A Holiday Weekend to Remember in Columbus, OH – Family Style

Ohio is so fun and beautiful – Oh the places you can go! HOORRAYY, the holidays are here! Get EXCIITED! Holiday time is so fun and festive! Tis’ the season to be jolly! I don’t know about you, but my family and I love all things about the holidays – holiday lights, holiday activities, holiday specials, holiday events, holiday food & drinks and most of all spending time with one another. Speaking of holidays, are you looking for a fun, filled weekend getaway that you can bring the kids? If you answered yes, I’ve got you covered. I highly recommend visiting Ohio’s Capital – Columbus, OH. Just two hours away from Cincinnati, this is a fun city especially during the holidays. It’s also very kid friendly. I’ve visited Columbus before, but just to visit food places and head right back to Cincinnati. I never spent an entire weekend in Columbus. This time I’ve partnered with Experience Columbus to indulge in a fun and full weekend, packed with plenty of activities for my family and I to do. It’s a great city for all ages. Along with my husband and I, our kids had a blast! At the end of the night on Saturday my daughter looks up to me as we are walking back into the hotel and says, “Mom, this was an awesome day!” There is just so much life and vibrancy in Columbus, and the holiday season brings so much cheer and joy! It’s amazing! Now let’s get into my holiday weekend in Columbus. Here’s your weekend travel guide.

WHERE WE STAYED

Hilton Columbus at Easton

Let’s get into the Hilton Columbus at Easton. I know you are probably thinking, “Who cares, it’s a Hilton” but let me tell you, it’s NNIIIICCEEE! LOL! To be honest, I loved this hotel. It is in the heart of Easton Town Center where you will find the best shopping, dining, and entertainment literally steps away, and ten minutes from Downtown Columbus. When you arrive it’s like pulling up to a fancy mansion. That’s what it looks like on the outside and the inside. They have valet parking and self-parking. When we arrived, we were greeted by friendly and wonderful staff. I was also given my welcome bag being held by the staff from Experience Columbus. EEEKK! The hotel is clean and well maintained. The interior is gorgeous, the lighting is beautiful in the entrance of the hotel, and it is very open and spacious. The large installments and lighting fixtures are very eye catching.

They also have a cute grab and go area called Herb’ N Kitchen. It has snacks, beer and wine for late night, pre prepped meals for your on the go needs, and serves meals at their walk up window. They also have a bar with TVs so fellows, you can grab a drink and won’t miss the games 😉

Now the most important part, the food! LOL! They offer a hot breakfast with a made-to-order egg and omelette station. I love a good, freshly made omelette in the morning with pancakes, bacon, and some breakfast potatoes! Oh, and don’t forget to add a glass of OJ. MMM, MMM, good! I am thinking about that breakfast all over again! My kids also loved their breakfast. Give them pancakes and bacon and they are good to go! My youngest likes fruit as well, so she had fruit on the side. They also serve bagels, toast, yogurt, fruit, and condiments for these items. Truly a breakfast for everyone! We started our morning off right the entire weekend and fueled up for our adventures!

I was truly a fan of the Hilton Columbus at Easton. I highly recommend this location and I would totally come back and stay again. I also loved that it was in walking distance to explore Easton Town Center and the Easton’s Grand Illumination which was our first stop of the weekend.

Day 1 – Friday Evening

We arrived on a Friday evening ready to celebrate the holidays. Columbus’s holiday activities started the weekend of November 18^th. We arrived on this day which was the first holiday weekend ready to celebrate the season of joy and looking for a good time. We arrived at the hotel excited for an evening of fun. Our first night was spent entirely at Easton Town Center. There is so much to see, do, and eat here. LOL! Now that we were checked in, we went up to our room and put our bags down. We have lots to explore, so we left and got this holiday party started.

