Christmas at Crown Center 2012
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!
Enter the $50 Crown Center Gift Certificate Giveaway!
How it Works: TWO Lucky Readers will win $50 Gift Certificate for Crown Center! We will select one winner on 12/7 and another on 12/16! To enter, read all of these fun ideas for Christmas at Crown Center, then answer our question below & enter our Giveaway page! (MUST Complete both steps to enter!) Deadline: Dec. 16.
Holiday Events at Crown Center
- Santa's Crayolaland - (Nov. 23 - Dec. 24) Open during shopping hours. Children can play on super-sized Crayola® products, while waiting to tell Santa all their holiday wishes. Santa is in residence November 23 through December 24. The Crayola Christmas Land play area is open through December 31.
- Santa's Gingerbread Village - (Nov. 23 - Dec. 31 during shop hours) Three locomotives travel through a Santa’s gingerbread village in the North Pole, all created by the chefs at The Westin Kansas City hotel. See the reindeer stable, Santa’s sleigh garage, the elves’ dorm, a doll, rocking horse, and ball factory, and even Mr. & Mrs. Claus' home.
- Christmas Movies at the Screenland Crown Center The Screenland shows Holiday Classics at 2pm on select dates (following) and tickets are just $5 (includes small popcorn and juicebox or small soft drink)! 2012 Holiday Film Schedule: ELF - November 23rd-29th; SMURFS - November 30-December 6th; ARTHUR CHRISTMAS - December 7th - 13th; POLAR EXPRESS - December 14th - 20th; A CHRISTMAS STORY - December 21th-27th; HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS - December 28-January 3rd.
- FREE Children's Holiday Concerts - Enjoy holiday music for kids and families on three Saturdays in December. The lineup: The La La's (December 1), Dino O'Dell & The T-Rex All-Stars (December 8), The Doo-Dads (December 15). Concerts at Noon and 2pm on Level I in the Atrium of Crown Center.
- More Holiday Fun at Crown Center: Take a spin on the ice at the Crown Center Ice Terrace, treat the kids to Shrek: The Musical at the Coterie Theatre, watch Nuncrackers: The Nunsense Christmas Musical at the American Heartland 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). Regular hours through January: Sunday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday & Saturday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. February and March hours: Monday through Thursday, Noon to 9 p.m.; Friday, Noon to 11 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Holiday Hours: Thanksgiving Day 3 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Christmas Eve 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Christmas Day CLOSED; New Year's Eve 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; New Year's Day 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. 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.
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 2012 ornament goes on sale the day after Thanksgiving 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! Celebrate the holidays every Saturday and Sunday in December with a limited-edition winter factory brick in the Factory Tour (while supplies last); a special LEGO Santa's Workshop display where you can build the toys Santa leaves under the tree; a scavenger hunt through MINILAND for special holiday and winter scenes and a chance to win great prizes - including two annual passes to LEGOLAND Discovery Center! Also enjoy Holiday-themed builds in our Master Builder Academy, Holiday photo opportunities, and of course, a chance to do some holiday shopping for all things LEGO in the retail shop! In December, purchase $50 or more in merchandise and receive a free ticket to come back and visit in January or February of next year!
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! Celebrate the Holidays at Sea Life with festivities every Saturday and Sunday in December! Underwater Santa visits in the Ocean Tunnel Saturdays and Sundays 11am-2pm; Merry Fishmas Education Sessions – join SEA LIFE Education Specialists to participate in holiday-themed activities. You never know what kind of special gifts you can find under the sea.; Storybook Adventure – trace the telling of a popular holiday story throughout the aquarium with a special SEA LIFE twist and enter to win free SEA LIFE Annual Passes. This activity is available daily throughout the event.
Shrek 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 Shrek: The Musical thru Dec. 30! Shrek, an unsociable ogre, becomes an unlikely hero who finds himself on a life-changing journey alongside a wisecracking Donkey, a feisty princess who resists her rescue, and a cast of banished fairy tale misfits. Through heroic feats, Shrek reverses a curse and learns to raise his Freak Flag high. It’s a story of adventure, friendship and ogre love that’s bringing ugly back!
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!
The $50 Crown Center Gift Certificate Giveaway Question!
Answer the question below - THEN, enter our Giveaway Page (must complete both steps to qualify) for your chance to win a $50 Gift Certificate to Crown Center!
Question: If a friend asked you, "Why should I visit Crown Center at Christmas?" what would you say?
