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First Presbyterian Church
Bristol, TN

Come to the beautiful mountains of East Tennessee for Christmas! We invite you into our homes and hearts. You will live with one of our church families and enjoy all the special joys of an American Christmas.

Our program includes daily activities with our group of international guests.

Sundays, you will attend morning worship service at First Presbyterian with your host family.  You will enjoy our Christmas Eve service and Christmas Day with your host family, celebrating the joy of Christ’s birth in the unique ways of your hosts! We will celebrate New Years Eve with a traditional American party.

The most exciting event of the two weeks is the International Dinner.  You will prepare a favorite dish from your country to share.  We will cook our traditional dishes for you.  Please bring a recipe, and they key ingredients if they are hard to find.  Please bring costumes, pictures, slides, or other items of interest from your country.  We would love to hear your music, see your dancing, and listen to stories about your country. 

We hope that we will go snow skiing.  The website for Sugar Mountain in North Carolina is an example of slopes that are close by.  This will probably be one of your favorite events of the trip. Bristol Caverns is another reason to join us. It is part of a network of limestone caves in the Appalachian Mountains. Carved out of rock by an underground river, at one time it was used by Native Americans. Weather permitting, we will go on a hiking excursion into the nearby mountains as well.

Barter Theater, the State Theater of Virginia, is world famous for its innovative productions. You will attend a matinee and have lunch in historic Abingdon (next door to Bristol).

You will explore local history in Jonesboro, and you will visit Rocky Mount, a restored Eighteenth Century farm of 1791.

Bristol is the Birthplace of Country Music. Come with us to Carter Fold, for an evening of old-time country and bluegrass music, country dancing, and traditional food.

Bristol can be reached through Tri-Cities Airport and by bus.

Our CIH guests remember us for our hospitality, good food, and lifelong memories of the traditional American family Christmas

Other Tennessee Programs

Smynra, Tennessee

This program is still being developed.   Check out web site in a few days for additional details.

Other Tennessee Programs

06/07/05