Family Holiday Tradition - Hershey Sweet Lights

A few years ago, my family started an annual holiday tradition. Every year we get together as a family and drive down to Hershey Sweet Lights with the kids. If you've never visited before, this Hershey attraction is located near the Hershey Outlet Mall and is very easy to get to. They open up right after Thanksgiving and run through New Year's.

I recommend visiting on a weekday evening which is less crowded and a little bit cheaper. During the weekdays, it costs $20 per car and during the weekends it costs $25.00 per car. If you go during the weekend, expect longer lines and more visitors. Your price of admission includes two free pair of 3D glasses, which really bring the holiday lights to life. If you need more, you'll have to pay for them or bring your own from home.

Every time we go...we make up snack bags for the kids and bring along our own beverages. I also recommend dressing the kids in warmer clothing and bringing along a few throw blankets. You'll want to wind down the windows to see the holiday lights without a glare and to take photographs along the way. You can bring along your own holiday music or tune your radio in on their radio station, so that you can listen to Christmas while you're there.

There are two lanes through their holiday light display and you have to stay in your own lane, do not pass other vehicles, do not stop your vehicle and don't get out of it. All of these rules are in place for safety and I highly recommend that you follow them. With that said, don't feel like you're in a hurry and have to drive through quickly due to some impatient driver behind you. We take our time and if those behind us don't like it...well, that's on them.

There are hundreds of different holiday light displays and I think it's broken down really nicely. You'll see all kinds of classic Christmas icons like Frosty the Snowman, Santa Claus, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and many others along the way. One of my favorite sections is the Enchanted Forest and the little one's always enjoy the section that features holiday light displays of their favorite Nursery Rhyme characters.

As we drive through...the kids like to play "spot it" type's of games. They try to "spot" Rudolph and count how many times that they see him. This year they also tried to count how many times they saw a snowman and how many times they spotted an owl. You can make up your own fun games too!

You'll find a small public restroom there, however...I don't recommend that you use it. If your family needs a bathroom break, I suggest using the public restrooms over at the Hershey Outlet Mall before  and/or after your holiday lights sightseeing tour. They're cleaner and more spacious.

From start to finish...it takes us approximately 40 minutes to drive through. There is no time limit, so you can go as fast or as slow as you would like. Before visiting Hershey Sweet Lights, you do want to plan ahead and follow some of the tips that I've previously blogged about and you can find those HERE.

Happy Holidays and we'll see Hershey Sweet Lights again next year!

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