Pratt Brothers Christmas at Rawhide!

 

It is a little bit cheesy, but during the holidays I love Hallmark holiday movies & I absolutely love Christmas lights. So, I always thought it would be wonderful to live in a town that goes all out for Christmas with holiday lights & festivities. Most cities put up some lights but don't really go crazy, but visiting the Pratt Brothers Christmas at Rawhide in Arizona will make you feel like you are in a holiday movie Christmas town. This event is located at 5700 W North Loop Rd Chandler, Arizona 85226, parking is included in admission. 

This event is hosted at Rawhide which is a small old western town theme park in Arizona. When the Pratt Brothers take over for the holiday season it turns into a sparkling Christmas gem featuring over six million Christmas lights, a magical train ride through thousands of lights, visits with Santa, an area where it snows & more. This was our first year visiting the event & we had a fantastic time! Tickets are $35 for general admission or $80 for VIP tickets. On your way into the event don't forget to grab a map near the front entrance! Because it not only shows you where to go but all of the show times will be listed on the flyer as well so you can plan out your night. Expect to spend anywhere from three to four hours here if you take your time doing everything.

We arrived shortly before the gates opened & there was already a pretty decent size line formed to get into the event. We weren't sure how long it would take to get in, but they had everything set up & running pretty smoothly so it didn't take long before we were headed into the event. Upon entering you will see that every house down main street is covered from top to bottom in Christmas lights! And if that wasn't enough lights there are also lights strung from one side of the street to the other, plus several photo opportunities like a giant ornament or a huge stage coach which are also completely covered in lights. 

What's included in general admission? You will be able to ride on the train as many times as you wish, watch the Gingerbread light show as many times as you want, visit Santa, write letters to Santa, play in a 'Snowfall' and more. We stopped at pretty much everything aside from visiting Santa as my kids are a bit older, and we didn't do the Smore's kit area because it cost extra and we weren't really hungry at the time. If you arrive to the park right when they open, I suggest heading either to see Santa first as the line can get pretty long quickly or heading to the back left near the Gingerbread light show to hop on the train before a line starts. We went on the train twice, each one was pretty much back to back. We took turns being on the right side vs the left side because the light displays you drive through have a ton to look at it is easiest to concentrate on looking at one side at a time so you don't miss anything. I think they did a fabulous job with each different themed area of the train ride from Peppermint fields to going back in time with Dinosaurs, even adults will love this train ride. I've been on several different train rides at different holiday events here in Arizona & I would have to say that the Pratt Brothers train ride is hands down the best when it comes to the length of the ride & how much there is to see on the ride. 

The Christmas themed western stunt show was cute, it gave you a chance to sit down and watch a tale about Santa visiting the town of Rawhide. I'd say the show last about twenty to twenty five minutes in total & is scheduled so you won't miss any other big shows like the parade down main street. At 8pm there is a parade down main street which features several pretty whimsical vehicles to look at such as a giant gingerbread house that drives by or a car that reminded us of a wonkamobile. Shortly after the parade ends is one of the Gingerbread house shows so you can watch them back to back. The show is spectacular, there are a ton of lights and even pyro bursts during the show. 

They also have a "Snowfall" area which has a few dozen snow frosted Christmas trees, at certain times through out the night it will snow in that area. Instead of using shaved ice it is a bubble mixture that is shot out of hoses from the roof, however it does look similar to a snow fall. It was a fun experience and made for some cute photos and many laughs. I also liked looking at the large miniature Christmas village they had set up, it reminded me of the one my great grandmother used to put up when I was a child. 

Writing postcards to Santa was fun, the little work shop area they had set up looked fantastic and was well organized. I also loved that one of the buildings wasn't just a normal Christmas house, instead it was a "Scary" Christmas house which was decorated with purple and green lights and inside were festive Halloween decorations. Browsing the shops was fun at well! Overall we all had a great time at this event & I would 100% visit it again next year.  

If you want to see more from this event stop by my Instagram page to watch a reel where I highlight more details from this event. 

🌵 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.

Terror Trader Arizona's Year Round Horror Marketplace!

 

As someone who is a fan of horror movies, spooky things & lover of Halloween I am so happy that Arizona has had a few horror & gothic style stores pop up within the last year or two. One of the horror themed stores here in Arizona is called Terror Trader which is a year round horror marketplace. You'll be able to browse & shop selections from a number of local small artists all under one roof. They are located at 941 W Elliot Rd Suite 3 Chandler, AZ 85225. 

