The Christmas season brings family and friends together all over the world and Lake Wedowee is no different.
The holiday season seems to begin earlier each year with get-togethers nearly every weekend in December. Melissa and Jason Turner are just like everyone else and took a Sunday in November to decorate their lake home for the upcoming season.
"I know its early to decorate, but there is so much going on that we have to do this early," Melissa said. "And here we get to decorate in ways that we don't get to at our primary home."

The Turners have three Christmas trees in their four bedroom, three bath custom lake home built by Charles Thompson in 2007, and holiday decorations are definitely geared to their lake home.

"At home we are much more traditional in terms of holiday decorating, but here we can have fun with it. On the main level, we have a white Christmas tree," Melissa said. "It's fun and we decorate it with pictures taken of friends and family on the lake during the summer."
The Turners will host three Christmas parties at their lake home this year and enjoy sharing their home with others.
"We love people to come to the lake," Melissa said. "It is so laid back here.
"We still spend Christmas at Mama's house and have our traditions and schedules, but here it's not like that. There are no schedules when you come to the lake."
In the basement, the Turner's sports allegiance is evident year round and at Christmas a University of Georgia themed tree is the focal point.
"We are huge Georgia fans and being able to decorate this room to show our pride has been great," Melissa said.
Jason and Melissa both grew up as part of the Bulldog Nation and Jason credits his grandfather Col. Sidney Dell.
"Jason's grandfather is the one he credits for making him a Georgia fan," Melissa said. "He played for Georgia and would take Jason to games when he was younger.
"And, I remember the team traveling through Newnan growing up and would love to see the buses come through."
Several of the football programs from past games decorate the walls in the Turners' basement. Some come from Jason's time with his grandfather and others come from a family friend of Melissa's. Either way their pride in Georgia is evident from the pillows on the couch to the art work on the walls and all places in between.
"We love that we can have an entire room decorated with UGA memorabilia. It just makes our lake home ours even more. "

By Kelly Caldwell

Kelly Caldwell helped create Lake Wedowee Life in 2008 and remains the principal photographer as well as the main writer for the magazine. She has more than 10 years of journalism experience after graduating from Troy University in 2000. She grew up in Randolph County and has enjoyed spending time on Lake Wedowee.