Every year around this time, I leave my home in chilly Pennsylvania and venture to the West Coast for the GT Tested Reader Survey awards. While packing my short-sleeve shirts for the trip, I always think, “It just won’t feel like Christmastime if it’s 70 degrees outside!”

When I arrive in Los Angeles, I remove my winter coat and any extra layers of clothing that helped me survive the 18-degree weather I endured that morning and dig out my sunglasses to shield my eyes from that bright California sunshine.

As soon as I walk into The Peninsula Beverly Hills, I am drawn into its Christmas wonderland. It seems like they have decorated Christmas trees around every corner. It is so festive inside, I immediately forget it’s nearly 70 degrees outside.

I always enjoy going for a walk down Wilshire Boulevard to Rodeo Drive, looking at all the window displays along the way. Everyone has their own take on the Christmas theme, from traditional reindeer with fake fluffy snow to the more offbeat bright colors of Neiman Marcus’s “Crazy Good Cheer” windows.

At night, these streets come aglow with Christmas lights. It does seem a bit odd to see palm trees instead of pine trees decorated with lights, but I can almost imagine a few snowflakes coming down through all the twinkling lights. But then the next day I see a convertible Lamborghini and a snazzy red Ferrari parked in the driveway of The Peninsula, and I am jolted back into reality that it is once again nearly 70 degrees, and those cars clearly have no snow tires! I did snap a photo of the cars to send to my husband, asking him which one he would like for Christmas. (Santa, if you’re reading this, Jim would like the red one.)

So although Beverly Hills is not the winter wonderland with snow that I’m accustomed to on the East Coast, it makes up for it with the abundance of decorations and Christmas cheer!

— Tracey Cullen, art director