HERE'S TO A HAPPY, STRESS-FREE HOLIDAY
We feel like we say this every year, but 2022 went by fast! It's hard to believe that we are now on year two of our LittleGuide Magazine and this may be our favorite issue yet.
This time of year is busy, but it's also fun. It's the time we remember best as a kid and we can't wait for our littles to make their own special memories. So get ready for a season full of tree lighting ceremonies, turkey trots, parades, outdoor light events, last minute road trips, and all things SANTA.
Save time looking for things to do and use this magazine as an easy reference AND don't forget, you can click every article and go directly to www.littleguidedetroit.com for more details and direct links
Follow us on social media too and see our holiday adventur you'll definitely find us at Holiday Nights, Wild Lights, and picking out our Christmas Tree at Blake Farmsand tag us @littleguidedetroit to show us yours.
Here's to a joyful finish to 2022 and a very happy + health
Kerry & Carrie
America’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will be marching down Woodward Avenue once again this year and you can watch it live on Thursday, November 24th.
Wake up early Thanksgiving morning and head to Detroit to watch floats, marching bands, and live entertainment make their way from Midtown to downtown.
Reserve the best seats and order your Grand Stand tickets for $60 $70 or find a spot on the sidewalk (free) along the route.
Rain, snow, or shine this is an annual tradition that your family won't soon forget
Did you know that you can take a behind the scenes tour of the actual floats from the parade and learn how they are made? Tours of the Parade Company Studio are available year round: $8 (ages 3 17) and $12 (adults)
Join the Livonia Parks and Recreation Department in a walk/run for the less fortunate. All proceeds from the race go to the Livonia Goodfellows.
Join A2 Turkey Trot at Hudson Mills Metropark for this annual autumn tradition and enjoy a late season run that is fun for the whole family!
Join a morning full of holiday fun, costumes, and running before your Thanksgiving Day feast! Festive awards, hot chocolate + cookies wait at the finish line with Turkey Tom and Santa!
Runners/Walkers can support the Epilepsy Foundation of Michigan at Canton's Thanksgiving morning run at Heritage Park.
“The Parade before The Parade”, participants frolic by the largest spectator crowd in Michigan before America's Thanksgiving Parade for a mile or a 5k.
The Mighty Gobbler is a family friendly 5k or 1 mile run/walk event.
Join a Turkey TRAIL Trot at Stony Creek Metropark on a 2 or 4 mile run.
Winter Wonder Lights transforms Meadow Brook Hall at night into a breathtaking light show featuring music, seasonal treats, and holiday magic
The Detroit Zoo will be aglow for 40 magical nights with more than five million LED lights illuminating trees, buildings, and over 280 sculptures throughout the front half of the Zoo
Take in the lights at the Toledo Zoo, ride down the Ice Slide, go ice skating, visit Santa, watch a LED light display at the historic Amphitheatre and more!
Put on your Christmas playlist and drive down Hines Drive for 4.5 miles of light displays it’s only $5!
An immersive wintry experience for all ages Visit Michigan’s original illuminated forest this holiday season! One mile outdoor path with interactive, story moments, and other entertainment.
Drive thru a light display featuring holiday themed scenes and characters at Pine Knob Music Theatre.
The holiday season will be here before we know it - and these family favorites will sell out. Start making plans to get your tickets before it's too late.
There's nothing quite like seeing your favorite characters live on stage!
Elf
- 11/22 - 11/27
Based on the hit movie, ELF is the hilarious tale of Buddy, a young orphan child who mistakenly crawls into Santa’s bag of gifts and is transported to the North Pole. Fox Theatre
- 12/2
Join Baby Shark and friends for exciting holiday adventures into the jungle and under the sea to explore shapes, colors, numbers and so much more. Fox Theatre, Detroit
- 12/2 - 12/4
Travel with Clara on a magical adventure through an enchanted forest to a Kingdom of Sweets filled with colorful characters and pure festive delight Macomb Center, Clinton Township
12/4
Join Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the rest of the Peanuts characters as they find the true meaning of Christmas. Fox Theatre, Detroit
Nutcracker!
