Monday, December 8, 2025

Pratt Brothers Christmas 2025! + Giveaway info!

 


It is that time of the year again! All of the holiday lights are up and holiday festivities have begun. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Pratt Brothers Christmas! We were able to attend last year and we loved it! We were invited back again this year, and we had just as much fun as last year. If you love holiday events this is a must and it is fun for all ages. They have everything set up at Rawhide, so not only will it be a Christmas experience, but it will feel like you are in the old West as well. You'll find a train ride through several different themed areas that are absolutely packed with lights, a fire pit area where you can make smores, a fabulous photo opportunity spot where fake snow falls, a Christmas parade, A big light show with pyrotechnics and more. 


When you arrive be sure to pick up a map & guide, it will show you where everything is and have times listed for the different events. If you time everything out right, you will be able to do a lot of the activities back-to-back without a long wait time in between. I highly recommend heading to the back as soon as they open and doing the train ride first as the line can get pretty long. Both sides of the train are decorated and have different lighting & decor, so I suggest going on the train ride more than once since unlimited rides are included with admission. That way you can swap sides and concentrate on each side individually. One of my favorite spots at the Pratt Brothers Christmas is the fake snow area, the "snow" is made from a bubble foam type liquid, but it does look very similar to an actual snow fall. It creates some fantastic winter photos! If you get there a little early for a time slot, you'll be able to snag a spot in front of the snow-covered Christmas trees for even better photo opportunities.  


If you have small children you'll be visiting with you can book a time slot to see Santa! They do allow walk-ups however it is on a first come first serve basis, so I would book a time when you get your tickets online. Your children will also be able to meet Mrs. Claus in another area of the event, plus there is a section to write letters to Santa. See a live show, make Smores, grab some food or participate in one of their two scavenger hunts, there is plenty to do at Pratt Brothers Christmas. 


They offer two different ticket options, you can get a general admission ticket for $38 or opt for a VIP ticket for $89. They also have some discounts available such as the family four pack of general admission for $133 which will save you about $20, or you can go on a weekday for lower pricing. Is the VIP ticket worth it? I know the VIP is quite a bit more than what the general admission tickets are, so let's go over everything that comes with the VIP tickets. 


When you purchase a VIP it comes with everything that is included in the general admission, plus you'll be given a goodie bag & a lanyard. The lanyard gives you access to the VIP lounge where you can grab drinks and sit down for a little bit to rest your feet while watching a holiday movie inside where it is a little warmer. Your goodie bag comes with a ticket for a free hot coco - if you are an adult you can get a spiked hot coco, a free boot shaped mug with your choice of drink - kids can choose from soda, and adults can choose from either a soda or a "Santas Helper" a specialty alcoholic drink. The boots light up which adds a little extra Christmas magic & they are yours to take home. Your gift bag also comes with a ticket for premium seating for the western show, a fast pass for the train, a smores kit, a cookie decorating kit, and a set of hand warmers. Plus in a kids bag they will get a button pin & a wrist band, and adults will get a button along with a holiday ornament. Without the VIP tickets hot cholates are $8, the boot cups are $3, sodas are $4, Santas Helper is $13 and spiked hot chocolate is $10 so in drinks it adds a $15 value to the kids ticket and $15-26 value to adult tickets. I unfortunately didn't see how much the cookie decorating kits & smores kits were if you were to buy them separately. However, given everything that is included in the bags and the front of the line pass/premium seating I would say it makes up for the $50ish difference in price. 


It was busy when we went, however all of the lines were pretty manageable, and we were able to find good spots to watch both the light show and the Christmas parade. It was also easy to find a seat to watch both of the live shows, which was surprising for a Saturday! If you've gone multiple years in a row, the train ride themes haven't changed from last year. Everything was pretty much the same as it was last year, but we still had a lot of fun, especially because my husband and our son didn't make it with to last years event. On a last note, I just wanted to include that since this event takes place in part of Rawhide, this is an outdoors event it will be chilly and the ground is mostly dirt. I would bring something warm to wear & make sure to wear proper shoes as it can be a little muddy out. 

Want to win a family four pack of general admission tickets to this event???? Stop by either my Instagram page or Tiktok and enter on my Pratt Brothers Christmas post. I am @Themoonlitnook on both Instagram and Tiktok. 

🌵 If you live in Arizona check out the "Things to do in Arizona" section of my blog to find entertainment, restaurants, vacation spots & more. (Click on the name or locate it on the right-hand side of my page).

Disclaimer-  Pratt Brothers Christmas provided this experience to us for the review + giveaway free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Thursday, December 4, 2025

The Mighty Axe in North Phoenix!

 


If you are looking for a fun way to relieve some stress and learn a new skill, then heading to an axe throwing location may be right up your alley. There is a fun hangout spot located on High Street near Desert Ridge in North Phoenix called The Mighty Axe. They offer axe throwing, a small arcade, and a cozy bar area where you can get a drink or sit an play a board game. They offer walk-in's or you can make a reservation online prior to visiting. 


Depending on the size of your group & if the room is available, I would recommend booking the VIP room. The open lanes are $35 per person an hour and the VIP room is $45 a person, while you still only get an hour to throw the difference between the two is being in your own private area with the ability to select your own music & you'll have a personal waiter who will periodically stop by to see if you need anything. Online is shows that you need at least six people in your party to book a VIP room, we only had five, but I called ahead of time and asked if there was open space if we could book it anyway. The general manager on that day was awesome & let us book the VIP room since they had plenty of openings on the day we wanted to visit. 


Upon your arrival you'll enter into their bar & lounge area, where you'll find plenty of seating along with quite a few board games you can play with your family and friends. I found the space to be quite cozy & inviting, we had visited shortly after the holiday season so everything was still decorated for Christmas and added to the charm making it feel more like a winter getaway cabin. The VIP room felt very much the same, it had a nice seating area with three private throwing lanes. We loved being able to pick out our own music to listen to while throwing. If you get hungry they had a menu which offers a few in-house dishes, but also has options from several close businesses. We ordered some sliders & some brussels sprouts from a spot nearby that was featured on their menu. After a short amount of time, our waiter came by to let us know that the food spot was a bit busy & running behind on their order so he was going to extend our time so we could eat and throw some more which was very nice of him. Drink wise, you can order soda and alcohol from the bar. 

We loved that the lanes had a tablet that allowed you to choose from a number of games to be projected onto the throwing boards. One of my personal favorites was the tic-tac-toe and competing against my husband to see who would win. The kids had a fun time with the zombie target practice, and the darts style throwing. We were having so much fun that the hour along with the extra fifteen minutes we were given, completely flew by! 

The regular throwing lanes had quite a few people when we arrived, but still offered plenty of space to walk through without feeling like you were in the way of anyone. The arcade area offered mostly pinball machines, but we love them so we were exited to check it out after our timeslot was over.  I was actually kind of surprised that when our time slot was over & we came out of the VIP room that all of the regular throwing lanes were completely empty & we were the only party left, so we were able to have the whole arcade to ourselves. This is definitely a spot we would want to come back to! 

🌵 If you live in Arizona check out the "Things to do in Arizona" section of my blog to find entertainment, restaurants, vacation spots & more. (Click on the name or locate it on the right-hand side of my page).

🟊 This is not a sponsored post, we paid for this ourselves. I just enjoy sharing awesome spots with my readers.