Opening night was absolutely magical at what's being called the World's largest Christmas light maze and market and it's in St. Petersburg, Florida. That's where the Tampa Bay Rays play at Tropicana Field! The indoor baseball stadium is transformed into a Winter Wonderland!
***Full disclosure: my tickets were complimentary, but I am not being paid to write this, nor was I paid to attend. I also purchased 4 additional tickets for friends to attend with me so I can honestly speak from a standpoint of 'is the ticket price worth it?'***
Here's just a little glimpse of what you walk up to and this was in the daylight so imagine how beautiful it is at night...
After you pass carolers singing, a Kid Zone, a build-a-bear station and Santa's workshop to make crafts, you see the big entrance to the maze!
You get a scratch off card and the goal is to 'Save Christmas' by helping Santa Claus find each of his lost reindeer...the kids were delighted to get started. The magic was in their eyes!
I don't want to spoil it all by posting every little surprise but this was just one of the many gorgeous displays...a Christmas light corridor with hanging lights. There was also an ice-skating trail that was so unique! I'd never seen an ice-skating shaped like a trail before. Of course we had to do it and I'm still feeling a little sore today from it but WELL worth it...it's included in price but you have to pay for skate rentals if you don't have your own which are $10.
If I had one piece of advice, it would be to ENJOY every second of it that you can without taking out your phone. I say this not from a judgmental standpoint but rather from learning the hard way. The lights are so stunning that I could hardly help but to Instagram everything in sight and of course I wanted to get a 'cute couple selfie' with my husband in the hanging lights.
Well, by the time I had looked up from the selfies and social media, I missed my 4 year old finding Rudolph which was nearby...I only knew I had missed it because of his squealing and laughter. "I found Rudolph! I found him! I saved Christmas!" he screamed with delight, and I wasn't watching to witness that moment.
In the grand scheme of life, it's a tiny moment and that night alone I witnessed about a thousand other special ones, but I was kicking myself for it and wanted to pass along the story as a reminder in case you go...the lights are tempting and the photos (not gonna lie) are so great!
But, do the maze and walk around FIRST before whipping out the 'gram or Facebook. If you blink, you could miss a moment with your kiddos that you can't get back. Then you can walk around as many times as you want for the photo ops!
In fact, if you keep going, you'll run into Santa! We didn't buy the package, but you can...and I know it was the real Santa cause his beard was REAL!
And sorry to brag but I can't help it. My daughter asked Santa for two things when he asked her what she wanted for Christmas:
1) Mommy's happiness and 2) A necklace for Mommy
That was how we ended the magical evening...I was holding back tears with how sweet my 6 year old is and I couldn't have felt more clear about the true meaning of the Christmas season.
Enchant Christmas was magical.
Also, my station is playing Christmas music 24/7 now! You can catch my show every weekday morning 6-10am. The link to listen while putting up the tree is BELOW :)