The Elves & Ride with Mrs. Claus at Gardner Village–West Jordan

by Noelle on 12/15/08 at 5:45 pm

A visit to see the elves at Gardner Village is a great way to get your family into the holiday spirit (as if kids don’t have enough on their own). We had a great time at the Halloween witch event so we decided to head back to Gardner Village to check out the annual Christmas display. We went on a Wednesday afternoon, and it was as quiet as could be. There were only a few other people wandering around but it was kind of nice to have the place to ourselves.

We walked around the village, searching for Santa’s little helpers. (The displays are cute, but I felt overall they lacked some of the charm of the Halloween witches). There’s a cute little Christmas house display, and a mailbox for letters to Mrs. Claus. I was disappointed to realize that the ride with Mrs. Claus is only held on Monday evenings, since we were looking forward to doing that (should have checked in advance–now I know for next time). If you can make it on a Monday, it would be a fun way to spend family night.

My daughter, who is almost four, really gets Christmas this year so one of the first things we did was head over to the toy store. Well, it used to be a toy store but now it’s the Georgell Doll Shop. Good enough for her! The store was decorated so pretty for Christmas, and if I had a dollar for every “I want” she uttered, I would have enough money to buy every doll she wanted! They also carry a cute line of doll clothing that’s sized just right to fit American Girl dolls.

Next stop: Sweet Afton’s candy store to sample the holiday fudge. Yum! My favorite was the peanut butter chocolate, my daughter liked the fudge with red and green M&Ms sprinkled on top. There are dozens of fudge options to choose from, not to mention the loads of different types of candy. It will definitely bring out the kid in you!

We popped into the year-round Village Christmas Shoppe, then ended our visit with a stop at Protea Cottage for an eggnog latte, peppermint mocha, and pink hot chocolate. We even bought some Fancy Nancy pink hot chocolate mix to give as a gift. They have a great variety of winter specialty drinks. Call ahead if you want to drink in the tea room because if it’s reserved for a private party you can’t (I think they need to work on having seating for all paying customers).

This is a fun way to get into the Christmas spirit (and even finish up your shopping with some fabulous and unique gifts–they have great shops). Just do a little pre-planning so you can do everything you want to do.

If you go:
–Elves are on display until Dec. 22
–Rides with Mrs. Claus are Monday evenings from 5-8 p.m., and cost $2 per person
–Live Nativity on Dec. 19th and 20th at 6:30 p.m.
–Closed on Sundays
–Click here for directions and hours