Santa Claus is coming to town! And not just the Malls!

Photo courtesy stock.xchng.com 

 

I'm here to give you my Top Ten List of OTHER Places to See Santa. Everyone knows you can see him at the mall - you get to stand in a super long line while kids fidget and cry (either because they haven't seen Santa and they love him or because they saw him and were scared of him) and by the time you're done, all of the energy you would have used finishing your shopping has been sucked into the Bah Humbug Vortex and you just call it a day. Plus, how many times have the Santa visits ever turned out the way you envisioned? I'm guessing not very often, so maybe this list will give you an opportunity to remedy that.

 

1. Have Breakfast with Santa at the Downtown Aquarium every weekend in December

 

 

2. Visit Zoolights from December 12-January 4^th – and see Santa there from 5-9 December 12-23

 

 

3. Come to the 73^rd Annual Castle Rock Starlighting! From 2-8 p.m., enjoy strolling carolers and festivities! At 5 p.m., watch the star lighting ceremony (Santa lights the star!) followed by fireworks.

 

 

4. Come down to the Castle Rock Outlets and watch Santa light their Christmas Tree on November 22. Or visit Santa at the outlets from November 22-December 1 (ok, technically this is sort of a mall, but it's a little different)

 

 

5. Enjoy a Snack with Santa from 10-1 p.m.on December 6 at the Children’s Museum

 

 

6. Santa’s giving the reindeer a rest and taking Mrs. Claus (and you!) with him on the Colorado Railroad Museum’s steam locomotive!

 

 

7. Boondocks Fun Center becomes a Winter Wonderland of Lights from November 21-December 31. And on December 13, join Santa at Boondocks for breakfast!

 

 

8. Denver’s Annual Parade of Lights has Santa himself riding on a float Friday December 5, and Saturday December 6. Don’t miss this spectacular Denver tradition!

 

 

9. Visit Father Christmas (and play games with him!) at Four Mile Historic Park as a part of their Colorado Christmas on December 7.

 

 

10. And of course, if you must see where all the magic happens, visit Santa’s Workshop in Cascade – near the foot of Pike’s Peak. You can visit Santa’s house, ride rides and see shows!

 

 

One other place that Santa often shows up at is Boettcher Concert Hall during Christmas with the Colorado Children’s Chorale. I’ve been as a kid (I was IN IT as a kid!) and I’ve been as an adult and loved it equally at both ages. December 6 is a matinee and December 7 is an evening show.

 

So there you have it. Now you can go and enjoy Santa in his many habitats and if all goes well, the visit will be as lovely as you dreamed it would be.