Holiday Magic Christmas Event at the Washington State Fair
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Disclosure: The WA State Fair provided us tickets to this event for the purpose of sharing our thoughts & experiences. All opinions are 100% my own.
Holiday Magic Christmas Event at the Washington State Fair
The Washington State Fair is back hosting a Christmas event and this year, they are hosting Holiday Magic, a walk-through event at the fairgrounds in Puyallup, WA. Holiday Magic is only open on select dates, so you’ll want to hurry & book your ticket. It has such a wide variety of things to do, though, that it’s great for multiple ages, especially if you are visiting with extended family & friends.
You’ll find everything from ice skating to a train ride to see the lights or riding the Merry-Go-Round while looking at the light displays. There are a few of the activities that are outdoors, but they got really creative & have a number of exhibits & light displays completely covered in the barns & arenas, so it’s perfect for any type of weather (especially as the Northwest tends to be so wet in December).
This was definitely one of the highlights of Christmas events for us – one of our favorites as it really seemed to have something for everyone to enjoy & such a great variety of activities to keep everyone entertained & engaged!
Find out all of the details of what to expect & tips for visiting Holiday Magic at the fairgrounds!
We share Washington State Fair Tickets Discounts here for the regular fair too.
Hours/ Dates of the Event & Cost:
- Dates: Dec. 6-7, 12-15, & 18-23
- Hours: 5pm – 10pm – last entry at 9:30pm
- Entrance: Enter at the Green Gate off Fairview Drive and park for FREE in the Green Lot.
Price:
Online Purchase:
- General (ages 13+): $22.50
- Child (ages 6 – 12): $17.50
- Child (ages 3-5): $12.50
- Kids 2 & under: FREE
- Ice Skating: $8.00 (Includes skate rental; Holiday Magic admission required; Must be age 2+)
Purchase at the gate:
- General (ages 13+): $25.00
- Child (ages 6 – 12): $18.00
- Child (ages 3-5): $13
- Kids 2 & under: FREE
- Ice Skating: $10.00 (Includes skate rental; Holiday Magic admission required; Must be age 2+)
- 3-D Glasses: $3.00
Best Way to Save: We saw this available in previous years, so it may come back this year too! Get $5 off regular admission ticket prices when you purchase on-site after 8:00 pm! The last entry is at 9:30 pm. That means adults would be $17.50 & kids would be $12.50
What to Expect at the Holiday Magic Display?
When you first enter the fair, you’ll walk thru the white tunnel of lights & there is someone there handing out maps & pamphlets detailing all of the events at Holiday Magic. This was so helpful as I had looked online beforehand, but it was great to be able to figure everything out as we went. You will start in Sillyville, but the Holiday Magic extends to all the barns (up to the horse show barn), so it’s a good-sized event.
Plus, the best part is that much of the event is held indoors in covered areas. Now I’d still bundle up as even though it’s covered from the rain, many of the animal barns are utilized for the light displays or exhibits & there is no heat (or little heat) so you’ll want to bundle up, but at least you’ll stay dry!
Exhibits:
Santa’s Express Train – The train ride is included in your admission & is one of the few outdoor events. This is a short train ride, but it’s so fun to ride around & see all the Christmas lights around Sillyville. The lines may be long, but we found the line went pretty fast. Or make sure to ride it at the beginning of the night or later in the evening.
Sugar Plum Merry Go-Round – Right next to the train & Santa’s Village is the Merry-go-round, which is also included in your admission to ride. Riders must be over 2 yrs of age. Even we adults got on the ride at the end of the night and it was a fun end to our evening (we waited to ride it until the very end as it was busier earlier in the evening. Bonus- since there was no one in line, they gave us an extra long ride, too!)
Santa’s Village – this is a walk-thru event that is mostly indoors, but you walk from building to building. This exhibit was really well done & even though it’s geared towards the younger kiddo crowd, my teens still had fun & enjoyed themselves. When you enter, they will hand kids a mini stocking to hold & collect items along the way. You’ll wander thru Santa’s workshop, with some fun toys like a giant teddy bear & a huge life-size basketball my girls had fun bouncing.
The Kringle Candy Factory was so fun & whimsical, it felt like a miniature version of Charlie & the Chocolate Factory. Plus, there’s a special surprise when you leave as they have a “candy shrinker” you can activate. The Winter Wrap shop was a great place for little kids (or big kids or kids at heart) to get their coloring on with the huge coloring boards (dry-erase boards) they could take their turn on. Plus, take home crayons & coloring sheets for home. When you leave Santa’s Village, they will send you a cookie & glass of milk too (so if you have kids with allergies, you might want to bring an option for them)
The Manger – We loved visiting the animals & checking out the live-animal nativity scene with the manger. So sweet & special to see the animals grazing in front of the nativity scene. One of my personal favorite parts of the event!
