Knott’s Berry Farm is always festive in the winter time. With great decorations and excellent entertainment you can’t go wrong. But, here are five ways to have a great time at Knott’s Merry Farm, including things to not miss.
5. See Santa Snoopy
Snoopy has been a staple for Knott’s Merry Farm for a number of years, but he’s extra fun during the Christmas season. He’s Santa Snoopy for the occasion and if you get to the park earlier in the day you can get a photo with him right after the entrance. He can also be found over in Camp Snoopy, although sometimes sans Santa suit. He’s still a great guy to get a photo with.
And so are the rest of the Peanuts gang. Peppermint Patty, Schroeder, Franklin, Lucy, Linus, and even Charlie Brown are all available for photos in their winter garb. It’s a great time to meet the Peanuts gang.
4. Take in Great Decor
Knott’s Berry Farm has decorated each area with distinct decoration to celebrate the Christmas season. Camp Snoopy has garland along the wilderness poles, and lights to provide a wintery wonderland.
Fiesta Village and Boardwalk have some photo stops themed to their areas. They also have winter touches throughout.
Ghost Town is the most spectacular with many wreaths, poinsettias, and garland all over. Lights adorn the buildings at night. Also at night is periodic snowfall that makes it a white Christmas in California.
Though not decor the Crafts Village is a great place to get some unique Christmas gifts. Having several of these places adds to the Ghost Town Christmas atmosphere. It feels like an old west hometown having all the vendors line the street. There’s also a special Christmas Tree Lighting in Calico Square with the residents of Ghost Town that make each night extra special.
3. Festive Food
This year the menu has expanded at Knott’s Merry Farm. Wilderness Hall has often hosted Santa’s Christmas Cabin with Santa himself. Inside are some great treats, but this year they have really outdone themselves. Returning to the cabin are milk and cookies, egg nog, coffee and hot chocolate, and roasted nuts. Added are tamales, cheesecake on a stick with peppermint, specially flavored kettle corn, and crepes. The hot chocolate also has the option of having peppermint crumbles and marshmallows added, and the Snoopy inspired cup is adorable.
Tamales are a rather traditional Christmas cuisine, and it’s great that Knott’s added them to the menu this year. Beef and Chicken options are available, with some spicy salsa and cheese to top it off. They were delicious with soft coating and great taste. I’ll warn you that the green salsa was very spicy, which I enjoyed, but may be too much for others.
There are various flavors of kettle corn that come in different colors of green, red and yellow. The red is probably the best with a cinnamon flavoring on top of the caramel.
Elsewhere in the park are some other great food features. A Christmas pizza is at Hollywood Hits, with turkey, stuffing, cranberries, and other Christmas meal fare in one slice! There’s a great beef stew at Ghost Town Grill and a holiday turkey sandwich at Boardwalk BBQ.
Desserts are scattered throughout the park as well. A frosted churro cane is available at the Churro Stand. Peppermint cotton candy is at various locations, including Santa’s Christmas Cabin. Mrs. Claus Cabin near Santa’s in Ghost Town has a cookie decoration opportunity. Toppings are available for visitors to decorate their own Christmas cookie.
With all the goodies to eat it could take one day alone to go through it all!
2. Magnificent Shows
There are so many entertaining things to see at Knott’s Merry Farm!
A Peanut’s Guide to Christmas is a Camp Snoopy musical that is a humorous look at how to survive Christmas. Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus, Sally, and Snoopy sing and dance through chapters of a book with tips for the holidays.
At the Bird Cage Theater there are two different traditional performances to enjoy. The Gift of the Magi and Christmas Carol are two tales that can put you in a great holiday spirit. The troupe of performers play various roles and also sing Christmas tunes in between scenes. It has touching moments and hilarious gags to entertain anyone.
The Calico Saloon has a special Christmas show with some hilarity in song and dance. My favorite is the Christmas medley of what seems like every Christmas song ever. You have to see it to believe it. At the end of the show is the Candy Cane Can Can which is a great dance feat adding some western flare to the holiday time.
It’s the Merriest Christmas Show Ever plays on the Calico Stage near the Calico Mine ride. It features the Peanuts characters and several singers and dancers. They try to put on a show with Charlie Brown as director, but Snoopy hasn’t returned from a trip yet and he misses his dog. It’s a great musical revue with plenty of chances to see your favorite Peanuts characters.
Merry Christmas, Snoopy, the ice spectacular, is truly an incredible production. Ice skaters, including Snoopy, perform breathtaking routines with great music. It had the audience roaring when I saw it. And there’s great moments with the rest of the Peanuts gang here too. This is a not to miss show at Knott’s. It’s a wonderful show with heart warming scenes, and some funny moments too.
1. Krazy Kirk and the Hillbillies Christmas Spectacular
The Billys are back for the holiday season in the Bird Cage Theater! They are performing their Christmas Spectacular, or as they call it just the Spectacular, on weekend nights. Bluegrass style holiday songs are done with the Hillbillies flare.
I know I could have put this under the number 2 reason, but these guys stand out as something to experience! They have a unique way of interacting with the audience and their talent is amazing. Even if bluegrass isn’t your style of music, I’m sure they’ll get a smile from your face if you go and see them. The only sad thing is that they perform on so few days a week. So be sure to plan your trip accordingly!
These are just 5 reasons to go to Knott’s Merry Farm this November and through January 7. I didn’t even mention rides, the Marketplace, and unique experiences like Ghost Town VR. All of this isn’t a day experience. I really think it takes two days to take all of it in. It may seem like there’s plenty of time in these next couple of months to see it, but I wouldn’t put it off. It will get you into the holiday spirit fast!
