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10 Ways to Make the Holidays More Magical
Ho ho ho! The holidays will be here soon—and your friends at Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park have got some fun ways to make this special season even more magical!
Here’s our list of 10 ways to have some extra-magical fun this holiday season:
1. Visit North Pole Nights at Gilroy Gardens
(OK, we might be a little biased, but we do think our holiday celebration, North Pole Nights, deserves to be #1 on this list!)
During the holiday season (from November 28 through December 31), Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park is transformed into the sparkly winter wonderland of the North Pole.
As you make your way around the park (oops, we mean around the North Pole), you get to enjoy all the fun rides all lit up at night—plus live musical shows, ice skating under the stars, festive food and drinks, magical light displays and much, much more! You can even visit Santa in his workshop and pick up fun treats along the Reindeer Roundup Trail.
Tell your grownups they can save $15 off North Pole Nights admission when they purchase tickets online at GilroyGardens.org. Or better yet, get Premium Memberships now for unlimited visits for the rest of 2025 and all of 2026. Either way, hope to see you here very soon!
2. Write a Letter to Santa
Santa loves getting letters from boys and girls all over the world—so write to him yourself! You can include anything you like in your letter. You might tell Santa what you’re doing to get ready for Christmas and let him know what you’d love to see in your stocking or under the tree.
Feel free to ask questions too (like, what do reindeer really like to eat?). If you enjoy drawing or coloring, send Santa a special picture signed by you, the artist!
If you’re lucky enough to visit North Pole Nights at Gilroy Gardens, you can mail your letter straight from the North Pole Post Office to be sure it gets to him in time! And while you’re here, be sure to stop by Santa’s Workshop to see “the big guy” himself and get a photo to take home. Ho, ho, ho!
3. Make a Handprint Christmas Tree
Did you know that Gilroy Gardens has over 10,000 trees? If you love trees too, here’s a fun, festive Handprint Christmas Tree craft that’s easy to do at home. These make great gifts for your friends and family.
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- First, get your materials ready. You’ll need a few sheets of different colored paper plus glue, scissors, and a pencil (and maybe a grownup to help).
- First, use the pencil to trace around your hand and all five of your fingers. Then repeat this three times and carefully cut out each hand. (Hint: You can use green paper—or make your tree any color you like!)
- Put two of the cut-out hands side-by-side so they overlap a bit, and use a little drop of glue to hold them in place.
- Then put the third cut-out hand on the top middle part of the two below, and glue in place.
- Then cut out a square or rectangle from brown or another color paper. Glue it in place underneath the hands to form the “trunk” of your tree.
- Now comes the fun part! Cut out small circles from different color paper to be the “ornaments.” You can even cut out a star if you’d like to have one at the very top of your tree. Use little dots of glue to attach your decorations to your tree.
- Be sure to sign your name on the back and the year.
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We found this idea (and lots of other cool crafts) at: https://www.easy-crafts-for-kids.com/how-to-make-a-handprint-christmas-tree-craft.html
4. Bake Cookies for Santa
Poor Mrs. Claus. She keeps trying to bake cookies for Santa, but just hasn’t found the perfect recipe quite yet. Fortunately, we’ve found it for you!
These delicious Double Chocolate Chip M&M Cookies are soft, chewy, and full of yummy chocolate flavor. We suggest leaving a few out for Santa—and then enjoying the rest with your family and friends.
Double Chocolate Chip M&M Cookies
Ingredients
▢ ¾ cup butter, softened
▢ ¾ cup brown sugar
▢ ¼ cup sugar
▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla
▢ 1 egg
▢ 2 cups flour
▢ 1 small (3.4 oz) box instant vanilla pudding mix (dry powder, not prepared)
▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda
▢ ½ teaspoon salt
▢ 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
▢ 1 cup white chocolate chips
▢ 1 cup red and green M&M candies
Instructions
- In a large bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, and sugar for 1-2 minutes until fluffy. Add vanilla and egg, and mix well.
- In another bowl whisk together flour, vanilla pudding mix, baking soda, and salt.
- Gradually mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients until incorporated. Stir in most of the chocolate chips. (Reserve a few chocolate chips and all of the M&Ms for later.) Cover and chill for at least one hour.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Very lightly grease a baking sheet. Roll about 3 tablespoons of cookie dough into a ball (about the size of a golf ball) and place on prepared baking sheet.
- Gently press remaining chocolate chips and the M&Ms into the cookie dough balls (this makes sure you can see the chips and the M&Ms after they bake!).
- Bake for 9-12 minutes until cookies are set but still slightly underdone. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes on the baking sheet.
Transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling completely. Store in airtight container at room temperature.
This recipe comes from lecremedelacrumb.com. (And there are many other tasty treats you can try here too!)
