of the Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol, stage a mutiny and, in an effort to breathe new life into an old tradition, attempt to tell “Every Christmas Story Ever Told (and then some!).” 

Along the way, we are provided with factoids about Christmas traditions from around the world, watch a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade go horribly wrong, and hear every Christmas Carol ever written in 90 seconds.   

With 2,400 picturesque acres, Sandestin is the ideal place in South Walton to have it all: beautiful beaches, pristine golf courses, family fun at Baytowne Wharf, and an amazing variety of retail therapy at Grand Boulevard.

Now, you can enter to win a four-day getaway to the Courtyard Sandestin at Grand Boulevard in South Walton, Florida. Come experience the wide array of Sandestin’s deluxe resort amenities, as well as a chance to explore the sugar-white sand, turquoise water, and 15 unique beach neighborhoods that make South Walton so special. The lucky winner will receive:

What could be cooler than tooling down Scenic 30A on a beach cruiser? Gettin' one for free! SoWal.com and Big Daddy's Bike Shop in Blue Mountain Beach are sharing a bit of two-wheeled beach life to a random winner on 12/16/11. Click here to enter!

Register in store and double your chances of winning! Get your bikes & accessories from the friendly folks at Big Daddy's, 850-622-1165.

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, food, drink and discounts, and the best Christmas shopping locally.

The Shops of Ruskin present a new twist on a favorite tune with “The 12 Shops of Christmas” December 3-14.  When you choose to shop with The Shops of Ruskin this holiday season and make a minimum purchase of $25 in each shop during December 3-14, you’ll receive a case of Mumm’s Cuvee champagne from Modica Market at the end of your shopping spree!  It’s that simple.

We love the snow-white quartz sands of SoWal beaches that squeak when we walk on them with bare feet, the emerald green and turquoise waters of the Gulf; a bay pregnant with fish and oysters; the delta of the Choctawhatchee River; our 18,000 acres of forest, parks and preserves; plus our unique coastal dune lakes that make South Walton one of the most desirable places on earth to live and visit.

But last June, my wife Karen and I promised to take our thirteen-year-old grandson, Nathan, 80 miles east to the old river town of Apalachicola for a day of fishing.

“Why do they call this place The Camel Club?”, my newly acquired friend from Tennessee asked me.

I replied, “It was my idea. Having been around the recovering community for many years, I have always heard the saying ‘A camel can go a week without a drink. A man ought to be able to go one day’” .
 

Help wanted, no experience necessary, but fun required! The 30A Songwriters Festival and SoWal.com are seeking a few music lovers to help us make a video documentary of the 30A Songwriters Festival January 13-15, 2012.

Just another amazing Sunday at the Red Bar in Grayton Beach featuring Dread Clampitt, cheeseburgers, good friends, lucky tourists, and glorious Bloody Mary creations.