At the Heart of Christmas - The North Pole

Talk about tiny tots with their eyes all aglow and visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads…just wait till you tell your kids that you are taking them to the North Pole. 1,750 miles from the actual North Pole, North Pole, Alaska is known worldwide as the home of Santa Clause.

The Santa Clause House, open in 1952, is open year round for tourists and is the main attraction in this small city of only 1,600. In addition to featuring the rosy nosed, white-haired man with the tummy full of jelly, the house has picturesque decorations as well as Christmas and Alaskan gifts and collectibles. Seeing the big guy right in his own home will be a moment children will remember forever.

Explore Tours is an Alaska-based tourism company offers package trips to the North Pole. The two-night getaway includes an evening with Santa and his elves, a dogsled ride, and a visit to Santa’s house. The three-night package, which may be the best for pleasing the kids as well as mom and dad, adds an “Arts in the Arctic” program at the University of Alaska Museum of the North, a mini city tour, and one night at Chena Hot Springs resort.

If you’re already in Alaska, you may want to check out Fairbanks where the hot springs are located, only thirteen miles from the North Pole. Compared with mystical hot springs all over Europe, the Chena Hot Springs are believed to be relaxing and to help with skin, circulatory, and breathing disorders. Chena Hot Springs resort is an “ice-stonishing” place to get away whether you want to bond over outdoor activities with the kids or curl up by the fire with your significant other.

Some of the specialized activities in Fairbanks are various “flight tours” of the area by plane, horse-drawn wagon rides, ice fishing, gold panning, dog sled rides, dog mushing school, sleigh rides and snowshoe hikes. If you do go in the winter, don’t leave without seeing the northern lights, beautiful colors that flash across the night sky including green, red and purple that are visible all night. The Aurora Borealis Lodge offers night tours and warm seating to view the lights from a 360-degree view. Skiing is also a big draw and there is plenty of it around.

If you do decide to venture to Alaska, make sure to pack lots of long underwear; winter temperatures have been as low as minus 78 fahrenheit in past years! Fairbanks and the North Pole are accessible by road and by air.

There is a second North Pole: North Pole, New York where it is Christmas all year. Santa’s Workshop/summer home is located here. This Christmas village was designed when the owner’s daughter asked him to take her to Santa’s summer home. Being a businessman, he thought this was a great idea and collaborated with an artist who had recently created a replica of a German village in Arizona to create a summer house for Santa. There is a North Pole there that remains frozen year round and Christmas characters greet visitors. Kids can even talk with Tannenbaum the Talking Christmas Tree.