Christmas at Crown Center: 2013
Christmas at Crown Center is a Kansas City Tradition! With a whimsical playground made of super-sized Crayola® products, model trains traveling through a gingerbread village, visits with Santa, holiday movies, ice skating, and more... there is something for everyone!
Holiday Events at Crown Center
- Santa's Crayolaland - Crown Center Shops Showplace, Level 1. Children can play on super-sized Crayola products, while waiting to tell Santa all their holiday wishes. Santa is in residence November 29 through December 24. The Crayola Christmas Land play area is open through December 31. FREE admission. Photos with Santa are available for a fee. Open during Crown Center Shops holiday hours. Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Closed Christmas Day. 816-274-8444.
- Santa's Gingerbread Village - Crown Center Shops Atrium, Level 1. Three locomotives travel through a Santa’s gingerbread village in the North Pole, all created by the chefs at The Westin Kansas City and Sheraton Kansas City hotels. See the reindeer stable, Santa’s sleigh garage, the elves’ dorm, a doll, rocking horse, and ball factory, and even Mr. & Mrs. Claus’ home. FREE admission. Open during Crown Center Shops holiday hours. Closed Christmas Day. 816-274-8444.
- FREE Children's Holiday Concerts - Crown Center Shops Atrium, Level 1. Enjoy holiday music for kids and families on the first two Saturdays of December. The Doo Dads perform December 7, followed by Dino O’Dell & the T-Rex All-Stars on December 14. Shows at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. FREE admission. 816-274-8444.
- More Holiday Fun at Crown Center: Take a spin on the ice at the Crown Center Ice Terrace, treat the kids to The Wiz at the Coterie Theatre, enjoy the music of A Spectacular Christmas at Off Centre Theater, and free weekday holiday choir performances by local groups.
Crown Center Ice Terrace: 2-for-1 Tuesdays!
The Crown Center Ice Terrace, Kansas City's own outdoor ice skating rink is open for the season! Skating is $6, or free for adults over age 60 and children age 4 and under. Skate rental is $3, or skaters may bring their own. Skaters age 12 and under must be under the supervision of a parent or guardian (21 or older). Two-for-One Tuesdays! After 5 p.m., pay one full price admission and receive a second for FREE. (Skate rental not included, but it's just $3 per person.) Group rates Monday through Thursday for groups of 20 or more people. Reservations are required. Call for more details about group rates and private parties. Call 816-274-8411 for more information.
Hours:
- November, December and January: Sunday - Thursday, 10 a.m. - 9 p.m.; Friday - Saturday, 10 a.m. - 11 p.m.
- February through mid-March: Sunday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Monday - Thursday, noon - 9 p.m.; Friday, noon - 11 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. - 11 p.m.
- Holiday Hours: Thanksgiving Day, 3 p.m. - 10 p.m.; Christmas Eve, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.; Christmas Day, CLOSED; New Year's Eve, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.; New Year's Day, noon - 9 p.m.
Mayor's Christmas Tree
Every evening through the Christmas season, enjoy the Mayor's Tree at Crown Center. The 100-foot-tall tree is illuminated with beautiful lights every evening creating a beautiful Winter Wonderland. During the day, children play on a wooden play set of trains and toys making adorable photo ops! The tree is a symbol of the Mayor’s Christmas Tree Fund, which is dedicated to assisting the city’s less fortunate. After the holidays, the wood from the Mayor’s Christmas Tree is made into commemorative ornaments, which are sold the following year to benefit the Mayor’s Christmas Tree Fund. The 2013 is available for sale at the Crown Center Customer Service office.
Holiday Fun at LEGOLAND® Discovery Center!
Kansas City recently celebrated the grand opening of LEGOLAND® Discovery Center in Crown Center (2475 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, MO, 816.471.4386, www.LEGOLandDiscoveryCenter.com. If you haven't visited this must-see attraction yet, it's a great addition to your Crown Center itinerary! LEGO® has long held a spot in the hearts of children as one of the must-have toys for creativity, and now, LEGO® makes a home in Kansas City in this brand new larger-than-life attraction! Begin your journey on a ride into the unknown on laser chariots. Play with the world’s biggest box of LEGOS®. Watch a film in the LEGO® Studios 4D cinema and explore a miniature Kansas City that highlights 10 of our most popular local attractions in LEGO® MINILAND®. Your imagination will run wild in this new family favorite! This is truly one of Kansas City's newest must-see attractions! Also,Shop in Our LEGO® Store this Holiday Season and Get an Annual Pass Bonus! What a great way to shop AND play!
