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Valleyfair Family Fun in 2021 (And how to get the cheapest tickets!)

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Valleyfair 2021

Ahh – Valleyfair is back!

Valleyfair was closed in 2020 due to COVID but it’s BACK this year! 

We couldn’t wait to go and were so excited to go to Valleyfair on a weekend in June.

All my life I have had so many memories going to Valleyfair as a kid, teen and now a parent! Growing up in Duluth, it meant road trips to Valleyfair for and even overnight stays in the Twin Cities, and now it’s just an easy drive anytime we want! 

We knew it would be a hot day so we packed some water bottles (yes, you can bring in one sealed water bottle – one per guest!), and were super excited to pull into the parking lot!

When we arrived we posed for some pictures and then headed to the left for some of our favorites including the Tilter!

Valleyfair Tilt a Whirl

My kids went on the Scrambler while I sat and enjoyed an iced coffee from Caribou Coffee, just around the corner.

Valleyfair 2021

We then went on the Antique Cars – a CLASSIC at Valleyfair that’s been around as long as I can remember. 

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What to Do With Kids in Stillwater, Minnesota

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What to do with kids in Stillwater

Stillwater, Minnesota. It’s one of our favorite places to “get away” without really getting away.

For years, our family has visited Stillwater throughout the year for day trips, afternoon trips, evening adventures. 

It’s a beautiful, quaint city along the St. Croix river, right at the easternmost border of Minnesota. It’s only about 30 minutes from the Twin Cities so that makes it an easy, quick trip. 

One thing I really like about Stillwater is how it’s perfect for any kind of visit…romantic getaways, family fun, girlfriend outings.

And it reminds me of my hometown – Duluth, Minnesota – in so many ways. Walking along the river, the tour boats, the lift bridge…the many restaurants and hotels with river views…the gift shops galore…it both feels like home and like a vacation at the same time!

But after many years of day visits, my kids and I decided to visit for an overnight to get the full vacation experience! 

Kari’s Create & Paint Studio

Kari's Create & Paint

We started our Stillwater staycation at Kari’s Create & Paint Studio which is downtown. Here you can walk in or make an appointment to paint canvas or pottery. 

And no you don’t have to know how to do any of it!

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Experiencing a Salt Cave at Just for Me “The Spa” in Stillwater

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Salt Cave Just for Me

Girls Weekend!

This past weekend was a girls weekend as my close friend visited from out of town, so we made it a full one! (As well as we safely could during COVID!)

We spent time outside in Stillwater on Saturday, which was a beautiful day. We walked along the St. Croix River and enjoyed the scenery. (Stillwater is such a beautiful city and so close to the Twin Cities.) We also enjoyed some shopping (masked and socially distanced from others – we took our masks off for pictures).

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Driving Through the Saint Paul Winter Carnival in 2021 (Our Review)

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Saint Paul Winter Carnival Drive Thru Review

Our family experienced the Saint Paul Winter Carnival Drive-Thru on opening day, January 28, 2021, and here’s what we loved and what you can expect!

I posted about this unique event a few weeks ago. The Saint Paul Winter Carnival of course isn’t new (far from it!), but the drive-thru experience is new this year, thanks of course to COVID.

But it’s a fun experience nonetheless!

St. Paul Winter Carnival Drive-Thru

This new drive-thru experience combines TWO of the Winter Carnival’s signature events – the Ice Carving Competition and the Snow Sculpture Contest. It will be each day of the Carnival – January 28th – February 7th, 2021, at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds.

We went on opening night and enjoyed a slow drive through the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, admiring snow and ice sculptures on both sides of the road, and members of the Royal Family and Vulcan Krewe!

These guys welcomed all the cars as they arrived and posed for pictures!

Saint Paul Vulcans

Each car got a goodie bag with items, like a light-up snow wand, granola bars, and information about the event. There’s also a Bingo activity sheet you can turn in at the end if you want to do it for a chance to win prizes.

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Stillwater’s Ice Palace Maze is Cool Winter Family Fun!

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Stillwater's Ice Palace Maze

This week our family visited the new Ice Palace Maze in Stillwater, Minnesota, and it was a perfect winter family outing!

It’s a winter playground and it’s outside the Zephyr Theatre in downtown Stillwater.

The Ice Palace Maze is a half-mile long, has 8-foot-tall walls, and there are fun things to discover throughout like sculptures and even ice thrones. It’s made of 1500 real ice blocks, and even has 36-foot ice slides at the end that you can go down if you want!

This attraction will be here January 22nd through March 7th, 2021, weather permitting.

“Visiting our Ice Palace MAZE will be a fun, safe, family-focused way to celebrate winter,” said Calyssa Hall, The Zephyr Theatre’s executive director. “We hope it will bring a lot of joy to Stillwater residents and visitors.” 

