Things to do for Families
Top pick: Macy's Santaland
Macy's Santaland Display in Minneapolis to open this weekend for the last weekend prior to Christmas. After your tour Santa will be on hand for meet and greets, to listen to everything your kid plans on having you buy them and photos. Also in addition if you'd like to enjoy a buffet breakfast downtown, with a visit from Santa following you can do so for $19.95 an adult and $13.95 for children under 10. To make a reservation or for more details regarding the chow you can call 1-877-556-2297 and there's also a dinner option a few nights during the holiday season as well.
Runner-Up: Santa arrives at the Mall of America
Not too late to visit Santa at the Mall of America. He's officially arriving on Tuesday, the 12th at 6pm in the rotunda. If you want to maximize on your time you can schedule an appointment with Santa in the Macy's court otherwise it's on walk-in, first come, first served basis in the Sears court. If you had your thinking caps on while reading that, yes two Santa's so you might want to avoid running into the other court with small kids or perhaps have a good story in the hopper (oh no, honey that's just Santa's brother, Fred Claus from that horrible movie).
Rice Park Tree Lighting and Skating Rink will run through January. The lighting for the park is sponsored by Xcel Energy which boasts that this tree will be as big and bright as the tree in Rockefellar Center in New York. The tree will be lit with 15,000 energy-efficient LED lights.
Winterlights at the Purcell-Cotts House is a 1915's style house that has tours for the holiday season where costumed tour guides walk you through the house and you can learn about the period holiday traditions. Make sure to ask fun questions such as, "Do you get lots of housework done as a housewife done since you don't have to focus on whom to vote for?" or "How many of your kids are dead from influenza, polio, measles , etc.?" Admission is $5, $4 for students and free for kids 12 & under.
Holiday Lights in the Park is now open in Phalen Park. This event coordinates with King of Kings of Woodbury to create more than 50 lighted and animated displays that you can drive right through. The cost is $10 a vehicle but it's a discounted rate Sunday- Thursday evening at 8pm. All net proceeds go to local charities so you can feel good about where your money is going. Think of the money and time you've save not putting up your own lights and just driving your kids through the park!
Daily the Mall of America will be transformed for a regular experience for shoppers. The Universe of Light has just opened and will be open indefinitely at this point. The show will run for nine minutes and will feature smoke, lights and music into an interactive experience, not for the epileptic. It will run Monday through Thursday at 7pm and 9:30pm, Friday through Saturday at 7pm and 10pm and finally at 7pm on Sunday at the South Entrance of Nickelodeon Universe. If you're schlepping the kids to the mall anyways to shop, might as well check it out and try to pass it off as a cheap ride.
Cinderella is now open at the Children's Theatre this week and will run through January 5th. This isn't your Disney Cinderella, rather this comical theatre play for all ages is a bit more slapstick and raucous, definitely more fun. Tickets will run you $30 - $50 depending on where you sit.
A Christmas Carol is now open at the Guthrie this week as well. This is the 39th running year of this play at the Guthrie. Tickets will run a bit higher at $34 - $85 per person depending on where you sit and when you go, also standard child discounts will not apply to this production due to the extremely high demand. In related news the Guthrie itself will be playing the role of Scrooge in keeping with the production's theme for the remainder of the holidays.
A Christmas Carol is now open at the Guthrie this week as well. This is the 39th running year of this play at the Guthrie. Tickets will run a bit higher at $34 - $85 per person depending on where you sit and when you go, also standard child discounts will not apply to this production due to the extremely high demand. In related news the Guthrie itself will be playing the role of Scrooge in keeping with the production's theme for the remainder of the holidays.
"Hometown for the Holidays" is now open in Stillwater and besides seeing beautiful, scenic Stillwater all dressed up for the holidays you'll also have the opportunity to enjoy some holiday merriment. This weekend there will be free carriage rides, carolers as well as visits from Santa throughout the holidays including lunches with him at Dock Cafe.
Holiday Delight at Calhoun Square in Uptown is Saturday. The event will feature a hot chocolate bar by Uptown Cafeteria, free holiday photos, kid's Christmas crafts, prize drawings, live music, free holiday cookies from Republic and local Uptown business specials. Best part about the event? Yea, it's free and did I mention free gift wrapping? The event runs from 12 - 6 pm.
Skate with Santa at the White Bear Lake Sports Center is Sunday and runs from 1 - 3 pm. Besides having the obvious activity of skating with the big man there will be face painting, crafts, a DJ, Concessions, and some little gifts for the kiddos. The cost is $5 a person and skate rentals are $2.50.
Winter Solstice Celebration is this Saturday at the American Swedish Institute. Come out and celebrate winter's longest night, and the very slow, gradual descent towards Spring. There will be bonfires, tours of the Jul to the World exhibit, and FIKA, the on-site cafeteria will be open late for a festive dinner and glogg, which is a mulled wine (look you learned something). The holiday pop-up store will also be offering a special deal on holiday lights. The event runs 3 - 8 pm.
Skate with Santa at the White Bear Lake Sports Center is Sunday and runs from 1 - 3 pm. Besides having the obvious activity of skating with the big man there will be face painting, crafts, a DJ, Concessions, and some little gifts for the kiddos. The cost is $5 a person and skate rentals are $2.50.