Along with having a large variety of products to purchase there are also free photo opportunities with their life sized props including a coffin in one of the small rooms that you are able to stand in to snap a phot. There is also a small room which features a mini museum of oddities that is pretty cool to check out. 

Everything in the store was well organized & each local seller had their own little section that featured their products. You could find pretty much everything including trading pins, taxidermy, clothing, jewelry, props, masks and more. This spot is a great place to pick up a few creepy, spooky or awesome finds all while supporting not only Terror Trader but all of the local artists who sell their products in store. 

All of the staff were friendly when we were there, the store was easy to navigate. There were one or two small rooms that felt a little stuffy if too many people were in it at once, otherwise the store has plenty of space to roam around and look at everything. We enjoyed visiting & we will definitely be back the next time we are in the area to pick up a few more things. If you want to add another stop on your terrifying route, be sure to stop across the street to visit Spooky's Swirls where you can grab some horror themed baked treats and see their collection of props as well. 

Terror Trader also puts on events through out the year including larger pop up markets where vendors will set up their own booths and special horror movie nights at a local cinema. Be sure to check out their page to see what events are coming up, you won't want to miss out on their Spooktacular events! 

🌵 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 on our own. I enjoy sharing new places we explore with my followers.

Spooky's Swirls a horror themed bakery & mini museum in Chandler, Az!

 

We are in the midst of spooky season, so it is the perfect time to talk about our visit to Spooky's Swirls! Spooky's Swirls is a horror themed bakery & mini museum that is open year-round for all spooky lovers to enjoy. They offer delicious treats featuring characters like Ghost Face, Slimer, and more plus slices of cake, biscotti and more. Gluten-free guests will be happy to know they are a gluten-free bakery. Alongside their delicious treats they also have some products for sale like earrings, mints, etc. and they have a collection of horror themed props in the store that you can check out while there. They are located at 3029 N Alma School Road #117 Chandler, AZ 85224.

While we were in the area recently, we decided to stop by & pick up some sweet treats! Everything in the store ranges in price, but everything is labeled clearly. There are so many delicious sweets to select from, you'll have a hard time trying to leave with just one thing. We each found something we wanted to try & we were all quite pleased with what we had picked out to take home. Not everything is pictured on this post, but you can see most of what we picked up to try out. 

Sometimes products that are gluten-free can taste a little off, but that wasn't the case with their treats. Everything was sweet and had a lot of flavor. I also loved the little designs on a lot of the products. They do have quite a few products that are staples of the bakery & won't get swapped out, but they do also rotate through other products featuring different movies and themes so there will probably be something new each time you stop by. 

The mini museum is pretty neat as well, they have a decent number of props, replica clothing and more on display along the walls of the store. As an added bonus they also have a small selection of products for sale including horror themed earrings, hair clips, mint tins, and more. The store is family friendly & the staff were all very nice and were happy to answer questions. We will be visiting again the next time we are in the area! 

What horror character or movie, would you like to see featured on a baked good? 

🌵 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 on our own. I enjoy sharing new places we explore with my followers.

Battle it out with family & friends at Game Show Battle Rooms!

 

My family & I are big fans of game shows, from old shows like Family Feud to new shows like The Floor we love watching them together. We've always thought it would be amazing to be on one, & my husband and I were actually able to audition for one once. We recently learned about an awesome family friendly entertainment spot called Game Show Battle Rooms. You are able to put together teams then compete against one another to see who the champions are. They have several locations spread out across the US, so you may be lucky & find one near you. We were able to swing by the location located in Chandler at 6909 W Ray Rd Suite 29 Chandler, AZ 85226. It is located in Chandler, but on their website, it is listed under "Phoenix". 

They offer two different game show experiences, you can select the Classic show down which includes games such as spinning a giant wheel & completing a phrase or answering survey questions. Or you can book a Prime-Time showdown which includes games like sixty second skill games. It is $36.95 per person & each game show session last for one hour. If you have an extra-large group, a little bit more time will be added to your session to give everyone a chance to play. 

