Visit The Christmas Village in Ogden
By Darren Nelson, feature writer for My Local Utah
Thanksgiving weekend officially marks the beginning of the holiday season. Family gatherings, food, annual traditions, and shopping will likely fill your calendar from now until the first of the year.
If you are looking for something fun to do with the whole family, Ogden’s annual Christmas Village is one you won’t want to miss. This year marks the 60th year of the Christmas Village events that have taken place. To celebrate their diamond jubilee, they are giving away a diamond bracelet and necklace—donated by Kenneth Cassar with the Diamond Room—to 2 Christmas Village visitors.
Enter the raffle for this giveaway by filling out a form at the Christmas Village Store located near the north entrance. You can also enter the raffle at the Diamond Room at 131 25th Street in Ogden before December 19, 2022.
Festivities start Saturday Night, November 26, in at 2549 Washington Blvd in downtown Ogden. Parking can be found either on the street or in the Municipal Bldg. parking lot located off of 26th Street.
Admission is free to all visitors. So, bring the entire family and enjoy the food and fun!
What Is the Village?
This large Christmas display makes it appear as though Santa has moved his North Pole operations to northern Utah. The village is the heart of Ogden’s holiday tradition. A warm and inviting atmosphere allows you to stroll through a multitude of small Christmas cottages on display, live entertainment, and tasty treats to enjoy. Everyone in your group will enjoy the lights, lots of Christmas lights in every direction throughout the village.
Opening Day
Festivities begin with the annual Santa Run on Saturday the 26th at 4:30 pm. Clusters of runners (or walkers) of all ages dressed like Santa Claus is a sight to see, or even participate in. If you register for this event, you get a Santa hat, suit, and beard to wear at the run.
The Holiday Electric light parade follows at 5:30 pm and runs along Washington Boulevard. Then at 6:30 pm, a short opening ceremony is held at the amphitheater, followed by fireworks and the lights of the village being turned on.
The Traditions
Santa is here! Children can visit Santa for free. You can bring your own camera and get some photos with Ol’ Saint Nick Monday through Saturday.
In addition to the opening day events, other traditions dot the village calendar. The annual Breakfast with Santa will be held on Saturday morning, December 10. Santa and Mrs. Claus will be there with Christmas Village Elves, magicians, face painters, and balloon artists. Throw in some waffles, breakfast meat, eggs, and other sweets, this will be a hit with the kids.
You will also find the Christmas train and carriage rides at the village, but the main event is really walking the village and seeing the displays.
Keeping It Free
Children can visit Santa, ride trains, see all the displays, and enjoy the firework show all for free! The Christmas Village is free to everyone due to generous community donations. Donations are also used to add new displays and repair or update some of the old ones. You can help too by donating at places in the village or online here.
Come to The Christmas Village this holiday season and soak up some Christmas spirit. Visit downtown Ogden while you are here. Plenty of restaurants, entertainment, and things to see this time of year.
To learn more about the village and its calendar of events, click here.