Magical
- 12/11
Experience the exquisite artistry of the international cast, featuring stars of the Ukraine ballet, performing at the highest level of classical technique. Fox Theatre, Detroit
12/15 12/26
Cirque du Soleil’s first ever Christmas show, ‘Twas the Night Before... is a flurry of love, Christmas cheer, and rip roaring fun. Fox Theatre
On December 10th, experience the magic of The Polar Express in real life. The story will be read as the train begins its journey, while families enjoy treats, sing carols and more!
Take a 30 minute train ride to see Santa, spend about an hour visiting and then take a ride back. Trains are nearly 100 years old and weekend adventures beginning the after Thanksgiving.
The train to see Santa runs every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday until Christmas at Spicer Orchard. After your special visit, warm up with cider and donuts around the bonfire.
Join friends and family for an evening ride on the Huckleberry Railroad. Afterwards tour Crossroads Village and experience the seasonal magic.
Take a (FREE) ride on the Northern Star Train to Santa's House in Midland, where you can enjoy a visit with Santa himself and his reindeer, all throughout the month of December!
Briarwood Mall (Ann Arbor)
Great Lakes Crossing (Auburn Hills) Mall at Partridge Creek (Clinton Township)
Fairlane Town Center (Dearborn)
Laurel Park Mall (Livonia) Santa @ Village of Rochester Hills Lakeside Mall (Sterling Heights)
Somerset Mall (Troy)
Oakland Mall (Troy)
Twelve Oaks Mall (Novi)
Spicer Orchard (Fenton)
Three Cedars Farm (Northville)
Downtown Birmingham The Henry Ford Museum (Dearborn)
The Ford House (Grosse Pointe Shores)
Village Center (Milford) Maybury Farm (Northville)
Meadow Brook Hall (Rochester)
Howell Nature Center Crossroads Village (Flint)
Cookies With Santa (Farmington Hills): 11/30
Santa Stroll (Livonia): 12/3 Christmas On The Frontier (Shelby Township): 12/3
Santa Sighting @ Cranbrook (Bloomfield Hills): 12/3 + 12/4 Holiday Express (Clinton Township): 12/10
Santa Brunch (Macomb): 12/10 Figherfighter Breakfast with Santa (Wixom): 12/10
The holiday season can be a blur, but finding a special activity for your family to do each year is a great way to step away from the chaos and have quality time together. Here are 7 activities in metro Detroit to consider.
You’re invited to get to know SUE the T. rex, and uncover the mysteries about the life of this fearsome fossil, in this immersive and interactive experience for visitors of all ages!
SUE: The T. rex Experience is now open through April 30, 2023.
SUE the T. rex is the most complete, best preserved Tyrannosaurus rex ever discovered. When you visit SUE’s new digs, you will have the unique chance to come between two titans with full scale casts of SUE and T. rex’s nemesis, Triceratops, experience a multimedia show transporting you to the Cretaceous forest alongside SUE, learn how the fossil was unearthed and how scientists continue to make discoveries about SUE.
This exhibition, presented by PNC Bank, with additional support from the Michigan Arts & Culture Council, features an exact cast of SUE’s skeleton, measuring in at 40 feet from snout to tail and 13 feet tall at the hip.
Activate all your senses to truly become a part of SUE’s world:
Take a whiff of the dinosaur’s putrid breath
Watch SUE tromp through the Late Cretaceous forest
Feel the texture of dinosaur skin
Hear the subsonic rumble of a T rex
And do you know how SUE got its name? SUE the T. rex is named after Sue Hendrickson, an American explorer and fossil collector, who discovered the dinosaur in 1990 during a commercial excavation trip north of Faith, South Dakota.
Presented in both English and Spanish, this full-sensory experience will allow visitors to explore the world of SUE through sight, sound, smell and touch.
Tickets to SUE: The T. rex Experience are $10 for adults who are non members and $9 for all Institute of Science Standard Members. Children 2 12 and individuals 65+ are $8 each. Enhanced members and children under 2 are free. Non members must also pay general museum admission.
The exhibition is open during regular museum hours.
SUE: The T. rex Experience was organized by the Field Museum and is part of the Griffin Dinosaur Experience, made possible by the generous support of the Kenneth C. Griffin Charitable Fund.