THE FESTIVITIES

Easton’s Grand Illumination

We kicked off the holiday season with Easton’s Grand Illumination. Just a short walk from the hotel, go and see more than two million lights illuminate the grounds all at once. Yes, it’s giving all the holiday vibes! Its bright, its colorful, its lots of people, it’s beautiful, its cold, and it’s a spectacle to see. I love well-lit spaces during holiday season. It just puts me in the holiday spirit. My kids were in awe. It is a fun time to spend with family and walk around and see all of the lights. They also had a snow fairy on stilts that you could take pictures with. My girls and I didn’t miss our opportunity to grab a picture with her. They also had elves juggling as well. After seeing the lights, the snow fairy, and the elves how could you be a scrooge 😉

Now I mentioned lights, a snow fairy, and elves, but no holiday season is complete without a visit to see …..SANTA!!! Yes, dress warm and cute because there is an opportunity to take pictures with ole St. Nick. My family and I waited in line for about an hour to see Santa. Yes, this may sound crazy. However besides seeing the lights, it was mine and my girl’s favorite part of the night. Yes, I am 32 years old and still love to see Santa. **SHRUGS** It has been a tradition since I was a small girl. It certainly is the nostalgia for me. Now that I have kids of my own, it is also something that I have been doing with them since they have been born. Can’t you tell we love the holidays! HAHA! Santa was in a cutely decorated holiday themed building with the cutest Santa sign outside. While we waited for the line to move closer to Santa inside, we admired the décor. They even had cute signs labeled “Naughty” and “Nice” for the kids to write their names on. Once we got up to Santa, we proudly took our pictures. SMILE, and the camera goes off! I and my girls were happy, and my holiday heart was warm. We went about our merry way! 😊

THE FOOD

RUSTY BUCKET RESTURANT AND TAVERN

With all the sightseeing and day of travel, if you are like us, you are now hungry! Supper time is upon us. HAHA! Also located in the Easton Town Center and a short walk away, we stopped at Rusty Bucket Restaurant and Tavern. Rusty Bucket is a casual American restaurant and tavern where people come to share laughter, smiles, and great conversation over a delicious meal. There are so many food places to choose from in Easton Town Center, but Rusty Bucket is a good family spot and has something for everyone. The portion sizes are good, and you will leave full.

What’s on the menu?

The Adults

Drinks

Blueberry Bella

Draft Margarita

Appetizers

Double Stacked Quesadillas

Supper

Soy Glazed Salmon

Ma, The Meatloaf !

Dessert

Chocolate Icebox Cake

Kiddie Table

Kid’s Pizza

Kid’s Mac & Cheese

Now that we were nice and full, we returned to our hotel for a wonderful night’s rest. We also admired my cute welcome gifts. Thanks Experience Columbus! Nightie, Night!

Day 2 – Saturday

Rise and Shine! After getting some rest, we are back up and at it for day 2 of our family adventures! We started our morning by fueling up with some of the hotel’s delicious breakfast. After breakfast, we headed out to get our day started.

THE FESTIVITIES – MORNING/AFTERNOON

LEGOLAND Discovery Center Columbus

Talk about the kids enjoying being kids and the adults feeling like kids again! LEGOLAND is located inside of Easton Town Center. Legoland was fun and such a neat experience. We had the ultimate indoor playground and built the best day ever. It was a massive establishment full of nothing but LEGO themed décor, gaming systems, rides, play areas, and more! The first area was a gaming attraction where you create a LEGO on the screen while learning how LEGOS are made. Yes, you read the part about rides correctly! There are TWO LEGO themed rides inside of this cool indoor playground. One was a simulated riding game where you catch a chariot and shoot the LEGO villains on different screens as the ride moves. The other was a circular up and down ride that you peddle to move the ride up and release the peddle to go down. The kids loved the rides. We also walked through this super cool, mini, town created out of LEGOS. They even had an Ohio State University stadium. If you didn’t know, Columbus is home to The Ohio State University. Then we ended at this neat play area with tons of Legos to build your own town, human size LEGO friends, a climbing area, and the second ride. As a parent, it was super fun and cute watching the girls enjoy themselves. As an adult it was fun to see an entire theme be turned into a playground for adults and kids. I can say after such an amazing time at Columbus indoor Legoland, it certainly has me wanting to experience the Legoland amusement park in Florida!

