This Holiday Bucket List post is brought to you sponsored by ReachOrb, but as usual, all opinions are my own.
If you know me, you know that I love Christmas and all the magic that the holiday brings! Today I’m going to share my favorite holiday bucket list!
Holiday Bucket List
Making a List, Checking It Twice
I spent about 3-5 months chatting with my son and hubby, just meaningless conversations to find our what they really want.
I always have a big ticket item and add other items to bring more joy under the tree!
In case you’re wondering, yes, teens still get excited about Christmas gifts, so I make an original list and check it twice, sometimes, three times even!
Holiday Bucket List – The Gift Of Meaningful Experiences
It’s been a while since I’ve added meaningful experiences to my son’s list such as short trips to places he manifested interest to go.
I’ve also bought game tickets in the past for him to go with my husband.
I’ve also given him his own membership to a gym, so he can meet up with friends not needing us to be there for him to get in.
Holiday Bucket List – The Gift Of Giving
We often volunteer, take a child’s name at a local charity to be sponsored for gifts and try to share what we have with others, as a way to repeat what was done thousands of years ago on Christmas.
Holiday Bucket List – The Gift Of Magic
I have taken Lucas to take a picture with Santa many times, even when he was too big to sit on his lap.
I’ve used my work and jobs involving seeing Santa, as a way to keep the magic alive!
I truly believe Santa embodies that spirit of selfless giving which is much needed every holiday season!
That’s why I am extremely excited to share about Santa HQ at our local Deptford Mall!
Santa HQ revolutionizes the traditional Santa Claus visit by guiding visitors through an immersive, interactive holiday experience with the use of amazing state-of-the-art digital technology!
Fun for all ages!
So I decided to invite my friend’s daughter to share this magical experience with her!
HGTV Santa HQ Offers:
Traditional photo opportunities with Santa Claus, with a variety of photo packages families can choose from.
Guests can visit HGTV Santa HQ’s Elf Academy – a new family-friendly experience that features interactive technology to enhance the entire HGTV Santa HQ visit.
The Elf Academy includes the Magic Mirror: Guests can transform into one of Santa’s elves and virtually try on various elf outfits.
- Guests stand in front of the Magic Mirror video screen and, through augmented reality, transform into Santa’s Elf.
- The Magic Mirror allows guests to select one of four elf styles (Hazel, Ruby, Jack and Strawberry) from which to choose outfits.
- The guest can then virtually try on three separate elf outfits based on the chosen elf style.
- Once the user has completed their Magic Mirror experience, guests have the option to receive three photos by entering either their mobile number and/or email address.
The Elf Academy also includes the Elf-ID: Guests can create their very own customized Elf-ID card using the new Elf-ID app and a “selfie”.
- Guests choose one of four cards to customize (Hazel, Ruby, Jack and Strawberry). o The guest then takes a photo of their own face through the application and fills out special fields like favorite food and favorite reindeer.
- With all the information compiled, the Elf-ID app creates a custom Elf-ID card, which the guest can receive via email.
Elf-Ray Vision: Guests can explore Santa’s Observatory through the use of tablets. Areas within Santa HQ trigger an augmented reality experience for guests.
The Naughty or Nice Meter: Visitors can stand next to an interactive board to find out which of Santa’s lists – Naughty or Nice – they made.
Guess what Julee is??
Spend less time in line. Purchase Fast Pass today!
Visit HERE to secure a Fast Pass and pre-purchase a photo package.
Guests can select the date, a 30-minute window of time to use Fast Pass.
It is so easy, just pre-pay online, upgrade your package by adding a family photo weeks/days in advance, and opt-in to receive text reminders about your Fast Pass window.
HGTV’s Help Through Holiday Giving Drive:
HGTV’s Help Through Holiday Giving is a program that encourages visitors to donate toys for underserved children during the holiday season.
In past years, HGTV’s Help Through Holiday Giving has collected more than
66,000 toys benefiting local organizations such as Forgotten Angel Tree, Salvation Army Angel Tree, Toys for Tots, and Spark of Love Stuff a Bus.
Each Center Has Some Specific Special Events, please visit your center for more information! If you are in the Deptford, NJ area, click HERE for more!
I wasn’t aware of this, but it was her first visit to see Santa!
It just brought tears to my eyes, seeing her have an endless chat with him, instantly best friends!
My job was done, having brought Santa’s Magic to a dear little one!
HGTV Santa HQ Experience is open now at the Deptford Mall, NJ and many locations nationwide.
You can check out all the fun here!
I want to wish you all an amazing Holiday Season!
Would love to hear your tips and what’s on your holiday bucket list?
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Can’t wait to hear what you think!
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This is absolutely lovely and looks like fun 😊😊😊. Thank you for your constant support on blog. I noticed I couldn’t reach out to you through wordpress, I had to log into the browser.
Santa HQ sounds absolutely amazing! I’m sure many kids would love it there and also have plenty of exciting activities to do as well.
What a powerful, beautiful experience and your incredible support and involvement in the process. Love it, Claudia!
Santa HQ is an amazing thing! My nephews would love it. I like how they offer fast passes!
This looks like such an amazing time! Standing in line for Santa can take so much time and my kids get bored and agitated. Makes it looks like such an amazing experience.
Santa HQ is definitely an unique experience! Love to do it with my family!
That looks like so much fun. I’m sure my kids would really enjoy that. I wish this were closer to where I lived.
Oh wow! I honestly can’t think of a more amazing Santa experience to have with the kids than this. I love everything it has to offer.
This is such an adorable experience! I know my kids would really love it!
Santa HQ sounds awesome! My kids would absolutely love everything about it!
The HGTV Santa HQ Experience looks amazing. I wish my twins were still little! They would have loved this. I love to do experiential gifts too. My plan for 2020 is to do 1 fun experiential thing with my twins each month (weekend trips, concerts, etc).
My boys are too old for santa and I am not sure if my grandbaby is ready. My grandbaby might cry if I take her to see santa
It looks like you had an amazing time at SantaHQ. We went a few years ago and it was so much fun. I think a trip to some place sunny is on my holiday bucket list to start.
I am a HUGE fan of experiential gifts. I think the memories made are so much more meaningful.