We did the Classic Show Down & had eight people in our party, which we split into two groups of four. Upon arrival you will be able to come up with a team name & each person will be given a name tag. We were asked to not put our legal names instead come up with something fun for a stage name. My nickname is Luna, so I ended up going with "Luna Mistress of the Dark" and it was funny hearing them call it out while we were playing. Before heading into the game show room, they have a bathroom you can use, and they also have a section where you can buy drinks. Our team names were the X-Force & The Iron Maidens. 

The game show room itself looks fantastic, it has everything you need to feel like you are on a live game show minus a live audience behind you. There are spotlights, all of the game pieces, two different team tables, plus two game show hosts and fun upbeat music of course. Our game show hosts JD & Talon were fantastic! They were very energetic, had some great jokes, played fun music and did a fantastic job pairing up people for the head-to-head competitions. One of the head-to-head team ups we had was the battle of the moms where it was my mom verses my husband's mom. You'll be pumped the entire time you are playing, everyone was hooting & hollering, clapping and laughing together. 

Everyone in our party had an absolute blast! Every aspect of the hour we were here was amazing, we had a great time competing against each other guessing answers, playing plinko and even dancing. After our session was over, everyone was already talking about coming back to try the other type of game shows. We were also told by our hosts that even if we booked the same classic game show that every session is different so there will be different questions, different products to price, etc. This is a fantastic spot for a friend's game night, birthday party, company team building and more. 

If you pop over to my Instagram page, you can find a reel with some footage from our game together! 

🌵 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-  Game Show Battle Rooms provided this experience to us for the review 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.

Desert Breeze Hummingbird Habitat in Chandler, AZ - Free to Visit!

 

It is finally the time of the year when the weather is going to start cooling down, so I want to share a spot where you can watch hummingbirds along with other bird species and small critters. Best of all, it is free! In Chandler, Arizona there is a small hummingbird sanctuary that sits next to a public park. There is plenty of parking at the park, you will just need to walk across a small street to reach the sanctuary which is called Desert Breeze Hummingbird Habitat. It is located at 4700-4724 W Desert St, Chandler, AZ 85226. It is tucked away near a neighborhood so aside from a little noise from the park next door or the occasional car that drives by this spot is quiet and relaxing. 

The area features an iron archway, a lovely pond with mini waterfall feature, a large iron tree with seating along with a small walking area with seating. We visited back in early May, it was the start of the hot months so we didn't see as many birds as you could on a cooler day, the time of day you go is also a big factor. This would be a great spot to visit whether you are by yourself or with your family. Families with small children could even use it as an opportunity to teach your children about some of the local wildlife & plants. 

We enjoyed sitting & watching all of the birds and the stroll around the habitat was lovely. All of the plants and flowers are kept nicely trimmed and maintained. This is a great spot to go sit with a coffee in one hand and your camera in the other, it can be quite calming just sitting and enjoying the nature around you. I enjoyed the variety of flowers that were planted here, it gave us a chance to see the cute little bees above rolling around inside of the flowers. If you happen to be in the area, I recommend stopping by to check this spot out.

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

Halloween Town Pumpkin Patch in Chandler,AZ!

 

Halloween Town in Chandler is open again for the Halloween season. This mini carnival is perfect for parents with small kids as this pumpkin patch is specifically geared towards children ages 2-8. There were about twelve different rides set up for kids to ride on along with a mini maze & large slide.

Know Before You Go:

• Admission is $5 per person for ages 2+, Children under two are free. Parking is free.
• All you can ride wrist bands are $25 - I suggest buying them only for the smaller children, most of the rides are set for specific heights + weights. My nine year old son was too tall for a few of the rides & the only thing us adults went on was the burlap sack slide. 
• Game tickets are $1 each, I believe they may sell them in a cheaper bundle if you buy a certain amount. - There are five different games, the cheapest one cost $3 or 3 tickets 
• Food Prices range from $5-$16 and drinks range from $3-$4. I would give the food a two out of five stars, three of us ordered pizza which was a little burnt & I was told had tasted like it wasn't fresh. My chicken tenders basket was $16 it came with three small chicken tenders and some fries, the fries weren't hot. I do not see any thing on their website about not being able to bring snacks, small children tend to snack a lot through out the day so I would bring a snack or two for them to enjoy while waiting in between rides.
• If you plan on eating at the event there are hand sanitizer stations, however I recommend bringing some wet wipes or baby wipes to clean your hands before eating. 
• There is face painting, a pumpkin patch, pumpkin painting, a mini hay maze, bounce houses & fun photo opportunities. 
• The pumpkin patch is located in the parking lot of Chandler Fashion Square - 3111 W Chandler Blvd Chandler, AZ 85226
• They open now until October 31st. M-F they are open 4pm-10pm & weekends from 11am-10pm.

