Santa's Village
Santa's Village is a theme park located in northern New Hampshire. It has lots of rides and attractions for kids and adults all around the Christmas Theme.
In their advertising, Santa's Village mention that it's one of the USA's Top 25 Amusement Parks - The only New England park on the list! It's worth checking out if it's better than Canobie Lake Park and Six Flags New England.
Someone told me that it's a half day park. That didn't appear to be the case as our recent experience showed that you can spend the entire day at the park and still not get on all the rides.
For kids, it's a long ride from North Conway to Santa's Village. We stocked up on some fruit snacks so no one was hungry on the ride up to the park.
Assorted Notes from the Trip
- Its 145 miles from Boston, about a 3 hour drive.
- Santa's Village doesn't check for outside food.
- Strollers rentals are Free. They do have a donation box if you want to contribute something to keep it free.
- Strollers are hard plastic ones. There are two different sizes. You may want to bring a small seat pillow for the kids.
- There are designated Smoking area through out the park. Kind of funny that they put one next to Santa's House.
- Santa's Village will hand stamps you if you plan to reenter the park. This is a neat thing for the kids to do as they exit the park.
- There are plenty of fast food establishments in Jefferson, NH. There's even a Dunkin Donuts, which was a good stop after a long day in the park. (It's a long drive back to North Conway!)
Gluten free Options
Based on our past experience at Canobie Lake Park, we decided to play it safe and bring sandwiches and gluten free snacks to the park.
We stopped at Haniford the night before and got some cold cuts and some gluten free bread. We packed everything in a bag cooler with an ice pack.
There are lockers near the entrance. However, they don't charge for strollers. We simply hooked our bags to the stroller so that we could stop and eat whenever. There would be no need to go back to the entrance to get our bags.
Finding Tables at Lunch
We had no problem finding a table to eat at lunch time near Burger Meister Food Court. We did notice that most people did buy food from the concession stands. A few people did have bag coolers.
We did buy drinks and cotton candy, along with plenty of souvenirs. We certainly help contribute to the local economy. We even stopped at the local Dunkin Donuts in town to get a drink for our ride back to our cabin in the woods.
Lots of fun in the Park
There are lots of fun things to do in the park. Lots of exciting rides and adventures for the kids. There are shows happing all the time.
Some memorable rides:
- Reindeer Carousel - Fun Carousel ride
- The Great Humbug Adventure - Arcade style game, similar to the Toy Story experience at Disney Studios.
- Yule Log Flume - Log ride where you will get wet.
- Skyway Sleigh Monorail - Fun way to see the park. Great family picture opportunity for a custom Christmas Tree Ornament.
- Santa's Home - Meet Santa! Don't forget to ask what you want for Christmas. Check out the details in the house while waiting in line.
Elfabits Fun!
We found that the Elfabits to be a fun game!
- You visit the Elf University by the entrance to get an Elfabet Game card.
- The kids take the card and start looking for the Elves
- When they find an elf, they put the card in the box and a hole get's punch at that Elfs letter.
- Tip: Near the Elf University, is a hint to where to find all the elves. This is useful when you're looking for that last hole punch.
Water Park Fun
The water area of the park is a lot of fun, and kids can spend a long time enjoying the slides and waterfalls. There are plenty of chairs for parents to sit and watch their kids. There are changing rooms nearby, and if you forgot to bring a towel or bathing suit, there's a store that has all the water park accessories that you need.
We ended the day at the Water Park, so the kids wouldn't be soaked or cold when going on various rides.
Don't forget to pack bathing suits, towels, and pool shoes. Pool shoes are not allowed on the large slides.
Everyone having fun at the HO HO H2O Water Park
Going Back?
My six and a half-year-old daughter had a lot of fun at Santa's Village. She had a fun time looking for the alphabet elves and going on all types of rides.
Of all the things that we did on our two-week vacation, she loved the time spent at Santa's Village.