The Best of SLC at Christmastime
I'm sorry for the lack of posts lately. After being out of town for Thanksgiving, we took an unexpected trip back to visit our families in Salt Lake City for the funeral of Adam's wonderful grandma and I ended up staying longer to spend more time with everyone. It was such a special time to be with family and to celebrate an amazing woman who lived an inspiring life that was cut short too soon. I have tried to soak up every moment being with loved ones and taking care of our little girl while also enjoying this most wonderful time of the year and sometimes it's hard to balance it all. This month has flown by so fast with so much going on and since we are getting ready to leave again to be back in Utah for Christmas and New Years, we have spent almost all of December there so I thought it would be fun to share what some of our favorite things to do are at this time of year in Salt Lake City. Let me know if you have any other favorites to add to the list!
WHAT TO DO FOR THE HOLIDAYS IN SALT LAKE CITY, UT
| Festival of Trees | A fun evening activity to take your kids to see all the amazing Christmas trees that are up for auction and all the proceeds go to Primary Children's Hospital. They also have an impressive collection of Gingerbread houses and some Christmas performances.
| Mormom Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert | This is the one of the most beautiful Christmas concerts you can find. I love going on a Sunday morning because there is such a wonderful spirit there and the talent will sure leave you uplifted. I love the incredible guest performers they have each year and the whole Christ-centered theme.
| Utah Symphony Christmas Concert | We went to this last week with my siblings and it was a really fun night out with just the adults, no kids. They always have guest performers playing with the Symphony and this year it was Pink Martini and they sure brought some spice to the symphony concert. Everyone was standing up at one point dancing along!
| The Nutcracker at Capital Theater | I have grown up going to this ever since I was a little girl and it was always such a special night where we would get dressed up and our dad would take us to dinner and the ballet. I loved watching this ballerinas on stage and couldn't wait to be in it when I was older. I still think it is one of the best Nutcrackers out there and Ballet West always done an amazing job.
| The Grand America Hotel | I love this place at Christmas because they do it up so pretty. They have a giant gingerbread house made of real gingerbread and christmas windows throughout the hotel decorated with a Christmas scene for each letter of the alphabet. They also do a breakfast with Santa but you have to get reservations early because it sells out in one day.
| Ice Skating at The Gallivan Center | I love ice skating outside under the lights in the winter and this newly renovated rink is the perfect spot. It's right in the heart of downtown so you can walk to everything and they have fire pits to warm you up while you watch the skaters.
| Lights at Temple Square | Because I grew up in Salt Lake, no other temple lights will compare to the beauty of Temple Square. The whole block is decked and the lights are professionally done down to every single branch. It's amazing. They also have a nativity in front of the visitors center and you can walk over to City Creek after for some dinner and hot cocoa.
| Zoolights at Hogle Zoo | I think these zoo lights just get better every year because we were amazed this year at how many lights there were. They really have every inch of the zoo done up and it's so fun for the kids to see some animals too.
| Thanksgiving Point Lights, Reindeer, and Ice Sculptures | This is such a fun place to go as a family because they have so many fun things going on, especially at this time of year. You can grab food and hot chocolate while you see Santa's Reindeer and watch the ice sculptures work their magic. They also have all of their gardens lit up with lights that you can drive through and if you come earlier in the day, it's fun to take your kids to the museum of natural curiosity. It's an incredible children's museum for all ages.
| A Christmas Carol at Hale Center Theater | This is another family tradition and it's always fun going to shows at the Hale Theater. They have such great musical talent and I love how they use their unique round stage in the middle.
| Candlelight Christmas at This Is The Place Heritage Park | You could spend a whole night at this place with all the different Christmas activities they have going on in the pioneer village complete with a live nativity in the stables.
| Ski Park City and Deer Valley | Utah is really the best place to go skiing and there are so many ski resorts to choose from. I love Alta and Snowbird but I grew up going to Deer Valley every year so it's kind of a favorite. It's just so pretty to get up to the mountains in the gorgeous snow and Park City has so many fun things to do with lots of great restaurants.
| Heber Valley Railroad Polar Express |
| Live Nativity at Liberty Park |
| Elf Scavenger Hunt at Gardner Village | They really do this place up cute for Christmas lights at night and you can get a scavenger hunt map for the kids to find all the different elves around and check them off when they find them.
