Christmas Cultures & Customs
The holiday season is a great time to explore how other cultures celebrate. Hikari Light Festival at Tanaka Farms is one of our favorite holiday traditions. Hikari means “shine” in Japanese and this holiday season Tanaka Farms shines with over a million twinkling lights. Wagon Rides through the “Land of a Thousand Lanterns” to walking the Gingerbread Forest. So much fun to be had experiencing Christmas through the lens of another culture. There are lots of other fun activities including visits and photos with Santa, craft station, and live music. We highly recommend making reservations in advance.
In addition to the Festival of Lights, Tanaka has an amazing selection of Christmas trees. Their customer service is amazing.Their team has the trees staged and organized so you can find the “perfect tree” and are willing to help you mount the tree on your car to bring it home. All of the little things that we truly appreciate. Plus, they have a fun market to get other Christmas decor and tasty treats. One of the things we love about Tanaka is the history of the farm and how it is a family affair. It began with their great-grandfather Takeo, who was an Issei- first generation Japanese American – who immigrated from Japan in the early 1900s. Today, you will find Farmer Glenn Tanaka, Shirley, and Kenny at the farm, pretty much every single day, checking on the crops, answering questions, and talking with customers. And don’t forget Tanaka Farms has lots of fun activities throughout the year including strawberry picking.
All Aboard! Polar Express Train Ride
One of our favorite holiday activities as a family is riding THE POLAR EXPRESS! Set to the sounds of the motion picture soundtrack, it’s so much fun to relive the magic of the classic story as we are whisked away on the magical one-hour trip to meet Santa.
Of course we have to outfit our entire family, and extended family in matching pajamas just as the children in the classic children’s book with the same name, The Polar Express, by Chris Van Allsburg, are in their jammies. We all got our golden tickets and danced our way on board.
Once on board, entertainers presented the story through character and song, complete with Hot, Hot, Hot Chocolate and a delicious cookie served by the dancing chefs.
A huge highlights is Santa! Oh yes, the big man takes time with each child and gives them a keepsake sleigh bell as a reinforcement to BELIEVE! So many wonderful memories made on this magical trip it’s not to be missed.
With 40 locations across the country, find The Polar Express Train Ride experience closest to your home: https://www.raileventsinc.com/polar-express-train-ride/locations/
Letters to Santa, Grant a Wish
Write a letter, grant a wish… download a free physical letter to write to Santa and drop it off at any local Macy’s and they will donate to Make-a-Wish. They’ve already granted 16,000 wishes! You can also do a digital letter with drag & drop stickers for a festive touch. Plus free coloring and activity sheets are online complete with a complimentary guide for educators and homeschoolers.
Family Matching!
From Christmas crafting to reading, watching movies and darling photos — get cozy with the family enjoy the holiday season
From Christmas crafting to reading, watching movies and darling photos we love getting cozy with the family to enjoy the holiday season. And of course everyone was cozy in their Hanna Andersson family matching pajamas! From Gnomes and Deers, Stripes and even your favorite characters, we love Hanna Andersson pajamas because not only can the entire family match, but the quality makes them easy to pass down to siblings and cousins. The premium organic cotton makes them so soft that we just want to wear them all day.
They also make for a great holiday photo outfit. Each year, we love picking a print and having the entire extended family get the same print. Whether it is waking up Christmas morning and taking some family photos or going to your favorite holiday events in matching pjs, we love the quality of Hanna Andersson pajamas.
