While there are plenty of picturesque vacation towns for that postcard-perfect photo, if you’re looking for something truly unique, you’ll need more than wreaths and mistletoe. Sure, you’ll probably see Santa at these offbeat attractions, but he’ll be catching a wave, wearing a cowboy hat, or wielding an axe. Christmas trees abound, but they’re made of goose feathers or sand or high-heeled shoes.
And it’s all so festive above, that whether you’re ordering hot chocolate from a 16-foot-tall gingerbread house or staring at Tim Allen’s bearded head nestled in a bed of snow, you’re sure to feel the holiday spirit Every Christmas should be unique. These 10 places guarantee that it will be.
Christmas house
See Burning-Man-level electric art at Camp Christmas
Lakewood, Colorado
Camp Christmas is a chalk-fueled fever dream: giddy, campy and a little surreal. Touring facilities take over Heritage Lakewood Belmar Park each winter, tricking out its mid-century buildings with every decoration you can imagine, along with some you’d never see. In the latter group are projections of electric sheep, an owl with flaming wings at Burning Man, and a beauty salon with 27 headdresses of Seussical proportions, piled high and nested with ribbons, elves, gifts, feathers and woods.
As you tour Lisa Frank’s wonderland, you can scan QR codes throughout the camp to earn Merry Badges (get it?) or marvel at the art, like the garish but gorgeous Gift-O-Rama and Instagrammable dazzle Pink Room. Then grab some hot buttered rum from one of the three bars and take a spin on the merry-go-round, but not at the same time, while pondering the meaning of it all. And don’t forget to stop by the gift shop for stocking essentials, like ranch-flavored candy canes.
The City of West Palm Beach
Admire the sand-sculpted Christmas worlds at Sandi Land
West Palm Beach, Florida
If anywhere had a 700-ton sand tannenbaum, it would be South Florida. Welcome to Sandi Land, where a huge sand-sculpted Christmas tree hosts nightly light shows synchronized to music and jets of water from the nearby Centennial Fountain. Sandi has grown over the years from around 400 thin tonnes in 2012 to its current size and fame; it even has its own Instagram. And this year, you can admire it from above as you ride the new 65-foot-tall Ferris wheel, which is billed as its long-lost cousin.
There are another 100 tons of smaller sand sculptures scattered along the boardwalk, including a flamingo, a mermaid and a walrus playing a guitar. The month-long Holiday in Paradise festivities celebrate several special events, including the usual Pancake Breakfast with Santa and the not-so-usual Fire Dance.
Photo courtesy of The Omni Grove Park Inn
Stroll through tiny and life-sized candy houses at the National Gingerbread Competition
Asheville, North Carolina
Of course, there are perfectly traditional gingerbread houses in the National Gingerbread Competition, all gummy rails, mint windows, frosting and gable roofs. But the confections are getting more and more creative, from a medieval castle to a carousel to a forest. And for this year’s 30th anniversary, organizers upped the ante with new awards for culinary feats like “Best Use of Sprinkles” and “Most Unique Ingredient.”
Stop by The Omni Grove Park Inn to stroll through more than 200 sugary sculptures, each at least 75% gingerbread and 100% edible. Winning entries include a mashup of St. Nick/Yoda, a mountain scene with a raccoon stealing Santa’s hat, Vecna’s lair in the Upside Down, and a typewriter where you can actually read the names on the naughty and nice list. Not impressed? Try the life-size Great Gingerbread House, made with 400 pounds of sugar, 160 pounds of flour, and 64 pounds of egg whites.
Santa’s Wonderland: A Texas Christmas Experience
Spend a cowboy Christmas in Santa’s Wonderland
College Station, Texas
It’s time for a new Christmas tradition, like riding a mechanical bull or taking a selfie with a seven-foot snowman named Marshall Frostbite who carries candy canes in his holster. These are just two of the options at Santa’s Wonderland, which claims to be the largest Christmas park in the country. Across 150 acres, you can go snow tubing, take a ride through more than 3 million lights, see an Old West town lit up for the holidays, and pose for your Christmas card photo above ‘a long real bath. You’ll also meet the same Man in Red, though his outfit looks a little different with a cowboy hat and a shiny Texas-sized belt buckle.
Beyond the obligatory petting zoo and live nativity scene, there’s also wine tasting in a rustic-chic loft and a jumbotron in the barn playing non-stop holiday movies. for when you just want to curl up with a plate of prime rib. End the night with a concert: Feliz Navidad and dueling violins are all the Christmas cheer you need.
Hotel Fairmont Olympic
Let a stuffed animal cradle you in the Teddy Bear Suite
Seattle, Washington
Some people decorate the hallways with boughs of holly. The Fairmont Olympic Hotel does it with teddy bears. Their annual Teddy Bear suite is just as cute as you’d imagine. The corner room is filled with nearly 100 teddy bears, small ones six inches tall and large ones over six feet, meaning an adult ass can nestle in the stuffed animal’s lap, and you should.