Easton Town Center

You cannot spend so much time and stay in Easton Town Center and not experience exactly what they are known for – SHOPPING! Shopping is a festivity, right? OF COURSE, it is! 😊 My husband and I can shop until we drop! Yes, that may be shocking! However, my husband does enjoy shopping! No, he is not just the bag holder and walks behind me with a frown. LOL! If you also love shopping as much as we do, Easton is a great place to shop. They have so many retailers to choose from. They also have some of our favorite designer brands such as Gucci and Louis Vuitton. Another one of my faves, Zara, is located in Easton. It’s a great way to spend time. It’s also the perfect time to start Christmas Shopping. I am sure you can find most of what you are looking for at Easton. Plus, after some time shopping, you’ll be hungry. There are quite a few delicious restaurants to choose from that range from grab-and-go to high-end sit-down. Certainly, do not miss the opportunity to explore Easton! It’s one of my favorites and I am already planning a visit back.

Short North Arts District

This little district is full of life and personality! This neighborhood is known for its wide variety of amazing art, dining, nightlife, and local retailers. This was right up my alley. It was hard not to fall in love with this community. This area has less big, known retailers and more local, crafty shopping. You will see things like handmade jewelry, ornaments, key chains, cards, small clothing boutiques, small eateries, small juicing bars and much more. This was a great way to support small local businesses. Explore the “art and soul” of Columbus with a visit to Short North Arts District.

Retailers I Visited at Short North:

Native Cold Pressed

I love fresh pressed juice. There are so many nutrients in fresh pressed juices. They are also very flavorful depending on the combinations of fruits and vegetables. Most times when I see a cold pressed juicing bar, I will stop in. Fresh juices are refreshing, clean, and good for you. They are pricy but I love to try the different flavors. Here I tried Zinger (Apple, Ginger, Lemon) and Pitaya Probiotic (Pitaya, doTerra wild orange essential oil, live probiotics, lemon, maple, filtered H2O). The Zinger was slightly spicy from the ginger but slightly sweet from the apple. The Pitaya Probiotic was like a refreshing lemonade. It was also very pretty in color. It was like a Fuchsia. Certainly, great drinks!

Global Gifts

Global Gifts is the cutest little store. I love what they are doing and their mission. Global Gifts is a non-profit business committed to creating sustainable economic opportunities and safe and equitable working conditions for disadvantaged artisans and farmers around the world. From jewelry and home goods to toys and food items, their stores are filled with handmade, one-of-a-kind items from nearly 40 different countries. Additionally, Global Gifts’ are fair trade. WOW, how cool is that! This store was festive, and I loved all the cute items they had such as ornaments, magnets, keychains, chocolates, cards, and so much more. My oldest daughter loves keychains, so I bought her a keychain. I bought myself a Black Santa Ornament.

Red Giraffe

Want to make customized jewelry for yourself while you shop with same day pick up, Red Giraffe has you covered. Red Giraffe is a jewelry studio that creates and carefully curates jewelry that is stylish, affordable and meaningful. I’m usually not a small jewelry boutique kind of girl, but what I do love is customization. When I walked into Red Giraffe, I was intrigued. What really caught my attention was their customization bar. You can pick certain items such as bracelets, necklace charms, key chains and more and have them customized. I thought this was really cute and neat. Of course, I had to have a keychain made with mine and my husband’s first name initials and our wedding date. I also had to get a necklace with our kids first name initials. These items came out so good and I loved them! This is the perfect place to grab Christmas gifts for loved ones.