Learn more about SUE the T. rex, and other upcoming events and Institute of Science by visiting: science.cranbrook.edu.
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date: @Cranbr @cranbrookscience.
PHOTOCREDIT:KATHERINEK.CAGLEPHOTOGRAPHYHoliday shopping is stressful, and the truth is, having more toys at home is stressful too. This Christmas, consider a new kind of gift an experience that your littles won’t soon forget.
Give them the gift of life long lessons with weekly swim classes at Aqua-Tots Swim School, coding class at The Robot Garage, yoga classes at DownPup Yoga, or climbing lessons at Planet Rock.
A museum membership is an incredible gift that keeps on giving all throughout the year (and one of our personal favorite recommendations)!
Cranbrook Institute of Science ($75)
Sloan Museum of Discovery ($99)
Ann Arbor Hands On Museum ($100)
The Detroit Zoo ($127)
The Henry Ford ($185)
Bluey, Paw Patrol, the Madrigal family and Elmo are coming to Detroit next year. Let your littles experience their favorite characters live on stage and surprise them with tickets!
Make the most out of your holiday break or simply escape the hustle and bustle of home, with a mini Michigan getaway.
Go for a magical ride on Memory Lane Train at the Christmas Lite Show in Grand Rapids.
If your littles are looking for Santa and his reindeer, take a trip to Rooftop Landing Farm in Clare.
Count HUNDREDS of decorated trees at Comstock Park in Adrian. This city beat the Hallmark record with 676 trees all lit up.
Bronner's offers Christmas all year long, but there's something extra special about being in Frankenmuth during December.
Stroll through the Wonderland of Lights at Potter Park Zoo in Lansing
Enjoy a Winter Wonderland at Fellinlove Farm in Holland. Afterwards, you can shop the European style Kerstmarkt downtown.
Visit Santa's House in downtown Midland and then take The Northern Star Train ride for a free downtown tour.
See America’s Tallest Singing Christmas Tree in Muskegon! The holiday show put on by 200 volunteers takes place November 30th to December 3rd.
Bundle up and get ready for FREE family fun at the Monroe Street Midway The Winter activation includes an arctic slide, puck putt golf, winter bumper cars, a midway arcade and more! Santa will also be around for pictures beginning November 18th!
Shop local at Bedrock's Holiday Markets and then cozy up at Cadillac Lodge with oversized family games and seasonal refreshments.
Detroit's Tree Lighting Ceremony + opening of The Rink at Campus Martius is Friday, November 18th. Strap on some skates and soak up the city center from the ice.
Noel Night brings together over 110 venues in Midtown including the DIA, Michigan Science Center and more for FREE activities, including horse drawn carriage rides, crafts, live entertainment, Santa and more!
Join Detroit's largest Hanukkah celebration in Campus Martius. The annual event includes a lighting ceremony, hands on children's activities + live entertainment.
It's not always about what you GET, but what you GIVE during the holidays. Kids of all ages can help make the holidays special for people in their community. Share these ideas of service with them and pick a project to do as a family
Pick up extra ingredients at the store and donate to a food pantry or canned food drive. Collect and return cans to donate change to the Salvation Army bell ringers.
Help a neighbor by racking leaves (or shoveling snow).
Bake cookies and deliver them to a local senior living complex, fire department, or hospital. Find gently used toys and clothes at home and donate them to a local shelter.
LittleGuide Detroit is a proud partner of Children's Hospital of Michigan, and this year we will be supporting the Foundation's "Snowpile" program. The annual donation drive provides gifts for hospitalized children AND their siblings.
You can join the effort by making a monetary donation or giving toys or gifts. Learn more by clicking the link!
The holidays are a special time of year for everyone, but it’s especially magical for kids. Lean into the magic of the holiday season with these tried and true family traditions that are sure to make everything merry + bright.
U-pick the perfect tree
Pick a themed ornament for your little's stocking to remind you of their favorite thing this year pull out your holiday books + add a new one to your family collection make a gingerbread house
find a light show : neighborhood, drive-thru or walking
family movie night favs: the grinch, noelle + jingle jangle
Tree lighting ceremonies, local parades, holiday shows, Santa sightings, and weekend getaways. Get organized and start making your holiday plans.
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