Awesome Experience at the North Pole

OK, so Christmas is OVER you say!!!  Well, there’s always next year, and the year after that and so on…

I would have made this post before Christmas if I could possibly have fit one more thing into my life during the week between December 18 and December 25, but unfortunately I could not!!!  On December 18 we had the great privilege of visiting Santa at the North Pole Experience in the lovely and quaint village of Greer, Arizona!  If you think of Arizona as only a desert, you simply must visit Greer and the White Mountains in eastern Arizona.   I promise you won’t be disappointed—no matter what the season!

If I had been able to do something like that in my childhood, I can’t imagine I ever would have found anything to top it.  In fact…I think I shall never top it with any other holiday experience for the rest of my life, but I will try.  And I will keep you posted as to what I find next year.  Meanwhile, I highly recommend you check out their website; and if you live anywhere near Arizona and you have children or grandchildren, I suggest you book your experience early for 2011.  I have a feeling word is going to spread and the available slots are going to fill up fast.

Bryan and I went with Chris, Hannah and Lucy and Lucy’s other grandparents, Papaw and Carol.   This is only their second year of operation and let me tell you, they have it ALL figured out perfectly!   It starts at Molly Butler Lodge in Greer where the outdoor decorations are the first thing you see; and when you walk inside you are greeted by more decorations, warm fires, a welcoming atmosphere and the smell of good food.   We had dinner first and were amazed at the huge choice of foods in the buffet line.  Quite wisely, there were selections for the kids such as macaroni and cheese and chicken fingers, along with great selections for the adults including prime rib and mahi mahi.  The food was great and the dessert table was equally as tempting.

After our feast, we boarded the Candy Cane Express to head for the North Pole.  Our guide for the ride was an elf named Sprinkles.  At some point along the way, our trolley went dark as we went through the “portal” to the North Pole.  Suddenly we were greeted with thousands of twinkling lights in the middle of the pitch black forest.   Sprinkles taught us the secret knock and  knocked on the big door while we waited to enter the magical world of elves and everything Santa and the North Pole are all about!

Once inside, we found ourselves in Santa’s Toy Hall of Fame.  I’m quite sure there were some toys there from everyone’s childhood, whether parents or grandparents.  The nostalgic feeling of seeing toys from my own childhood was very special.  I don't want to give away too much here so I'm just showing you one of my favorite old toys.  As we moved into the next room, we were greeted by two elves who told us the head elf, Alabaster Snowflake, would be joining us soon.   Alabaster came in and filled all the kids, who were quite awestruck by now, with stories of Santa.

Soon they were being moved through the doors to the Elves’ Toy Workshop where they each joined an elf and helped finish off some toys that would be donated to charities.  The elves also participated in some play time with all the kids.  The workshop was nothing short of awesome, but I’m sure by now you’ve figured out that each step of our journey was just that!  When the toys were finished and put away, the children moved to the elves’ kitchen/dining room and sat around a huge table with the elves and had cookies and “snowman soup”.  The elves entertained them with plenty of antics and singing while someof the helpers frosted cookies in the kitchen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next stop was the classroom where one of the elves taught them how to be “nice” and how not to be “naughty”.  Our little Lucy sat in the front row and appeared to be paying very close attention.

When class was over we moved on to the final and main attraction…the Jolly Old Elf Himself...in his private office!  Each family was given their own private time with Santa so the children could have his undivided attention while giving him their wish list.  While we waited our turn, we got to visit with Santa’s elf assistant and check out more old memorabilia, along with the naughty list which had some familiar names on it!

After seeing Santa, we boarded the trolley and headed back to Molly Butler Lodge for some time with Mrs. Claus as she read Christmas stories to all the children.   She was everything Mrs. Santa should be and it was the end of a very magical evening.  I am looking forward to our next trip to the North Pole with anyone I can find to let me tag along!  I highly recommend you check out some of the links in this blog and consider visiting the North Pole yourself!

"He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree."   ~Roy L. Smith

"I wish we could put up some of the Christmas spirit in jars and open a jar of it every month."
~Harlan Miller (Better Homes and Gardens)













I hope your holidays had some magic of their own and that 2011 is a wonderful year for all of you!  And don't forget to start planning soon for your own very special holiday experience next year.


Blessings to you and yours,