There’s nothing quite like the cheer and happiness of the holiday season, but it’s always over so quickly that people often don’t think about how wonderful that one magical month of December really is throughout the rest of the year. Well, let’s change that and maybe throw some Christmas in July celebrations this upcoming summer to remember the love and happiness that surrounds the holiday season!
What better way to celebrate Christmas in July than by taking the whole family on a holiday adventure – in the middle of the summer? That’s right, now the kids don’t have to wait for the holidays to roll around to visit Santa or the elves in the workshop and you can drive home the fact that Santa is watching all year long by taking the youngins on a little road trip to a holiday-themed amusement park. Here are just 3 to get your list started, so be sure to check out these great destinations and more with your family this summer!
North Pole and Santa’s Workshop in Cascade, CO
So it’s no surprise here that a holiday-themed them park would be called “The North Pole,” but this place is actually a pretty cool spot for the family, and it’s open all year round. Kids can of course visit Santa’s house to tell the big man what they want next Christmas, and parents can revel in knowing that by letting their kids give Santa their wish list earlier that they’re then locked into behaving for the whole rest of the year.
Kids and adults alike can ride the rides that are always decked out in their best Christmas decor and catch one of the many themed shows like the Elmer the Elf Show or the Chris Moose Show, then try their hand at the popular arcade! The list of rides and activities is pretty much endless, and everything is cheerful and holiday-oriented. So grab the kids and head on out to Colorado this summer to check out the North Pole and Santa’s Workshop in Cascade, Colorado!
Santa’s Land in Cherokee, NC
Open from March through November of every year, Santa’s Land is a can’t miss spot when it comes to holiday-related theme parks. The kids can enjoy all of the usual attractions that make theme parks so awesome, but everything, again, revolves around Christmas!
Plus, at Santa’s Land, kids will have the chance to visit a zoo area of the park where they can pet and feed Santa’s reindeer, as well as watch the pros feed a pair of Santa’s baby bears! Pop a quarter in one of the corn feeders outside Santa’s deer barn and the kids can feed as many deer as they want right out of their hands.
The kids will love the closeness to the animals, and of course afterwards, they’ll have the chance to meet and chat with Santa himself in Santa’s Village. Santa’s Land is located in Cherokee, North Carolina, making it the perfect East Coast anytime holiday destination!
Santa’s Workshop in North Pole, NY
This version of Santa’s Workshop is so huge that they’ve actually named the whole surrounding area North Pole, NY. Located deep in the northern Adirondack Mountains in upstate NY (just a little shy of the Canadian border), Santa’s Workshop has been a hub of holiday activity all year long for over 70 years, also making it the oldest theme park in all of America.
The charm and nostalgia of the little village has made it an attraction for almost a century, and the free-range animals that once wandered the streets of the village made Santa’s Workshop the world’s first ever petting zoo (the animals are no longer there, unfortunately). Kids can enjoy visiting with their favorite characters, watching skits and sketches and wandering around the village that is the North Pole. They’ll love the actual North Pole itself – an upright, always frozen pole labeled as such, no matter the time of year.
Parents, you’ll love the charming feel to this mini-Upstate New York village! You can feel the history oozing out of the tiny cabins that the kids can run in and out of throughout the village, and of course you can take the family to meet Santa and watch him take a sleigh ride with real reindeer. Ride all the rides, browse around the gift shop then call it an awesome family day!
Learn more about Santa’s Workshop in North Pole, NY (which, believe it or not, does have its own zip code and postal office on the premises) right here, and make sure you and your family don’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime attraction in the Northeast!
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- License: Creative Commons image source
Ann Michaels is a freelance writer with ChristmasNightInc.com, an online retailer of nativity sets and holiday decorations. She loves the holiday season and enjoys visiting these attractions across the country with her family every year!
tracey andino says
Being I’m not far from NY, that part is still a good hike, but i never heard of the North Pole!!! I’m going to have to look into it now.. Thanks for the review!!
lizbeth deitz says
Would love to take my daughter to these places, oh what fun we would have…..