Christmas in Santa Claus, Indiana!

*Disclaimer:  I was provided with complimentary lodging and tickets.  No other compensation was provided.*

A few weekends ago the girls and I took a little road trip from Nashville to Santa Claus, Indiana.  It’s a perfect drive because takes less than 3 hours to get there.  I’m all about road trips that are under 4 hours!

Now if you’re anything like my friend Natasha of Houseful of Nicholes then this is definitely the place for you. The town is spreads holiday joy 365 days a year.  A fun fact about the name of the town is that they were originally going to be named Santa Fe but there was already a town by that name in Indiana.

Spencer County Visitor’s Bureau was gracious enough to reach out again and took charge by planning a great weekend of fun for my daughters, mom and me.  We hung out in the city for 3 days 2 nights and were hosted by Santa’s Lodge.  The front part of the hotel used to be a barn and the rest of the hotel was added on.  The hotel has a restaurant, Santa’s Toy Shop, a gift shop and indoor pool.  Everything you need is almost within walking distance but this time of year its a bit chilly so its better to hop in the car.

The nice thing about the town is that there are no franchise places to eat or shop so everything is pretty much locally owned.  One night after dinner we hit up Frosty’s Fun Center & Arcade.  There’s a diner on one side and ice cream and arcade on the other side.  2 scoops of ice cream was dang near enough for all four of us…LOL!

This year we made it to the Christmas parade in Rockport, Indiana and on the way back to Santa Claus I saw a sign for a winery.  Y’all know I had to make a little detour and sample some local wines.  I always like to shop small when I’m out of town and what better way to do that than to support a local winery.  Just doing my part to help the economy!

The name of the winery we visited was Pepper’s Ridge Winery.  It was nestled back in the woods down this one lane rock road that literally looked like the scene out of every scary movie.  But once we arrived I was relieved to see this cute little building on top of a hill.  Phew…I was not in the mood to be running from someone wielding a chainsaw and chasing after us!  I ended up getting an Elderberry wine and Cranberry wine.  Elderberry is known for its immune support qualities so I figured I could enjoy wine while keeping myself healthy!  Win win!

And you can’t visit without making a stop by Santa’s Toys. There are toys for all ages and every time we visit swing by and take a peek inside of Santa’s workshop where the elves are working pretty hard.  They have a lot of toys you just won’t find anywhere else and the staff is always so nice.  Also be sure to sign up for their email list so you can save on all those gifts.  Don’t forget they’re open year round so you can also buy for birthdays as well.

Our last night in Santa Claus, Indiana we had dinner with Santa at the hotel then swung by Santa’s Candy Castle and had some chestnuts roasting over an open fire.  If you haven’t had them before you definitely need to try them.  I can’t even explain the taste and still not sure if I liked them or not.  HAHA!  The candy shop is known for their frozen hot chocolate as well as just about every type of candy you had growing up.  I could have spent all day!

The great part about visiting Santa Claus, Indiana is that the holiday spirit is there all year long so if you missed going during Christmas you can still experience the fun any time of year.  Also be sure to check out when we visited before about the 5 Places You Don’t Want to Miss When You Visit Santa Claus, Indiana.  Be sure to let me know if you been before and what your favorite thing to do was and if you haven’t been it’s fun for the entire family!