Disclosure: This is a sponsored post brought to you by US Family Guide and Winterland, Inc. I was given a free admission pass in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts expressed within this post are my own, as are any photos.
Two Sundays ago, after my boyfriend got home from work, we took all four kids to New Hampshire Motor Speedway to check out the Gift of Lights.
I had never heard of the Gift of Lights before last month, so when I received the email about it, I couldn’t wait to check it out. I’ve always enjoyed driving around, looking at light displays during the holiday season.
In fact, when I was little, my parents and my aunt and uncle, would bundle us kids up and take us out to ride around and look at all the houses with decorations on them.I still harbor the same fascination with light displays that I did as a child, so to be given the chance to check out the Gift of Lights with our family was exciting for me.
On the way to the Speedway that night, the kids asked a lot of questions about where we were going but we didn’t tell them. We wanted it to be a surprise. And it was.
As soon as we pulled in and drove along one of the Speedway roads to get to the Gift of Lights entrance, the kids started oohing and ahhing over the lights. When we pulled up to the gate to hand over our pass, the lady who took it asked if we wanted to purchase 3-D glasses that would make all the lights look like snowflakes. I chose to because we were getting in for free and the proceeds from sale of the glasses go to a charity. I wanted to pay it forward since this is the time of year where we’re suppose to give to our fellow man. This year we are trying very hard to teach our children how important it is to give to those who are less fortunate.
Once inside the gate, we were blown away by all the lights. There were so many to look at, from a starfish, to dolphins, to racecars and to reindeer jumping over the road. Every turn took us to another display that not only wowed our children, but us as well. We even heard choruses of, “This is so cool!” from the backseat. My boyfriend and I just smiled at each other. Knowing our children were having fun meant a lot to us and it assured us that we made the right decision in surprising them.
Once we were done driving around the Speedway, we went inside the souvenir shop and had my son got sit with Santa and have his picture taken. There was also some pictures he could color and a mailbox were kids could mail letters to send to Santa.
Our last stop before heading home was at the Concession Stand to purchase five cups of hot chocolate because it was freezing out. I thought the kids could use a hot drink to warm them up. It also seemed like the perfect way to end the evening.
All in all, this was almost a perfect night. The only thing missing was lightly falling snow. We will definitely be taking the kids every year for as long as the Gift of Lights returns to New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Costs of tickets to get in:
One ticket per automobile. Monday through Thursdays, tickets are $15 at the gate or $13 online. On Friday, Saturday, Sunday and holidays, tickets are $20 at the gate or $18 online.
Hours of Operation:
Open at 4:30 every day. Sunday through Thursday, they close at 9pm. On Friday, Saturday, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Day, they close at 9pm.
Location:
New Hampshire Motor Speedway is located 1122 Route 106 in Loudon, New Hampshire.
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