Christmas at Hershey - & Holiday Season countdown

Three hours from NYC, 1.5 hours from Baltimore, "Chocolate Town USA" has several attractions, most notably Hersheypark and a historic hotel. In December, Hersheypark turns into Christmas Candyland. Even better, Hershey PA has a bunch of holiday getaway packages.

Read about Christmas at Hershey.

And lots more, in the Holiday Season Countdown:

• Gift ideas for traveling kids: baby gifts, stuffies, Leapfrog Leapster, activity kits, and more
• Ten Holiday Packages: "Home for the Holidays" package in Vermont with Christmas trimmings, including your own tree to decorate in your room; The Polar Express train in New Hampshire; 12 Days of Christmas at Sea Island...
• new: Holiday Package in the White Mountains, NH
• Disney Christmas: special events at Disney World include Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights; Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party; Holidays Around the World and Candlelight Processional... and that's not all.
• more Holiday Season in Orlando: it's the uber-destination for families, and the fun keeps escalating
• many more Holiday Season events in many cities

Christmas Eve: on the big night, don't forget to track Santa's flight! Every year, the official NORAD site gives a bit of magic to millions of kids: they can watch Santa's flight tracked by an official aerospace agency. Make sure you have the website-- and the right plug-ins-- lined up and ready to go, to Track Santa's Flight on Christmas Eve.

Kwanzaa: many cities have Kwanzaa celebrations, from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1

New Year's Eve: finally, wrap up the year with a First Night: family-friendly and affordable New Year's Eve celebrations, staged in many cities. continued below...

Hershey at Christmas

Info on several packages follows, below. But first: some background about Hershey PA.

Hersheypark is a venerable and top-rated family amusement park, started in 1907 by chocolatier Milton Hershey for his employees. Hersheypark is basically a summertime theme park, but in April, Springtime in the Park weekend lets you sample rides on an "pay-as-you-go" basis, and in October and December, Hersheypark in the Dark and Christmas in Candyland are seasonal events.

As for where to stay: The Hotel Hershey is a grand old hotel on 300 acres, with a kids' club; the Hershey Lodge and Convention Center is a family-friendly sprawling place with has indoor and outdoor pools and free family programs.

Read more about Hershey PA and HersheyPark, or continue to info on vacation packages, below.



Holiday Season at Hershey's

• Christmas Candylane: the HersheyPark theme park opens up for December for Christmas Candylane, with more than 1 million twinkling lights, select rides, Santa and reindeer, S'mores with Hershey chocolate;
• Hershey Sweet Lights is a two-mile drive through woods filled with a million lights on 600 animated displays;
• "Chocolate Town, “A Holiday Dinner Musical” runs November 20 - December 28 2005.
• on weekends, Hershey Lodge has "Breakfast with Santa", and complimentary family activities
• Dutch Winter Wonderland is a 30-minute drive away

Hershey PA Holiday Season Packages

Santa Packages
• select Fri. and Sat. nights, starting Nov. 18 to Dec. 17 2005
• accommodation at Hershey Lodge or the Hotel Hershey
• breakfast or lunch with Santa, along with caroling and photo ops(lunch available at the Hotel Hershey only)
• Hershey Lodge, from $249/night; Hotel Hershey, from $399

Holiday with Dickens
• Dec. 4 - 6 2005
• accommodation at The Hotel Hershey
• reception in the Fountain Lobby, and 4-course dinner in the Circular Dining Room
• performance of "A Christmas Carol" during dinner, by Gerald Charles Dickens, great-great-grandson of author Charles Dickens
from $379/night

Holiday Spectacular, December 22-29 2005

• accommodations at the Hotel Hershey
• admission to Hershey Sweet Lights
• breakfast; dinner in the Circular Dining Room
$50 Hotel gift certificate per adult
• from $438

Annual Teddy Bear Jubiliee

• Dec. 26-27, 2-night min.
• kids bring their teddy bears for contests, Teddy Bear Parade
• accommodation at The Hotel Hershey
• special breakfast, Dec. 27; Teddy Bear Hoedown dinner, Dec. 27; Teddy bear activities
• from $358/night

New Year's Eve: Hershey's Chocolate World Family Party

• Dec. 31-Jan.1 (2-night minimum)

• accommodation at the Hotel Hershey
• New Year's Eve grand dinner and dessert buffet
• entertainment, dancing, and Chocolate World attractuibs such as Hershey's Really Big 3D Show, and the Chocolate Tour ride
• Raid the Refrigerator Party
• New Year's Day breakfast
• from $433

Hershey Lodge New Year's Eve Package
• 2-night package includes admission to New Year's Eve Carnival at Hershey Lodge, with food and activities for the whole family. (For ex., from other years: apppearances by Hershey product characters, videogames, Kideoke, movie maraton, adults-only wine and chocoltae tasting, dance instruction for teens and adults.
• from $549, for a family of 4, for 2 nights.

Note: this package sold out in November -- book early, for 2006!

Hershey also has other New Years Eve celebrations, including a 6-course dinner in the Circular Dining Room; see New Years Eve

See Christmas at Hershey, at the Hershey PA web site, for more details. And read more about Hershey PA and Hersheypark at Travel With Kids.