Winter Solstice Celebration is this Saturday at the American Swedish Institute. Come out and celebrate winter's longest night, and the very slow, gradual descent towards Spring. There will be bonfires, tours of the Jul to the World exhibit, and FIKA, the on-site cafeteria will be open late for a festive dinner and glogg, which is a mulled wine (look you learned something). The holiday pop-up store will also be offering a special deal on holiday lights. The event runs 3 - 8 pm.
Things to do for Adults
Top pick: Ugly Sweater Crawl
On Saturday there's another reason for you to bundle up and head out into the cold, and it involves booze! The Ugly Sweater Crawl is Saturday in Minneapolis and involves four bars, starting at Cowboy Jack's at 6 pm. You're heavily encouraged to wear your ugliest sweater and the first 200 people receive Santa hats and beads, if only work had such punctuality incentives. Tickets are $10, but are free if you bring an unwrapped toy donation. The ticket allows you to partake of food and drink specials at each stop on the itinerary.
Things to do for the Active
Sleepless in St Paul: Jumpin Jack Frost 5k - $50 fee, Saturday 4:50pm at Harriet Island. This race will be outdoors and at night against the cityscape of St Paul. Runners will wear glow sticks, Christmas lights will light the way and of course with the beautiful city in the background it will be a sight for the eyes.
Things to do regarding the Arts
Top Pick: The Wizard of Oz at the Ordway
"A Don't Hug Me Christmas Carol" from the folks at the Hennepin Trust Theatre is like A Christmas Carol, only it's not. Gunner Johnson from the previous play "Don't Hug Me" finds himself in a predicament when a trail of bad luck leads him to falling into a coma and conversing with Sven Yorgenson who plays the ghost of Christmas past, present and future all at once. The show opens Friday at 7:30pm. KQRS's Tom Bernard's take on it? "Go see it!"
Born Yesterday at the Guthrie is now open. The play follows the life and times of a corrupt businessman, Harry Brock who moves to D.C. and attempts to get ahead in society with his chorus-girl sidekick, Billie Dawn. However Billie is no debutant and hijinks thus arise while attempting to turn her into a socialite, too bad she didn't have Richard Gere on her side. Tickets run from $35 to $53 depending on when you go and where you sit.
"The Christmas Founding" is now open through December 29th on The Minnesota Show Boat. The play loosely follows the story of a group of miners whom are left with an orphaned infant so basically like "Three Men and a Baby" but with miners, and Christmas.
"An Eventfully Christmas" starts this weekend at Mill City and features a play performed in the mill's elevator ride and features "The Ghost of Mill City Ghost's past." The ticket price is $14 for adults, $12 for college students and seniors and $10 for children ages 17-6 however the play is not recommended for children under the age of eight years old.
"An Eventfully Christmas" starts this weekend at Mill City and features a play performed in the mill's elevator ride and features "The Ghost of Mill City Ghost's past." The ticket price is $14 for adults, $12 for college students and seniors and $10 for children ages 17-6 however the play is not recommended for children under the age of eight years old.
The famous Andrew Lloyd Webber play is coming across the pond. Cameron Mackintosh's new production just finished up a sold-out tour of the United Kingdom and now is coming to Minnesota. The Phantom of the Opera is now open at the Orpheum. Tickets range from $39 to $130.
Unusual Activities
Top pick of the strange: Hello Kitty Denouement
This art exhibit features Hello Kitty in different art masterpieces. That's right, Hello Kitty painted into various artworks from Monet to Warhol. This interesting exhibition, Hello Kitty Denouement is now open to display at the Burnet Gallery at Le Meridien Chambers Hotel in Minneapolis and will remain so until early January. The opening reception will be held 6-9pm. The gallery is otherwise open daily from 11am - 9pm. I'll leave you with Hello Kitty and Jesus from the collection;
God's Sketchbook of Creation is a very interesting event at the Instinct Art Gallery in Minneapolis. The basic premise behind the art created for the exhibit is that these were God's rough-cut ideas for species, ones that didn't exactly make the cut. The cost is free and runs from 6pm - 8pm each day though mid January.
Mansfeld Manor: Peculiar Color Illustrations and Sculptures in Fetted Wool at Gallery 360 is now open with an opening reception from 7pm until 10pm. The Event is odd, but very interesting all at once. These felted creations made from wool and dyed fibers are hauntingly strange and revolve around strange, fanciful and morbid tales. Think of the mice from Dinner for Schmucks, meets Wallace and Gromit, meets Tim Burton.
"Erotic Art Craft Fair" - no you read that correctly. For all your handmade erotic crafts please see the Smitten Kitten. There will be sex educators on hand to demonstrate craft activities... yea, I'm leaving it at that, as all I'm picturing is adults with macaroni shells, glue and glitter making... you're on your own from here on out.
On a final note, I started a twitter. Why? Well it's easier to keep up on all the cool stuff happening by following pretty much every food truck, brewery, magazine, newspaper, etc. in the Twin Cities and I do try to retweet the best looking stuff. So... if that sounds cool to you, check it out here at the handle MerryMinnesotan.
