CHRISTMAS 2025 |
We took a slightly different approach to Christmas this year. Adventuring farther out from the Philadelphia area to see how other sections of the state celebrate Christmas. To make their traditions a part of our tradition. We "won" two seats on the Media Santa "Trolley". The unwrapping of gifts spread across three days, from Christmas Eve to December 26th. It was another great Christmas season.
Dad went to Koziar's Christmas Village when he was two or three years old - so claims Lola and Papa. All they remember is that it was a dark drive through the countryside then off on the horizon lights started to appear. That was our welcoming experience to Koziar's as well. Koziar's is located in Bernville, PA, a solid hour-and-fifteen-minute drive from Conshohocken. Dad thought we could be the Christmas crowds if we visited in November, before Thanksgiving. If this is what the crowds are like before Thanksgiving, we can't imagine what the crowds must be like come December. And it is truly an attraction that brings the crowds. We spent just over an hour walking through light installations covering all sorts of themes from Christmas stories to Christmas traditions around the world to Dinosaurs to Jungle Animals to even Santa Claus himself. The impressive qualities are the range and volume of Koziar's attractions. We spent an hour but were walking fast because of the cold - otherwise would have spent another thirty minutes. There's so much to see. Koziar's is a bit too far for us to make this an annual tradition, and there's other areas of Pennsylvania we want to see next year, but we will return before Charlotte turns forty-five.
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Individually the displays are great but collectively, display after display, turn after turn, and the experience is overwhelming - in a good way. This visit put us in the Christmas spirit for the next month-and-a-half.
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As if Koziar's wasn't far away enough, we went even farther from Conshohocken for our next Pennsylvania Christmas tradition - to Indiana, PA, just under five hours away. We broke up this trip into two nights, first in State College, then continuing on our way to Indiana, PA. But first a stop in Bellefonte to see the town's collection of historical buildings.
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First stop at Penn State: Berkey Creamery. If eating ice cream is what Charlotte thinks college is all about then it's time to start preparing her 2040 college application. The Creamery only sells one size of ice cream - massive. All sorts of unique flavors with creative names.
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Dad only visited State College once, about twenty years ago, on a whim. At a Friday happy hour, a friend said we was leaving happy hour to watch a Penn State game the next day. He asked if anyone wanted to join. Dad was on his way. Dad's memory is that there was a very long walk to the stadium. And he needed to purchase a pair of boxers. That's it. No idea what the main drag was called - College Ave. No recollection of any bars or restaurants worth visiting. No recollection what the campus looked like. We took a morning stroll through the campus - this was the weekend before Thanksgiving and the campus felt a bit dead. It didn't help that Penn State was in the midst of a down year and Nebraska was coming in for a game.
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Pure coincidence that State College was having their tree lighting / Santa comes to town celebration the same night we were in town. It was a fun affair but Charlotte was not quite aware of the Christmas present process yet - you ask Santa for a gift but he doesn't bring the gift until Christmas. All she knew was Santa = gift. There was a mini-meltdown on Allen Street.
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Dad's a big fan of going straight to a state and city's tourism website for the best information. You want to know what's going on in Pennsylvania? Go to https://www.visitpa.com/. You know the source for the best Christmas events in Pennsylvania? https://www.visitpa.com/. This November, Visit PA had a list of best small town Christmas events - Indiana's "It's a Wonderful Life" festival caught dad's attention. Jimmy Stewart was born and raised in Indiana, PA - a fact the town honors to this day. The town has a whole Christmas "season" of events with a huge kickoff parade the weekend before Thanksgiving. In the day of and after the parade, Jimmy Stewart makes an appearance. We met him at a restaurant and again the Jimmy Stewart Musuem.
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The proprietor of an Indiana gift shop described Indiana's Christmas Parade as the town's Super Bowl. In my mind, I was expecting a parade similar to the parade from A Christmas Story. A long, entertaining parade with a picturesque, wonderfully still in the 1950s street scene as the backdrop. Very high expectations.
Those expectations were met and exceeded. Before the parade started we met Mrs. Claus, Charlotte got her face painted and jumped in a bounce castle, we cooked s'mores, and ate a giant bag of popcorn. Dad found a brick ledge/wall at City Hall where we could sit and watch the parade...but as soon as Charlotte saw the first floats throwing candy we made our way to the front. The parade was phenomenal. It ran for nearly two hours. All sorts of floats. Bands and fire trucks from all over. Punxsutawney Phil made an appearance. Charlotte was enthralled and engaged the entire parade. Didn't want it to end.