That’s right: it’s open house season with teddy bears. There are bears huddled in the four-poster bed, bears under the Christmas tree, bears on top of the fireplace. And if that’s not enough to delight your inner child (or the real ones you can bring with you), the whole place looks straight out of Frozen: walls covered in white, icicles, decorations and silver garlands everywhere. Blue lights shine in the windows, while snowflakes swirl overhead. And finally, for the most Christmas spirit of all, any donation benefits Seattle Children’s Hospital.
Surfing Santas of Cocoa Beach
Watch Santa jump from a helicopter into the ocean and other stunts in Surfing Santas
Cocoa Beach, Florida
If you think Christmas Eve is for carefully hanging your stockings on the fireplace, Cocoa Beach begs to differ. Maybe it’s the average winter temperature of 70 degrees or being home to the world’s largest surf shop, but this beach town kicks off the holidays every year with hundreds of surfing Santas. And if that sounds too corny, there’s also Santa riding jet skis, riding boogie boards and jumping out of helicopters into the ocean.
When you’re done watching Kris Kringle hang ten, you can dig into an alcoholic breakfast buffet. Be sure to wear something festive — most of the 10,000 spectators do — or go all out and enter the costume contest. The quirkier the better, although if you’re thinking of going as a snowball, a skunk monkey or Santa riding a shark, that’s it.
Photo courtesy of The Polar Express Train Ride
Wear your pajamas on the original Polar Express Train Ride
Durango, Colorado
What do you get when you cross a beloved children’s book with an old railroad town in Colorado? If you answered the most adorably nostalgic vacation trip of your life, you’d be right. Each winter, the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad transports passengers aboard a vintage steam locomotive to the North Pole for The Polar Express™ Train Ride. While there are more than 30 Polar Express trains across the country, this is the original and recreates the story experience right down to the golden ticket and dancing chefs.
It takes about an hour (pajamas and snow boots are recommended) and along the way, you can watch re-enacted scenes from the movie while cozying up with a cup of warm cocoa. At the North Pole, dazzled with thousands of lights, Santa Claus boards the train to give each passenger their first Christmas present (IYKYK: it’s a sleigh bell). And then everyone carols all the way to the depot, where you can visit Santa, visit the free train museum and meet live reindeer.
Solvang USA
Hunt elves in the Nisse Adventure
Solvang, California
You may have heard of the 12 Days of Christmas. What about the 12 children hiding in a whimsical California town less than an hour from Santa Barbara? At less than a meter tall, with beards and pointed caps over their eyes, these Danish gnomes are known to sneak into people’s homes to leave gifts and play pranks, and finding them is a beloved tradition for the Danish-founded city of Solvang.
Pick up a set of rhyming clues at the visitor center. Then, once you’ve successfully located all dozens of dolls, you’re back to claim your prize: your very own little trickster to hang on your tree and blame for any holiday woes. The scavenger hunt is a popular part of the annual Julefest, rounding out your experience with music and light shows, a parade, candlelit tours and more hygge than you can shake a mint stick at.
Mystical Ghost Boat Ride
See what’s hiding underwater on the Creepy Christmas Boat Tour
Bay St. Louis, Mississippi
An hour east of New Orleans are the silent backwaters known as Devil’s Swamp. Also called the Hancock County Marsh Coastal Preserve, these mysterious, mist-shrouded waters are prime habitat for the rougarou, a werewolf-like creature from Creole folklore. Every December, he teams up with an evil Santa—“who sees you when you’re sleeping”—for a thrilling ride down the bayou on the Creepy Christmas Boat Tour.
Your guide, Mystic Molly, tells a macabre holiday tale with riddles, songs and a few characters, including Skully, the skull-topped Christmas tree. There’s a coffin on the ship and the surprise ending is kind of scary, so maybe leave the kids at home for this one. Then gather around the campfire while roasting s’mores and chat with other travelers about the things you’ve seen.
Castle Noel
Carole with a giant yeti, golf with aliens and stroll through the winter scenes at Castle Noel
Medina, Ohio
Filled with hundreds of Christmas movie props, thousands of toys and something called Santa’s Chimney Squeeze, Castle Noel celebrates the season in the biggest and most exuberant way, and they do it all year round, just in case you want to stop by the time in Whoville or Whoville. sing Jingle Bells with an animatronic yeti in August.
The artist behind the attraction, Mark Klaus (you read that right) is always adding to his collection, which ranges from Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Turbo Man suit to the Grinch’s sleigh. A guide walks you through everything, including Barbies and Furbies from the “I Had That” toy exhibit and elaborate New York holiday storefronts, carefully assembled and set off with spinning cakes and Nutcracker dancers . At the end, he goes down a slide down a fake snow mountain just like Ralphie.
What’s in the basement, you ask? A 3D fluorescent mini-golf experience that follows Santa Claus and a group of friendly aliens through ancient ruins and outer space. Of couse.
Want more Thrillist? Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat.
Cheryl Rodewig is a Thrillist contributor.
