Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. A huge thanks to Crocker Park for inviting my family to check out the holiday festivities. As always, all opinions are my own.

Spend the holiDAY at Crocker Park!

With the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, sometimes it’s great to just slow down and take an evening away with the family. Earlier this week, we did just that when I took my family to Crocker Park in Westlake, Ohio.

Crocker Park is where big city energy meets small town charm. It has a fabulous mix of known retail stores, amazing restaurants, and fun common areas. If you love it so much that you want to live there, I’m please to say you can! Crocker Park has luxury apartments and whole neighborhoods of single family homes to choose from.

One of my favorite things about Crocker Park is how family friendly it is all year round. From amazing events in the summer such as outdoor movies and farmer’s markets, to the widely popular American Liberty Fest in July, and the holiday tree lighting extravaganza in November there is just so much to do! If you want to get into the holiday spirit, a visit to Crocker Park during the holiday season is a must. You’ll want to be sure to plan for a whole day here because from the food, to entertainment, to shopping, it’s all happening here!

Before we started exploring, we grabbed a flyer from the visitor center located right next to the large tree on Main Street. This handy sheet shared all of the events, time and dates as well as providing a detailed map on the back which made it super easy to located everything we wanted to do.

Our evening started with dinner. For those of you with kids, I’ve got a deal for you! Crocker Park is offering “Merry Meals For Kids” this year. For $5 your child can choose either a 2 slice pizza deal at Mikey’s Pizza or a hamburger combo at Nathan’s Famous. All of my boys chose the pizza and since they were HUGE slices there was more than enough to go around. If it’s cold when you are visiting, you can eat inside the Barnes & Noble eating area which is located only a few steps away.

After dinner we did a little shopping at some of my boys favorite shops while we also introduced them to a few new ones. It’s so fun to see  them start to define their own styles as my two oldest are soon to be teens. Of course, we also stopped in at a few of my favorites too. Since it was a bit chilly, it was great to be able to pop in and out of shops without getting too cold.

Want to meet the “real” Santa, Crocker Park has him! You can always visit Santa for no charge but they also take some amazing pictures. In fact, they check the picture right away to make sure it’s the one you want. It had been a few years since getting my boys picture with Santa, so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Keep in mind that the weekends can get busy and a line can form to meet Santa. If it’s possible to visit on a weekday, you’ll have a much better chance for a very short wait.

After giving Santa our Christmas list, we grabbed tickets and hopped on the Potted Potter Express Train. This open window train ride gave us a ride around the most decorated area of Crocker Park. It was truly magical to see the lights, watch the snow fall, and cuddle up with my family on the train. We even waved to shoppers darting in and out of the stores nearby. Cost to ride is $3 per person. Please note that the train is cash only, no credit/debit cards are accepted.

As we were exiting the train ride, the nightly light show started on the massive outdoor tree. Playing at the top of each hour, you’ll see a dazzling show of lights and music. You’ll find yourself humming along and tapping your feet to the upbeat music. If you miss any part of the show, simply head back the next hour. It’s free and can be enjoyed over and over again.

New this year is the Lawrence School Santa’s Sleigh photo opportunity. For a small fee, you and your family can hop right into Santa’s sleigh. With an iPad nearby, they can snap your picture and send it to your phone or email. This makes it super easy to send to social media or to friends and family.

On our way to the Crocker Tree Garden, my hubby took a picture as we walked through the large 13-foot tall holiday ornament and marveled at the lights. This season a handful of shops and restaurants were challenged to decorate trees in a friendly tree decoration competition. These trees are on display in the West Park area near Dick’s Sporting Goods. You can even vote for your favorite tree in the Crocker Tree Garden on their Facebook page.

It was time to get warmed up again so we headed to the indoor Toy Train Town and Gingerbread Village located near The Gap and Market Square. No worries, it’s a very short walk from the main area of festivities. This free area allows viewers to see the customized train set created by The Northern Ohio Garden Railway Society. Got a sweet tooth? This same area boasts some yummy looking gingerbread houses created by a few of the stores at Crocker Park. We loved picking out our favorites.

Before we left we walked down to the Cleveland Monsters outdoor ice rink located right outside the doors of Regal Cinema.  Yes, an ice rink! For $7 a ticket you can lace up your blades and enjoy a fun night on the rink. Don’t have skates? You can rent them right on site. Check out the hours of operation here.

We honestly didn’t want our fun evening at Crocker Park to end. With so much to see and do, it sure got us into the holiday spirit. To see the delight in my boys eyes and excitement in their faces as we enjoyed the holiday festivities, brought such joy to my heart. In fact, we’ve already planned to stop in at Crocker Park this weekend to do it all over again!

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