You’ve retrieved your holiday decorations from the storage closet. Your apartment is looking festive, if you can so say yourself. Plans for how to spend your few precious days off work with family or friends are coming together. But what will you do to get your kids in the holiday spirit as they wait in agony for the day they get to open gifts?
Here’s an idea: Take them to Knott’s Merry Farm!
Nestled among palms in northern Orange County’s Buena Park, Knott’s Berry Farm has been a family-friendly destination and favorite amusement park for many for decades. Every year around the holiday season, the park is transformed into a (Southern California) winter wonderland. During this time, it takes on the name of Knott’s Merry Farm.
Here are the highlights of this seasonal event, a great way to get out of your apartment and enjoy the fine Southern California weather around the holiday season and get your kids in the holiday spirit.
Santa’s Christmas Cabin
It’s here that your children can sit with jolly ol’ St. Nick and rattle off their holiday wish list. Meanwhile, you can snap precious photos to share with friends and family on this year’s holiday cards. If there’s a line to snap photos with Santa when you show up, check out the sweet and savory treats on sale and pick something up for you and the kids to enjoy. Hot cocoa with real chocolate shavings, gingerbread cookies, maple lollipops, spiced holiday wine, and craft beer are just a few examples of the tidings you can enjoy during your visit.
Christmas Craft Village
Another highlight of Knott’s Merry Farm for both children and adults is the Christmas Craft Village. Here, you can watch live glassblowing and wooden animal sculpting demonstrations. You can also purchase artisan-made crafts including tree ornaments, holiday decorations, intricately stitched clothing, handmade candles and soaps, tasty holiday treats, and more.
Christmas on Engine 41
A heritage railroad with the vintage charm of the Polar Express, the Ghost Town and Calico Railroad is one of the most family-friendly attractions at any time of year. During Knott’s Merry Farm season, the railroad loses its spook in favor of holiday cheer. If your children are more than four feet tall and tend to be thrill seekers, take them on the nearby GhostRider as well. Coast Rider, the wild mouse roller coaster that just opened in 2013, is another ride that’s good for a scream. Its height requirement is 54 inches, or 44 inches when a responsible adult is present.
Snoopy’s Merriest Tree Lighting
If your schedule allows for it and your kids are up to it, try to stay at Knott’s Merry Farm until after the sun goes down. In a brief and well-choreographed interactive show filled with song and dance, Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts cast light a giant holiday tree. Once the 65-foot-tall tree is lit, the entirety of Knott’s Merry Farm glows with tens of thousands of holiday lights.
Only about an hour’s drive from most of AMLI Residential’s Southern California apartment communities, Knott’s Berry Farm is an accessible amusement park where you and your children can make memories together without having to wait in painfully long lines. In just one day, you can check off photos with Santa, a holiday gift shopping session, a holiday lights tour, and your semi-annual visit to an amusement park. This year, Knott’s Merry Farm will be open daily from November 22, 2014 through January 2, 2015 with the exception of Christmas Day.
Have any other ideas for getting kids in the spirit this holiday season? Help some fellow parents out by sharing in the comments!
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View All Posts by Jason Ernst