When you visit North Pole Nights at Gilroy Gardens, be sure to stop by Sugar Plum Farms to try some of our delicious holiday cookies and other sweet treats!
5. Find More Festive Fun in and Around Gilroy
Gilroy, California is a great place to get in the holiday spirit! If you’re planning to come to North Pole Nights at Gilroy Gardens (open select dates from Nov 28 through Dec 31), you might want to stay a while so you can shop and save on top brands at Gilroy Premium Outlets and find fun gifts from Gilroy and the Golden State at the California Welcome Center Gilroy. You can even join in a beloved town tradition at the Downtown Gilroy Holiday Festival & Parade on Saturday, December 6, 2025.
Go to the VisitGilroy.com website to book a budget-friendly hotel room and plan your great Gilroy getaway!
6. Find Fun & Educational Gifts Under $20
Hey parents—check out these Amazon links for holiday gifts for kids that are fun, not too expensive, and educational!
(And if you enjoy fizzy drinks, be sure to come to North Pole Nights and stop by Merry & Mischief or the Live Tonight Bar, where you can find festive cocktails for grownups 21+ as well as “mocktails” for kids.)
7. Make Cranberries Dance
We love making learning fun—and this is a super-easy science experiment that you can do at home!
Dancing Cranberries Experiment
What You Need:
– Dried cranberries
– Sparkling water or any clear fizzy soda
– A clear glass or jar you can see through
Steps to Follow:
– First, fill the glass about 2/3 full with the fizzy soda water.
– Then, make a hypothesis. What do you think will happen when you drop the dried cranberries in? Do you think they will float? Do you think they will sink? Do you think they will explode??
– Add a small handful of cranberries to the water. Then observe what happens.
– Do you see them bouncing up and down? They’re dancing! Why do you think that’s happening?
This holiday science experiment was inspired by Lessons 4 Little Ones. Check it out for more details—and more STEM-inspired projects that you and your family can do together!
(And if you enjoy fizzy drinks, be sure to come to North Pole Nights and stop by Merry & Mischief or the Live Tonight Bar, where you can find festive cocktails for grownups 21+ as well as “mocktails” for kids.)
8. Go to a Holiday Show
The holidays are a great time to go see a live show or concert, whether it’s at your local school, church, or community theater. Ask your grownups to check the local listings and see what’s playing near you!
Of course, we’re kind of partial to our very own musical show called The Magic of Santa, which plays several times each evening in our Lakeside Amphitheater during North Pole Nights at Gilroy Gardens.
During this show, you don’t have to sit still or be quiet. In fact, you’ll get to sing and dance along with new friends like Rudy the Polar Bear, Tinsel the Tree, Skitter the Mouse, and a band of Santa’s reindeer. Help everyone find their wish for Santa—and then watch as Santa makes their dreams come true with a sprinkle of Christmas magic! The show is included with regular park admission.
9. Look at Christmas Lights
One of our favorite holiday traditions is seeing houses all decorated with bright, colorful holiday lights. Some evening after it gets dark, ask your grownups to go for a walk or car ride through your neighborhood and decide which ones you think have the very best displays.
During North Pole Nights at Gilroy Gardens, we have hundreds of thousands of twinkling lights and sparkling displays throughout our winter wonderland. There’s even the 100-foot long North Pole Light Tunnel, with music that plays as you walk through! You’ll also have fun going on all your favorite rides, including the Illions Supreme Carousel and the Panoramic Wheel, when they’re all lit up at night.
10. Help Make Someone Else’s Wishes Come True
In The Magic of Santa (see #8 above), Skitter the Mouse learns that the real magic of Christmas comes from helping make other people’s wishes come true. Try it for yourself! Think about ways that you can do something nice to surprise some of the people in your family, or your friends, or maybe your teacher, coach, or neighbor next door.
There’s no limit to the nice things you can do! Maybe write them a little note, draw a picture, sing a song, or offer to help with a chore. Fresh-baked cookies are always a good choice (see #4 above), but sometimes even something as simple as a short visit or phone call to say hello can be just as special.
The best thing is, when you help make someone else happy, that makes YOU happy too—and that’s the real magic of the holiday season!
About North Pole Nights at Gilroy Gardens
The holiday magic is back! From November 28 through December 31, immerse yourself in the enchanting world of North Pole Nights at Gilroy Gardens. This extraordinary holiday experience includes jolly characters, fun live shows, ice skating under the stars, festive food and drinks, Santa’s Workshop, magical light displays—and much, much more!
Either a single-day admission ticket or valid Premium Membership is required for admission to North Pole Nights. Save $15 on single-day admission when you buy online in advance at GilroyGardens.org.