With more ways than ever to celebrate Christmas, Gaylord National Resort will open its holiday experiences five days early. In addition to the return of ICE! and fan-favorite activities like ice skating and gingerbread decorating, newly-added experiences include an over-the-top gingerbread display, a Christmas-themed pop-up bar, a NITRO PEPSI pop-up featuring holiday themed drinks, and more. Gaylord National will also offer its popular Christmas Suites, decked out in holiday décor for a home-for-the-holidays feel. The festivities will open to the public November 20.
Visitors can enjoy the following newly-announced experiences:
- Overnight guests can celebrate the season with the whole family and book one of the resort’s festive Christmas Dreams Suites. This cozy home away from home comes complete with lights, stockings, a Christmas tree, and even a sweet holiday treat. Guests can enjoy the resort’s famous Atrium light show from the comfort of their balcony. Want to bring the extended family? No problem! Add on a connecting king or double queen room. The Christmas Dreams Suite also includes complimentary valet parking.
- The beloved and larger-than-life Gingerbread display is back this year! Visitors will experience Washington, D.C. monuments like never before, created from more than 300 lbs. of baked gingerbread. The massive display village is concepted and constructed by a team of nine pastry chefs and takes approximately three months to create.
- The Smooth Lounge presented by NITRO PEPSI will showcase custom cocktail and mocktail recipes with a holiday flair including The Snowman and The Glitz. All of the drinks will feature Nitro Pepsi, the first-ever nitrogen-infused cola with two delicious flavors, Draft Cola and Vanilla Draft Cola all served in a signature Nitro Pepsi souvenir cup.
- For guests looking to impress at the next holiday gathering, Gaylord National’s resort chef will lead a Holiday Hosting 101 cooking class. Participants can expect to enjoy a festive libation and learn how to prepare three flavorful hors d’oeuvres including holiday deviled eggs, chorizo & Manchego cheese pastry bites, and vodka-cured salmon canapés. This hands-on, interactive class is fun and tasty.
- Holiday sweets and tasty treats are on the menu at the Holiday Sweet Shoppe. Visitors can check out the Holiday Sweet Shoppe for a delicious hot chocolate or eggnog and choose from the impressive selection of chef-prepared desserts to take home and enjoy with family.
- The Christmas Tree Farm Bar is reminiscent of the time-old tradition of selecting the perfect Christmas tree with family. This instagrammable pop-up bar will bring visitors together over fun photo opportunities and spirited holiday cocktails like the Mistletoe Margarita and the Gingerbread Mule.
- With so much to see and do, visitors may opt to stay overnight and enjoy some of the special perks for overnight guests only. The Extra Cool Hour and Chill Pass allow overnight visitors early admission into ICE! and Christmas Village and front-of-the-line access to the attractions.
- In addition to the holiday fun, Gaylord National’s Old Hickory Steakhouse, revered for decadent premium beef, will be offering a seasonal holiday prix fixe menu on Thanksgiving Day and for Christmas on December 24 and 25.
The resort’s luxury spa, Relâche Spa, will get into the spirit with luxurious treatments including:
- ICE! Ohhh Fudge Body Scrub: A full-body chocolate sugar scrub followed by a warm vanilla cream hydrating treatment to leave skin silky, fragrant, and moisturized
- Winter Wellness Facial: A refreshing winter facial to cleanse and clarify the skin using the anti-inflammatory properties of eucalyptus leaving skin smooth and hydrated
- Winter Wellness Eucalyptus Massage: Revitalization for tired muscles and aching joints with the power of eucalyptus in a relaxing Swedish massage
With all of the new experiences, visitors should be sure not to forget about the beloved traditions including ICE!. Gaylord National Resort will bring back the ever-popular ICE! this season. Using more than 2 million pounds – or 1,000 tons – of ice, the amusing holiday classic, ‘A Christmas Story™’ will be brought to life via extraordinary ice sculptures by a team of 40 world-class ice artisans from Harbin, China. This is the first time A Christmas Story has been featured at ICE! during the resort’s holiday celebration.
In addition to ICE!, there are more than a dozen different experiences throughout the resort, and holiday lights at every turn. Snow is guaranteed to be in the forecast at the Snow Factory’s Snowball Build and Blast attraction where guests will build and toss real snowballs or take a thrilling slide down the frozen hill at Snow Flow Mountain. From the beloved Peanuts classic, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Merry Snoopy Christmas Scavenger Hunt promises to keep the fun moving as sleuths explore the 19-story garden Atrium in search of hidden holiday clues. Storytime with Mrs. Claus’ Christmas Traditions is going to be a perfect respite to enjoy T’was the Night Before Christmas and share Santa’s favorite, Christmas cookies.
For guests looking to enjoy the outdoors, fan-favorite Ice Skating or taking a spin in the Ice Bumper Cars are options in the newly located Winter Square.
With more than 155,000 square feet of magical holiday décor, 2 million twinkling Christmas lights and So. Much. Christmas. at every turn, Christmas at Gaylord National will not disappoint.
The full line-up of experiences includes:
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- Christmas Village featuring Gingerbread Cookie Decorating, Build-A-Bear Workshop®, Mrs. Claus’ Christmas Traditions, The Village Shoppe retail store, and Photos with Santa
- Ice Bumper Cars
- Snow Flow Mountain
- Ice Skating
- Snowball Build and Blast snowball experience at Snow Factory
- Cirque: Spirit of Christmas live stage show
- The Greatest Story live stage show
- Shine Light Show including the 55-foot suspended Starlight Christmas Tree and NEW 60-foot light curtain
- Merry Snoopy Christmas Scavenger Hunt
Family and friends can start planning their holiday travel now with special savings on overnight packages including:
HOLIDAY PACKAGES:
Premium ICE! featuring A Christmas Story™ Package
- Overnight accommodations
- Two to four tickets to ICE! and Snowflow Mountain ice tubing
- One Merry Snoopy Scavenger Hunt booklet
- $50 nightly food and beverage credit
- Available on select dates only. Prices starting at $364.
- ICE! featuring A Christmas Story™ Package:
- Overnight accommodations
- Single-entry ICE! tickets (one per person, per stay)
- Available on select dates only. Prices starting at $299.