Those expectations were met and exceeded. Before the parade started we met Mrs. Claus, Charlotte got her face painted and jumped in a bounce castle, we cooked s'mores, and ate a giant bag of popcorn. Dad found a brick ledge/wall at City Hall where we could sit and watch the parade...but as soon as Charlotte saw the first floats throwing candy we made our way to the front. The parade was phenomenal. It ran for nearly two hours. All sorts of floats. Bands and fire trucks from all over. Punxsutawney Phil made an appearance. Charlotte was enthralled and engaged the entire parade. Didn't want it to end.
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A foam truck preceded Santa. After the parade we had a foam party in the street.
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Back in Conshohocken we traveled local for our next Christmas - a Santa Trolley Ride in Media. An event so popular, dad could only obtain two tickets at 8:45. We made an evening of it. Dinner at Teca in Newtown Square - Cole Hamel's favorite Philadelphia area restaurant, he made be right. We had a wonderful pasta meal. In addition to the trolley ride, Media has a Christmas tradition of stringing lights through the trees at Rose Tree Park, on the northside of town. It's an impressive display - a ten-minute walk into the park, a ten-minute walk back out. I wouldn't drive all the way to Media just for the lights, however, it made for a perfect stop between dinner and seeing Santa.
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The Santa of Media's Santa Trolley was the first Santa Charlotte ever met. In November 2023, Dad caught an Instagram post from Visit Media about a new event they were launching - a Santa Trolley Ride. One of Media's distinguishing features is the SEPTA trolley that runs through the center of town. For a few Wednesday nights in December Santa would be greeting children and families on the SEPTA trolley. It was an absolutely magical experience - and you knew when it was happening that it was truly a magical, once in a lifetime event. There were only a few other families on the trolley with us. We had as much time with Santa as we wanted. The trolley was covered with all sorts of Christmas decorations. Tickets sold out immediately in 2024. Dad got lucky in 2025 with the two tickets.
We showed up this year and there was a major change to the event - no more SEPTA trolley. In its place, one of those buses designed to look like a trolley. Not quite the same. I recognized the program director from two years ago - she explained that it was a complete fluke Media was able to use the official SEPTA trolley the first year. The SEPTA representative who manages such events was on maternity leave, her replacement wasn't aware of the policies, and that's how we wound up on the SEPTA trolley the first year.
The other element of Media's Santa Trolley is the Santa is the best Santa we've ever seen. From his stature and appearance to his uniform, to his temperament and interactions, there's no better Santa and we've seen a bunch of them - even the Philadelphia Inquirer agrees. Dad now follows him on Instagram to check for next year's events.
We showed up this year and there was a major change to the event - no more SEPTA trolley. In its place, one of those buses designed to look like a trolley. Not quite the same. I recognized the program director from two years ago - she explained that it was a complete fluke Media was able to use the official SEPTA trolley the first year. The SEPTA representative who manages such events was on maternity leave, her replacement wasn't aware of the policies, and that's how we wound up on the SEPTA trolley the first year.
The other element of Media's Santa Trolley is the Santa is the best Santa we've ever seen. From his stature and appearance to his uniform, to his temperament and interactions, there's no better Santa and we've seen a bunch of them - even the Philadelphia Inquirer agrees. Dad now follows him on Instagram to check for next year's events.
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We also stayed local in Conshohocken for Christmas. We made it to their Winterfest where we saw another Santa and decorated cupcakes. Back home we made cookies to leave out for Santa.
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Christmas felt like a three-day event this year. We started the gift opening on Christmas Eve at Lola and Papa's.
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Finally - the main event. Christmas morning. The TV shows that Charlotte was watching included American Girl commercials. Charlotte kept asking for a "Barbie" for Christmas but fortunately Santa knew she wanted an American Girl doll. After opening a few presents, and no doll, Charlotte hunted down the package most likely to contain a doll - the girl has great present opening instincts.
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Santa managed to deliver a couple of classics like Lite Brite, Operation, and Hungry Hungry Hippos, as well as a new one, Don't Step In It.
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