There are a lot of fun things to do for Christmas in Kansas City. There are several drive-thru and walk-thru light shows, Christmas pop up bars all over the city and festive decor inside and outside. This was my first time going to Enchant Christmas Kansas City and I have to say it’s a must-do for your Christmas activities list.
Having grown up in KC on the Missouri side, I’ve done a lot of festive activities over the years. But Enchant Christmas was a BLAST, even for two fully grown adults (my mom and I) and no kids. We arrived early and weren’t sure how long we’d end up staying and were there for 3 hours. In the cold! (And I really, really dislike being cold.)
So if you’re looking for a fun, festive Christmas activity, this one is definitely magical!
About Enchant Christmas
Enchant Christmas is a giant outdoor maze of Christmas lights. If you’re looking for Christmas light displays, this is it. Nearly everything around you is made of lights. There are giant light presents, a giant light Christmas tree, a light sleigh and even light toys!
The idea for Enchant came from two Canadians who created light displays and eventually came up with the idea of a light maze. The first event in 2016 was a huge success and they’ve since expanded to several locations around the US.
Enchant Locations:
Themes
One of the things that makes it fun for kids (and adults) is that there are themes to the light mazes. Each theme revolves around saving Christmas so there are things to find within the maze that go along with the story. They’re different each year and rotate around the locations but it’s a fun mission for kids.
For 2023, the theme for Enchant Christmas Kansas City was ‘The Mischievous Elf’. Once you entered the maze, you were looking for 8 stolen toys to help save Christmas.
It truly is magical walking around. There are photo ops galore and they even have fake snow blowing in certain areas. I was convinced for a full hour that it was actually snowing (it was really cold the night we went!) until my mom ruined the magic and pointed up at the snow machine.
Our tickets ended up being $39 each + $15 each for ice skating and $15 for preferred parking.
Enchant Christmas Kansas City
How to Get There: Enchant Christmas Kansas City is located at the Legends Field in Kansas. Since it’s a little further away for us, we went early to do some shopping at the Legends Outlets. For the event, the best way to get there is to enter off of N 110 St. They have other sections blocked off with signs up as well.
Parking: Regular parking for the event is $10. I wasn’t sure what the parking situation would be like since it was at the Legends Field. I was also going with my parents who are older and I didn’t want them to walk for forever in the cold, so we paid $5 more for preferred parking. It gets you closer to the entrance.
If you’re going early in the evening, you’ll have a closer spot but it might be worth paying for preferred if you arrive later.
Things to Do
There are several things to do while you’re here–hence the 3-hour evening my mom and I had. Bundle up and make sure you’re ready to make a night of it!
Holiday Village
To the left of the entrance is where you’ll find the Holiday Village–shops and stalls selling locals crafts and goods. You can find things like candles, sweets, jams and ornaments.
Tip: If you end up buying something at one of the stores but haven’t gone into the maze yet, ask them if they’ll hold it for you! Ours put our name and number on the bag and we were able to grab it on our way out.
Food Trucks
At the back of the field is where you can find the food trucks for some grab-and-go dinner. There are a few fire pits outside to sit around or there’s a warming tent with some tables and heaters inside too. The food we had was so-so and our food was cold within a minute because of the temperature outside.
Snack Bars
If you’re looking for drinks or something more snack-like, you can head to one of the snack bars around the field. There are several throughout the event area, so you shouldn’t have to wait very long.
You can buy popcorn, reindeer Chex mix, hot chocolate…things like that. They also have adorable light bulb drinks (some alcoholic, some not) that light up from the bottom. I got one of the non-alcoholic options and it tasted sort of like a virgin, sour margarita. (Would have been better off with a hot chocolate but the light bulb cup was too cute ha.)
The Light Maze
The main attraction at Enchant is of course the light maze. The entrance to the maze explains the story and the ‘problem’ where you need to help Santa by finding his stolen toys. I think kids can also grab a check-off list to collect stickers or something at each toy. (We only noticed that some kids had something at the end.)
Wandering around is a lot of fun and there are all sorts of fun light displays to find. There are lamp posts, trees and giant presents all around the maze. There are light pillars outside the entrance and a long light tunnel we found in one area. We also saw a Rubik’s cube and a light up floor from the holiday village but forgot to find it once we were in the maze.
In different corners of the maze, you come across some of the stolen toys which are also made out of lights. The giant teddy bear and toy plane were so cute! Like I said, it was just as fun for me and my mom as it would be to go with kids.
In the middle of the maze is where you’ll find the giant Christmas tree which is surrounded by tall light presents of different colors. This is a fun area to take some pictures because there’s so many colors and lights.
And on our way towards the exit, we found another fun light tunnel with hanging lights!
Ice Skating Trail
Another fun thing about Enchant Christmas is that they have ice skating trails that take you through a winter wonderland of white trees and fake snow. (Yes, I now know it’s fake.) It’s next to the maze so you can see the Christmas tree lit up nearby and it’s a very festive/magical atmosphere.
It’s an additional $15 per person to go ice skating but it was money well spent. My mom and I didn’t even stay out there long but we had so much fun and laughed till we cried. The crowd out there on the ice with us could not skate to save their lives (including us) and people were falling and flailing right and left.
Meet Santa and Mrs. Claus
At Santa’s Landing is where you can take the kids to visit Santa. You can get some professional photos taken while you’re there or snap some yourself. There’s also a play place for smaller kids in another area where they can do some coloring and story time.
My mom and I did a whole week of Christmas activities while I was in town and this was our favorite by far. They do such a good job with the light maze and have thought of everything. If you’re nearby one of the locations–definitely add this to your list!
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