Halloween Town was busy, but it wasn't overly crowded. The ride lines, food lines & game lines were short which is great when dealing with small children. I liked how they had everything laid out, the pumpkin patch was easy to navigate & there were plenty of areas to explore. Everything was very straightforward & easy to understand as they had plenty of signs letting you know how much everything was and if you did end up needing help there were staff members all over who were friendly & there to help out. 

Some of the games are a little more challenging than the others so a few of them offer small prizes even if you only score a point in the game. Each of the kids ended up winning a small ice cream shaped stuffed toy, a lollipop stuffed toy and they also have a dragon plus some cotton candy and a small pumpkin.

We thought that Halloween Town was cute & it is perfect for families with small children. If you have a mixture of ages the older kids will have fun playing the games, although they may not be able to go on many of the rides so I'd see how many they could go on before buying older kids a all you can ride wrist band. Older kids can also still enjoy face painting & the pumpkin patch where you'll find dozens of pumpkins of assorted sizes, shapes and colors to choose from. 

Disclaimer- Tickets & Ride Bands mentioned above were provided by Halloween Town for the review 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.

Stop by The Crayola Experience in Chandler during your kids spring break! + GIVEAWAY!

Many schools around Arizona are about to be out for spring break, so what is there to do to keep the kids entertained while still social distancing? Aside from spending some time in the great outdoors there are several options around the valley that will allow you to stay safe while still having fun. One of those options is the Crayola Experience which is located inside of Chandler Fashion Center. Due to covid they had to close down for a little while, however they recently celebrated their grand re-opening on March 3rd and have several safety protocols in place to keep their guests safe. Tickets are $17.99 online or $19.99 if purchased at the gate, they also offer annual passes for guest who would like to visit several times through out the year.

What are they doing to keep everyone safe during these interesting times? First they are limiting the amount of guests allowed in the building at one time, and they are doing temperature checks at the front desk which are being done by a trained EMT. Activity stations have been limited as well, some of them have had a spot or two shut down for the time being to keep families separated. Masks are required and at this time they are asking that you only bring in see through bags (you can ask for one if needed). While there we also noticed several staff members wiping down all the machines, and helping keep everyone six feet away from one another. During our visit there are a few other families, but we never felt like we were too close to another family or being over crowded, it was a delightful and quiet experience. 

The Crayola Experience can be a lot of fun for children of all ages and even adults! Let's go over some of the fun activities they have to offer you during your visit. Once you get through the ticket station you will be handed a clear plastic bag that has tokens, a pack of crayons and two chalk sticks. Normally they have art supplies out for you to use, but to prevent cross contamination they have given you a set of your own to use and keep. We've found tokens vary from bag to bag, some of ours have two while others had three, if you want to purchase more than that they have a coin exchange machine, each token costs $0.50. When you first enter the building you will be greeted by two big round machines, each machine has four stations where you can create your own crayon label. 

To use the label maker you will select a color you'd like, this time around the only options were green, pink and orange. Standing in front of the color you want you will insert one of the coins found in your bag you were given at the entrance, then it will ask you to select a symbol you'd like on your label. They have a nice selection to choose from, I went with a star as you can see above. It will also let you name the crayon, I named mine after my blog! Hit "Print" when you are happy with how your label looks and it will spit out your label along with a naked crayon. Next stop at the station next to these where you place the label and crayon, then pull downwards on the handle and it will apply the label to the crayon. Tada! Look at how cute the crayon turned out. 

The only other station that takes the coins is a vending machine that has a variety of model magic baggies. They have a few tables set up where you can sit and play with the model magic, however we decided to just put ours in our bags and safe it for when we arrived home. We bought a few extra coins so the kids could each get four colors. My son had a blast playing with the model magic when we arrived home. From here you can explore the rest of the facility. Directly next to the vending machines is a small area with three tablets spaced six feet apart that kids can play with. Across from the tablets you'll find two areas where "Be A Star", this spot is a lot of fun. 

