Holiday Magic Experience at Brookfield Zoo

We’ve been doing all the Christmas things lately! After a mostly quiet weekend at home, Graham had the idea of going to see holiday lights at Brookfield Zoo. I bought our tickets to the Holiday Magic experience online to save $1 per ticket and we made our way to Brookfield, which is typically a 45-minute drive from our place.

We underestimated how popular this event would be, and our drive added an extra 30 minutes because of a ridiculously long line for parking. Tip 1: Arrive early. The zoo is open all day before the event so you should just make a day of it. It turned out OK, though, because our V just took a nap in her car seat on the way there and we listened to music while checking out the supermoon.

Tip 2: Dress in warm layers. It was a chilly evening once the sun set. I am glad I wore my winter jacket because I almost left my house without it!

By the time we got to the zoo I was starving so one of our first stops was at a cafeteria for dinner. Brookfield Zoo was offering tamales for Holiday Magic and I was grateful they had a vegetarian option: Poblanos and cheese. They were delicious! (They were made with a bit too much masa but the filling was tasty.)

Every walkway is lined with Christmas trees that have been decorated by various groups and families. Tip 3: It’s helpful to take a map of the holiday attractions so you can see what you want. (Though it’s so dark and hard to even see it without the light from your phone screen!) Santa was available at a certain time period, but we skipped that so that we didn’t spend our entire time in line. We do plan to take V to see Santa, though!

By the way, you don’t need kids to have fun at this event, though you must be tolerant of them; they are everywhere! We had a fun and festive evening worth every penny.

The remaining dates are Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 9-10 and 16-17 and Tuesday-Sunday, Dec. 26-31. Brookfield Zoo is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Holiday Magic festivities begin at 4 p.m.

Have you visited any holiday attractions where you live?