Spend $250 on LEGO merchandise in one transaction and receive a FREE Individual Annual Pass to LEGOLAND Discovery Center. Spend $400 on LEGO merchandise in one transaction and receive a FREE Individual Combo Annual Pass to both LEGOLAND Discovery Center and SEA LIFE Kansas City. Offer is valid 11/29 through 12/28/2013 and free passes must be redeemed by 1/31/14.
Underwater Santa & more at Sea Life Kansas City
Next door to LEGOLAND®, you'll find Sea Life at 2475 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, MO, 816.471.4386, www.visitsealife.com/Kansas-city/. At Sea Life, your family will be transported into an amazing underwater world with up-close views of more than 5,000 sea creatures! Come nose to nose with sharks in the walk-through underwater tunnel, experience the touch pool where you can hold a crab or touch a starfish, participate in educational demonstrations, watch animal feedings and explore this state-of-the-art home for many of the ocean’s most majestic creatures! Join SEA LIFE Kansas City Aquarium on weekends in December for the underwater holiday festivities! Activities include: Visit Diving Santa (December 7&8, 14&15, 21&22) - Did you know Santa loves to scuba dive? Stop by our Ocean Tank on Saturdays and Sundays from 11am-2pm to snap some photos of Santa under water with the kids. (of course the kids aren’t under water!) Christmas Down Under in the Bay of Rays - Australian Safari to Find Our New Friends from Down Under (Daily). Create Your Own Jellyfish Craft (Weekends 11am-3pm). Story Time (Weekends 11am-3pm). Storybook Adventure – ‘Twas the Night Before Fishmas (Daily) Trace the telling of a popular holiday story throughout the aquarium with a special SEA LIFE twist. Enter to win free SEA LIFE Annual Passes. This activity is available daily. Fishmas Carol Singing (Weekends) - From time to time our SEA LIFE Carolers (also known as “Coralers”) will be strolling the aquarium singing some holiday songs that are slightly different than those you’ve heard before. It won’t be long before your family is singing along to “Jelly Bells” and “We Wish You a Merry Fishmas”
The Wiz at Coterie Theatre
On Crown Center’s first level, you’ll find one of the most magical children’s theaters in the nation. Coterie (www.CoterieTheatre.org) produces professional shows for kids of all ages. Coterie is loved for their professional productions for families in Kansas City and this year, they bring everyone's favorite ogre to stage! This Holiday Season, they are showing The Wiz thru Jan. 5! Read our review of The Wiz and learn why we give it two thums up!
DIY Holiday Projects for kids at Kaleidoscope
Kaleidoscope's FREE walk-in sessions for ALL ages (perfect if you have multiple children with a span of ages, as we do) tend to have the smallest crowds on weekdays or for the earliest weekend session offered. Children love Kaleidoscope (www.hallmarkkaleidoscope.com/), where creativity and imagination play in a magical hands-on world children enter to create masterpieces with super cool, super fun supplies, all in a super amazing atmosphere, thanks to Hallmark. This is truly one of Kansas City's best family-friendly attractions! During the holidays, kids enjoy holiday themed materials to inspire their projects!
Hall of Trees at Hallmark Visitor's Center
Visit the Hallmark Visitor's Center next door to Kaleidoscope, another FREE attraction and one of our favorite "watch it made in KC" attractions. Children are given a scavenger hunt to follow as they learn the history of Hallmark. Artists demonstrate their craft (we recently watched as an engraver prepared designs for greeting cards and watched the machines that assemble the cards), kids make their own bows with the press of a button and the self-guided walk-through tour almost always ends with a gift (frequently these are music-playing cards for the upcoming holiday, but we have even been excited to receive FREE recordable books for gifts, too). The Visitor's Center is especially nice if you are visiting with multiple generations (it is a favorite when grandparents are in town visiting) and you're able to enjoy it at your own pace. One of the highlights of the tour is the J.C. Hall Christmas tree collection!
Chip's Chocolate Factory
Enjoy "watch it made" fun at Chip's Chocolate Factory. From the delicious aroma of warm chocolate to the tasty samples to the beautiful artistry of fudge makers preparing handmade confections in copper kettles and forming it on marble slabs, Chip’s is a delight for all ages. Demonstrations and samples are free.
Eating and Shopping at Crown Center
Kids love eating at the Crayola Café, d'Bronx Pizza and Street Car Named Desire. Toy Time, the Crayola Store, Hallmark, the Best of KC and other shops are fun for everyone. Set a budget and rules before you head out. If you're in the mood for a picnic, there are outdoor picnic tables with umbrellas surrounding the fountains in the square.
Special Events at Crown Center
Always check the Crown Center Calendar (www.CrownCenter.com/Event-List/) for more!