Easton Town Center is full of holiday cheer! The open air mall is not just for shopping – this season they are offering a plethora of family-oriented holiday fun. Including pictures with Santa for only $5! Seriously?! Yes, take a look at all the holiday entertainment and events going on at Easton from now until the New Year:
* The 12th Annual Holiday Lighting Ceremony – Friday, Nov. 19th at 6:00 p.m. on the Town Square. Santa Claus and his special guest will arrive in a horse-drawn carriage to light the 50-foot tree and over one million twinkling lights that blanket the town center.
* 24 Days of Giving – free $50 Easton gift cards are being given once per hour to patrons randomly caught feeding Easton’s parking meters from Dec. 1st – 23rd from 12-8p.m. Winners will also be automatically entered into a random drawing for a $500 gift card.
* Easton’s Mile of Style – from November 29 through December 14th, guests are able to enter this annual $10,000 shopping spree for free online at www.eastontowncenter.com or by calling WNCI radio station at select times. On December 17th, all 97 finalists will gather inside the Easton station building where one grand prize winner will be selected, and all finalists will receive a gift. Media is invited to watch the spree winner spend all the money, as they must complete it by the end of the day! In addition, Easton Town Center will donate $2,500 to the elementary, middle or high school of the winner’s choosing.
* Free Family Photos – Here’s a treat. On Saturdays in December from 2-5p.m. , a roaming photographer will take photos of you and your family enjoying the holidays, and mail the photos to your home, completely free of charge.
* Holiday Carriage Rides – when was the last time you saw a horse and buggy inside your local mall? Well, come on out to Easton, where you can take a ride with your family or maybe a sweetheart for just $10 per person; children under 15 ride free with an adult. The relaxed clippity-clop of hoofs on brick at Easton is a central Ohio holiday tradition. Carriage rides are on Fridays and Saturdays, 6-10p.m. and Sundays, 3-7p.m., with extra dates Dec. 20-23 leading up to Christmas.
* Live Reindeer – Donner and Blitzen are back… but only for a short while before they’re off to guide Santa’s sleigh! Children of all ages will enjoy the chance to see live reindeer on display at Easton Town Center once again December 18th and 19th from 1-5 p.m.
* Visits with Santa – as soon as Santa finishes his parade on Nov. 19, he immediately moves into the Easton Station Building to setup residence. Children can visit him every day but Thanksgiving Day and get their photos taken for just $5 for a 5×7, or for free if you bring your own camera.
* Street Musicians – a saxophone quartet dressed in traditional long, black wool coats, holiday-hued caps, scarves and Dickens-esk fingerless gloves. A foursome a cappella group, harmonizing traditional carols with modern style while wearing brightly colored wool coats and scarves. Old town carolers singing holiday classics. A brass quartet with trumpets. Each of these will roam Easton at various times from Nov. 19 to Dec. 24.
* The Easton Express – our signature outdoor train display has moved to the town square and is even bigger now. Designed by a Columbus Garden Railway Society member, the train display twists and wind among evergreens, tunnels, bridges, houses and buildings on over 400 feet of rail. Locomotives decked in lights chug rhythmically and blow their whistles. Cabooses and lighted cars travel through colorfully decorated holiday scenery. Children stare for hours. All-aboard for holiday fun.
* Easton Trolley Stop at Central Park – an outdoor stand where visitors can purchase hot cider and hot chocolate on Fridays 3-8 and Saturdays from 11-8 p.m. and Sundays from 12-6 p.m.
160 Easton Town Center
Columbus, OH 43219
Phone: 614-416-7000
If you decide to take the family, here are some tips:
- Weekends will be crowded. If this bothers you, plan to go during the week.
- Parking is available in lots and at meters throughout the shopping complex. Drive around until you find a spot where you’d like to park and don’t forget where it is! (coming from experience…yeah.). Bring change for meters.
- Dress for the weather. You will be outside most of the time.
- There’s tons of places to eat – grabbing lunch with the kiddies and seeing Santa would be a fun day! Check out Easton’s site for restaurant listings.
- If you are shopping, plan ahead. Heavy shopping with kids and seeing Santa would put my kids over the edge. Perhaps plan to hit a couple of stores, but make the rest of the visit about your kids.