It’s open during the day and evening. We went at 6pm and it was lit up so pretty! There were also fires burning for roasting s’mores – or just keeping warm.

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Sever’s Holiday Lights in Shakopee are Magical and Fun

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Sever's Holiday Lights

On Sunday my kids, mom and I all went to Sever’s Holiday Lights Drive-Thru Event in Shakopee, and we all agreed – it was magical and fun!

We have attended the Sever’s Fall Festival in previous years, and even went to their Stories, Riddles & Rhymes drive-thru event this year which was cute and whimsical. But with this COVID-quarantining at home going on month after month, we knew we had to go back for their Holiday Lights event for some more COVID-safe cheer! 

I had previously written about Sever’s Holiday Lights in my guide, Holiday Lights Drive-Thru Events in Minnesota 2020. Sever’s Holiday Lights is a “magical drive-through display of 1,200,000+ lights synchronized to festive music in Shakopee.” This was one we definitely wanted to visit as it’s privately owned, AND you it’s the only one where you get a free goodie bag when you enter!

Plus – you can go back through again and again if you want!

Sever’s Holiday Lights runs from November 26th, 2020 to January 3rd, 2021. I had heard families have been saying positive things about it and it moves along quickly. Sever’s had some busy nights including this past Saturday, but I learned that was due to another nearby lights show losing power, so they had more people than they typically would have. I should note that when we went you could buy a ticket when you enter, but they changed that since this weekend so now you MUST buy a ticket in advance online.

Pricing is:

$25 per car (for 1-7 people)
$40 per 8+ vehicles

This does not include sales tax.

Note that it’s the same price as Christmas in Color at Valleyfair which is nearby.

Our Experience

We got our ticket online in advance for the 5:00 – 6:30pm timeslot. We arrived right at 5:00pm, and there was a short line ahead of us, but it moved continuously. 

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Christmas in Color at Valleyfair is a DeLIGHTful Drive-Thru Experience (Review & Discount)

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Christmas in Color - Valleyfair

We went to Christmas in Color at Valleyfair on opening night, and had a great time!
 
We were there 30 minutes total. Our ticket time was for 5:30pm – 6:00pm but we arrived around 5:15pm. There was already a line of cars but they were already going in so we didn’t have much of a wait and the line kept moving.

Here’s the view from entering the parking lot:

Christmas in Color - Valleyfair
 
The entrance had a huge lighted “wall” that cars drove through.
 

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GLOW Holiday Festival Drive-Thru Light Experience Lit Up Our Season

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Glow Holiday Festival review

After hearing that Governor Walz has announced new COVID restrictions for the next month, we weren’t surprised, but certainly could use a bit of cheering up. It’s been a tough year for everyone.

But not everything is closed! There are many drive-thru holiday lights events this season, and we got a sneak peek at the all-new GLOW Holiday Festival which is at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds from November 19th, 2020 to January 3rd, 2021!

It definitely cheered us all up, and we got to enjoy it from the warm comfort of our car!

GLOW logo

As I posted last month, GLOW is a one-mile drive-thru that has a dozen seasonal scenes. There are over a million holiday lights, a 100-foot illuminated tree, icicle and art installations, a festive gingerbread house, and other attractions.

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Relax at Cobblestone Hotel & Suites in Austin, Minnesota

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Cobblestone Suites relax

We recently headed to Austin, Minnesota for a much-needed weekend getaway, and oh my gosh, we had such a fun, relaxing visit! (Watch for my full review soon!)

Have you ever been to Austin, Minnesota? It’s about 90 minutes south of the Twin Cities, and it is home of Hormel Foods and the SPAM Museum. We enjoyed so many attractions here, but we also enjoyed a comfortable stay at a brand new hotel, the Cobblestone Suites & Hotel!

The Cobblestone Hotel & Suites just opened up this summer of 2020, and has many amenities for an affordable price, so we were excited to try out this new hotel for our stay.

Cobblestone Hotel & Suites is located right near both interstate 90 and highway 218, and is just a few minutes from downtown, so it’s super convenient. 

Cobblestone Suites Austin

Cobblestone has a beautiful. elegant lobby with Seattle’s Best coffee available 24/7 (of course I had some :).

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Scheels in Eden Prairie is a Shopping & Entertainment Wonderland for Families

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Scheels Eden Prairie

Have you heard about Scheels?

Scheels in Eden Prairie originally opened in 2006 as a 20,000 square-foot retail store specializing in sports products, fashion and footwear.

This summer, they moved to a newly built 250,000 square-foot location in the Eden Prairie Center. It’s more than a shopping experience now, and has everything from a 65-foot ferris wheel, a 16,000-gallon aquarium, a cafe, a candy shop, a toy shop, plus many interactive games and activities for the whole family.     

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