One of my kids’ favorite things to do on winter evenings is to go Christmas light hunting. Wherever we need to drive somewhere, we make a game of finding as many lights as we can, hollering “CHRISTMAS LIGHTS!” whenever a new set is spotted. So when we pulled into the Grotto’s Christmas Festival of Lights this week, I expected plenty of pointing and screaming, but instead they both purred, “Ooooooooooooooooooo…” They couldn’t get out of their seats fast enough.
After admiring all of the lights on the walk to the central plaza, our first stop was the petting zoo. I couldn’t believe how many animals they had and how well behaved and seemingly un-fazed by children they were. Mini horses, goats, sheep, and even a gorgeous llama. We were thrilled! We got in a few gentle pets from the more curious goats and spent time watching them eat. As if my kids needed any more specimens of live animal to add to their wishlists. After washing up in the sanitizing tent, we moved on and admired all of the lit prayer candles and the life-sized nativity from the Demetz Art Studio in Italy. We could hear the carolers singing and decided to follow them into the chapel to listen to one of the five groups performing that night.
Initially, I worried about how they would do volume-wise when assisted by the venue’s acoustics, but I was really impressed with all of the smaller children in attendance (and there were many). Once the group started singing, the kids couldn’t help but pay attention. We were treated to a few pieces of festive music, including one composed by my collegiate vocal coach (what an amazing surprise), before the littles became restless and it was time to move on. We took in the rest of the lights, an enchanting, outdoor dulcimer performance, and made our way to the car. This morning, Lucas burst into the bathroom screaming, “MOM! Can we go back to the light place tonight!?” When I asked the kids what their favorite part was, they collectively listed off everything we’d done, so I’ll take it that the night was a lasting hit.
Located at NE 85th and Sandy Boulevard, The Grotto is a great place to go for a Christmas activity in our area that isn’t difficult to get to and has on-site, free parking that is a hop, skip, and a jump to the ticket both. The light displays are colorful, bright, and include more than a half-million lights. There are five concerts per evening, caroling and puppet show performances occur four times nightly, and there are snack and gift shopping opportunities. The Christmas Festival of Lights will be open from 5-9:30 nightly through December 30th (they are closed on Christmas Day) and admission ranges from $4 for children aged 3-12 to $9 for adults. The schedule, including performers for each evening, and additional information can be found at www.thegrotto.org/christmas.
My tips for a successful evening at the Grotto: get there early to ensure no one tuckers out, bundle up (it was COLD), peek at the performance times you are interested in beforehand to ensure you don’t miss anything, make sure kiddos have used the restroom and aren’t hungry before partaking in chapel concerts, and don’t be afraid to loop back around to enjoy another concert or hot beverage. And the llama is not keen on close-up photography.
