Kid-Friendly Holiday Activities in KC

Round up the kiddos and get ready to make some festive memories. Contributor Katie Currid has gathered up the best KC has to offer for family-friendly activities this holiday season.

Take a ride on the mini KCNRR!

We love the miniature Kansas City Northern Railroad for a lot of reasons — it’s run by enthusiastic volunteers, our son flips out over it, and it’s cheap! Tickets are 75 cents, and you can’t beat that. Their normal season is through the summer months, but they regularly do holiday events for things like Halloween and Christmas. Check out the railroad on Dec. 14 from 12-4 p.m. (weather pending) for a winter holiday version, complete with hot chocolate! Find more information on their Facebook page.

Ice skating (and more) at Crown Center

We’ll let you all argue over whether Crown Center or Union Station is the place to be in KC for Christmas — but does it even matter, since you can walk between the two without going outside through the skywalk? Every inch of Crown Center is covered in Christmas, whether you’re indoors or out. You can’t visit the area without going ice skating at the Ice Terrace, and little ones will even love their breaks off the ice, watching the Zamboni smooth out the ice with hot chocolate in hand. There’s also a large Christmas tree next to the ice terrace and large wooden cars, trains and other vehicles for your kids to play in before they get too cold! Inside, you can check out the free holiday exhibit at Santa’s Gingerbread Station, complete with pictures with Santa, interactive play and lots of trains to check out.

Hop on the holiday express at Union Station

Union Station is quintessential Kansas City Christmas (crowds and all — haha!) but they have so many great, inexpensive activities for the holidays. See your favorite holiday movies, like Elf or the Polar Express (which is billed as a pajama party!) for $3, or see one of the many live performances that occur all throughout the holiday season. They’ve got trains galore in Union Station, too — which is fitting, since it’s a train station. If it’s cold outside, take a ride on the mini holiday express train for $5/ride in the back of Union Station, and then afterwards, go even smaller and check out the free miniature train exhibit. The miniature train sets are there all year around, but of course they deck them out for the holidays! Or, go big or go home with the Southern Holiday Express Train, which is a full-size train decked out in lights and complete with a Santa, parked on the tracks from Dec. 18-22 — and it’s free! See a full schedule of events, including a Noon Year’s Eve at Science City and plenty of Christmas concerts and recitals, on Union Station’s holiday page.

See the lights

There are places to enjoy a good festive light show in many corners of KC. Longview Lake out east in Lee’s Summit hosts a drive-thru light show, Christmas in the Park, that you can enjoy from the comfort of your car — for free (they also accept donations to local charities). Up north, you’ve got options with the drive through Lane of Lights in Excelsior Springs ($5 suggested donation), or the Liberty Light Show at Pleasant Valley Baptist Church in Liberty (free) — a huge light show and concert that you view from your car like a drive-in movie! They also have automated versions that aren’t live that run during weekdays. You can also enjoy nature even in the winter with the Powell Gardens’ lighted pathways during their Festival of Lights. The gardens sell hot chocolate to keep you warm — spiked for you, original for the kids — and they’ve got events going on every weekend leading up until Christmas.

Have a Zoo Yule

You may try to stick to the zoo in the warmer months, but the Kansas City Zoo does have a lot of holiday events during the holiday season. Find Santa all over the park, like during their Winter Wonderland weekend, featuring Santa and Mrs. Claus giving presents to animals throughout the park, or see Santa scuba dive with the penguins at Penguin Plaza and take a photo with him! You can also go to see a real, live march of the penguins.

Go to a Christmas tree farm

Whether you’re cutting down a tree or just wanting to take in the scent of the firs while taking some fun family photos, there are lots of places to go in the Kansas City area. If you’re up north, there’s Fulk Farms in Platte City with their collection of antique tractors and adorable red barn, Christmas Ranch Farm in Excelsior Springs, and Reindeer Lane out in Trimble. If you’re out west, Strawberry Hill Christmas Tree Farm is near Lawrence, or there’s Wilderson Tree Farm in Basehor. East of the city, there’s Pumpkins and Pines in Pleasant Hill or Kennedy’s Country Farm in Greenwood. And out south, you can pick from D & G Christmas Tree Farm in Louisburg or Bierman’s Christmas Tree Farm in KCK. Happy hunting!

Walk the WinterFest at Worlds of Fun

Just because summer is over doesn’t mean the fun has ended at Worlds of Fun! The amusement park opens for the winter holiday with Winterfest, complete with themed shows and exhibits, as well as the standard rides and plenty of holiday-themed food from around the world to warm you up.

Markets and Christmas events galore

It might be cold outside, but with everything going on in KC, there’s no way you’re staying home! On Dec. 6, check out Christmas on the River in historic downtown Parkville, which features live performances, a train ride and Dickens Carolers. Also on Dec. 6, enjoy the Soul of Santa tree lighting down at 18th and Vine, followed by a concert at the historic Gem Theater. Downtown Shawnee will have a Christkindlmarkt on Dec. 7, complete with fruit cake races and live reindeer.