Why is this spot such a fun stop? You get to create your own coloring pages where you are the star of the show. Who wouldn't want to get a printed page of themselves as a coloring page? You will get to select which background you'd like, strike a pose and get your photo taken. There is a printer directly next to this station so you don't need to go anywhere to pick up your print. Take a family photo or let the kids take a few snap shots on their own to color in when they get home. 

You will also find two crayon melting stations. The first station an attendant will have you select two different colored crayons and instruct you on how to use the machine, each crayon will be added in one at a time. As the crayon is melting there is a spinning paper directly under it where the wax will land, you can use a control to adjust how fast or how slow it will spin giving you a different splatter pattern each time. The attendant suggested I do one that looked like my hair, so I happily agreed and think it turned out great. 

The second station is right next to the spinner and you'll have your choice of one crayon color. It will be inserted into a different machine that will melt it, dripping it into a car shaped mold. Depending on the color of crayon the person before you used, you might end up with a multicolored crayon like I did above. It is a exciting experience getting to see the crayon made right before your eyes. 

If that wasn't enough excitement they also have a area where you can color in a magical create, scan it to a computer and have it come to life on the screen or you can see a fashion show featuring a outfit you colored in yourself. If fashion shows aren't your thing, you can also see a race featuring a car you designed yourself. 

There is also a large chalk wall, a giant light up peg board, a interactive wall that makes it look like you are walking through melted crayons, arcade games that give tickets you can trade for prizes, a gem mining station and more. Due to the safety protocols in place the crowd was much smaller than the last time we visited, we could actually walk around and enjoy the experience more with the smaller lines. We thought they did a fantastic job keeping everything clean and safe for everyone visiting, the staff were friendly, helpful and seemed to be in high spirits while interacting with everyone. We didn't experience any issues while on this trip, and I honestly can't think of anything but great things about our trip.

Before you leave they will ask if you want an arm band so you can come back later in the day if you are just heading out for lunch. The exit leads into their retail store located next door, you'll find dozens of colorful gifts and souvenirs available for purchase, and you'll be greeted by a giant wall of crayons. 

They have a number of tins and buckets available for purchase that you can fill up with any crayons or markers you can fit inside of it for a set price. We were able to fit quite a bit in the tin we had, we filled it mostly with crayons, but we also had enough room for a handful of markers. They have a lovely selection of colors including metallics, glitters and neon choices. The tin shown above cost $18.99 which might seem like a lot but you get the tin and everything you can fit inside. We ended up with ten markers and 103 crayons, plus the tin itself, so I would say that is a pretty good deal. 

On our way out we also spotted a display of candy bars that had crayon wrappers. It was early morning, and the bars were a little more than I typically pay for a candy bar coming in at $3.49 a bar (the size of a regular Hersheys bar), however they had some pretty intriguing flavors so we let the kids pick out a bar and we each grabbed one as well. My daughter went with the milk chocolate caramel, my son selected the S'mores, and my husband and I went with dark chocolate sea salt. They are delicious! 

Above you can see some of the goodies we brought back from our trip. The eight pack of crayons was in your entry bag, the two crayons by themselves and the model magic are what can be purchase with the tokens. The spin art and car crayon are from the melting stations, the tin full of crayons and the crayon shaped piggy bank can be found in the retail store and the tickets in the middle are being used for a Giveaway for my readers!

Now that you know all of the excitement the Chandler Crayola Experience has to offer you it is time for me to give away some tickets so you can go check it out for yourself.  The tickets do not have an expiration date so you are able to go when ever you'd like! I will be mailing these out to the winners. 

Prize Alert: Five lucky winners are each going to receive FOUR tickets to take their family to enjoy a day out.

This is open to Arizona Residents! Please remember if you DO NOT leave a comment on this blog post as your mandatory entry into the giveaway then all of your entries will be void. Doing the Daily entries will increase your chance of winning. Winners have 72 hours to respond to the notification email! 

This giveaway ends on 03/16/2021

Giveaway entry question: Leave a comment telling me which activity mentioned above you think your family would enjoy the most.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer-  The Crayola Experience provided me with four tickets for our entry, a tin to fill with crayons, a piggy bank and a gift card for lunch for the review + twenty tickets to use as a prize for a 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.