Artic Adventure – At the far end of the Holiday Magic event (in the horse arena barns near the front of the fairgrounds/main gate), you will come to the Artic Adventure. This is such a unique feature that I haven’t seen before & it was a laser light & special effects show. You will sit in the bleachers & watch the show as long as you’d like. The full show is an hour long, so you could stay the whole time or just catch a few minutes. Little ones may not be as much of a fan because the lights are quite bright, but you could give it a try & see what they think.
Chillville – Next to the Arctic Adventure, is Chillville, a place to sit down & rest & relax while you grab a cup of complimentary hot cocoa. Plus, they have a topping bar & they will load you up with fun toppings for your hot cocoa. This is a large barn, so tables are nice & spread out to relax, along with some fun Frozen photo opps. And there is character cotton candy, too!
Selfie Barn – I can’t remember the formal name of this barn, but this was my teen’s favorite part of the activity. They loved all the fun selfie setups & taking silly pictures with their friends. They had a National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation setup, a black light room, a tropical beach & more.
Light Extravaganza – They had several fun light tunnels outside & then one giant light tunnel in a barn that wound around & was so fun! We loved that you could get pictures indoors in this cool light tunnel in the barn or outside & they made the best pictures!
Joy around the World – this was a barn full of information & pictures sharing about the different customs & holidays around the world. It was done in a way that was easy to understand & we found it very educational & interesting. I loved that they included information about the Native American tribes including here in Puyallup & some information about the customs & celebrations they have.
Hometown Holiday Forest – this is a barn that has trees decorated by community organizations & businesses around the local area, so it was a interesting way to learn more about the local community & see some pretty Christmas trees.
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Ice Skating – The ice skating takes place in the same barn as the holiday market, so some in your family can shop while the others ice skate if you want. This was an activity that you did need to pay extra for and I recommend you purchase your tickets ahead of time in case it sells out, if you are sure you want to do it. It is smaller rink and can get crowded, so I’d recommend choosing an earlier or later time when it might not get as busy. Ice skating costs $8/person including skate rental (when purchased online) or $10 on site. Only kids 2 & older can skate.
Food at the Fair:
One of the best parts of Holiday Magic is the fact that it’s at the Washington State Fairgrounds, so you get to enjoy some of the nostalgic fair food when you visit! Yum! Our favorite fair food, Fisher Scones, was there front & center, easy to find. We love picking up a Baker’s Dozen & bringing some extras home for breakfast the next day!
If you want to enjoy dinner while you’re there, they did have burgers, pizza & Manic Meatballs. Plus, their dessert options are always delicious – dole whip, elephant ears, funnel cakes & more!
If you are with teens or going for a friend night or date night, they also have a 21+ Yeti Bar & Fire Pit next to the ice skating arena to sit & relax & enjoy a drink around the fire.
Shopping:
Inside the barn with ice skating is also a shopping area. Perfect for parents as one parent can be ice skating & having fun with the kiddos, while the other one enjoys the shops. Or if you have older kids or teens, you can shop while they skate. Win-win!
We didn’t have a chance to sshop, except to go in there & take a peek, but it looked like they had some great options for shopping including Seattle Fudge, jerky, specialty nuts, specialty olive oils, cute home items & so much more.
There is also a little stand when you first enter the Holiday Magic event for buying light-up items to enjoy at the Christmas event.
Tips for Your Visit:
- Buy your tickets online (you’ll save up to $2.50/ticket) and if you are thinking about going ice skating, buy those tickets ahead of time (they have several dates already sold out ahead of time, and they may sell out of more dates).
- If you do want to ice skate, I’d suggest picking either a time slot closer to when it opens or during the later hours. It was quite busy when we were there around 7:30 (& the ice skating rink is a smaller rink) -but when we walked by around 9pm, it was much quieter until closing time.
- Save the most by buying your tickets in person after 8pm & you’ll save $5 on your tickets. You’ll only be able to be there from 8-10pm, but it’s a great way to save more! And may be perfect for a friend or date night or if you have older kids/teens.
- Dress warmly. Only a few areas are outside, but most of the activities are held in the barns & they may be open air on the side (but well covered from the rain) or fully enclosed but without heat. So, even though you should stay dry, I’d still bundle up for the cold so you’re all prepared. But we were thankful for the covered barns if it’s rainy.
- Bring glow sticks or light-up necklaces, hats, etc . These light displays/Christmas events are always more fun when you get into the Christmas spirit. Dress up in your favorite Christmas outfit & bring some extra lights for the kids to enjoy. They will also have light-up items for sale when you first enter the event.
- Visit on New Year’s Eve & they will have a special fireworks display at 9pm – a fun way to celebrate & ring in the new year!
- Donate to their Warm Hearts Winter Drive -they will be collecting cash donations and warm winter items for local homeless shelters, so you can bring along items like coats, hats, gloves, etc with you to donate. (I did not see where they were collecting items when we were there, but I would ask when you enter at the gates)