THE FOOD

El Segundo Mexican Kitchen

OMG! If you know me, you know Mexican food is one of my favorite cuisines! After all that shopping, the family and I needed some more fuel. We decided to check out El Segundo. We went for an early dinner, and it was a nice experience. The décor was traditional Mexican with a splash of whimsical. I loved their sense of décor mixed with holiday cheer. When you walk in there is a skeleton dressed like Santa on the cow with reindeer antlers. They also had skeletons on table poles with sombreros with Santa hats on. They also had beautiful murals painted on the walls. We were welcomed by friendly staff and had a great waitress. The food was tasty, and they have many options to choose from. The menu is inspired by Mexican street food, and their chefs source locally fresh ingredients. They even make tortillas, sauces and signature ingredients from scratch. We had Margaritas, Chips & Salsa, Queso, Gauc, Tacos, Enchiladas, Rice, Beans, Chimichangas, Churro Doughnuts, and Tres Leche Cake. This is certainly a place to have great laughs and good conversation over huge plates of Mexican inspired cuisine. Bring your appetite and you won’t leave hungry!

What’s on the menu?

The Adults

Drinks

Tamarind Margarita

Spicy Pineapple Margarita

Appetizers

Chips & Salsa

*Trio Salsa (House Roja, Tomatillo Lime, & Charred Tomato Salsas)

Guacamole

Con Queso

Supper

Tacos (Al Pastor, Crispy Fish, & Birria)

Segundo Platter

Chimichanga

Dessert

Churro Doughnuts

Tres Leches

Kiddie Table

Kid’s Cheeseburger & Fries

Kid’s Quesadillas with Rice & Beans

THE FESTIVITIES – EVENING

Wildlights at the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium

Who doesn’t love going to the zoo? The zoo + holidays is that much more awesome! Every time my family and I go to a zoo, we embark on an adventure to make memories that will last a lifetime. We really enjoy visiting one of Central Ohio’s most cherished holiday traditions, Wildlights! We saw millions of lights, animated light shows, and Mrs. Clause. The kids loved this. We dress them warm, put them in strollers, and bundle them up with blankets and walk around the zoo. My youngest literally looked in awe and sang to herself Christmas songs as we walked around the zoo. Not many animals are out during this time, but we did get to see the elephants and rhinos. I can honestly say Columbus Zoo Wildlights shows is one of the better ones. They give you TONS of lights and lit up designs. They have lights that flash in accordance with Christmas songs. It was so fun and such a sight to see. Seeing different zoo light shows is starting to become a tradition for us. We visited Cincinnati Zoo light show last year. Dress warm and certainly do not miss the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium Wildlights!

As you can tell, we’ve had a fun FULL day of activities. After the zoo, we headed back to the hotel for some much-needed heat and rest. HAHA! Good night!

 Day 3 – Sunday

It’s the 3^rd and final day of our holiday weekend in Columbus and we have had so much fun! Like Saturday, we started our morning off with breakfast. I’m not sure about you, but my family loves breakfast. My oldest has to have breakfast, it’s just her thing! Plus, who would want to miss one last opportunity to get that freshly made omelette? Not me, that’s for sure! HAHA! Once we fueled up, we made two more stops and then headed home.

CUP OF COFFEE

Crimson Easton

You can’t leave without one last hooray in Easton! On our way to the last stop, we stopped by Crimson. My husband, oldest daughter, and I all love a good, iced latte. I know you are probably thinking, “Didn’t you just eat?” but we ate light and saved room for an iced latte. We couldn’t pass up on an award winning cup of coffee (mixed with a little milk = latte) :P . Crimson is a cute coffee shop located in the Easton Town Center. The inside is very open with the coffee bar/barista station being in the middle. It was very earthy and welcoming. It was cool. I went in and grabbed some iced lattes to-go. They make their syrups for flavoring in house. Their lattes made with their homemade syrups were amazing and full of flavor. Whether you just want a good cup of coffee or you’re meeting a friend for coffee and laughs, Crimson has you covered. The welcoming atmosphere and great iced latte gave me all the perfect morning vibes!

What’s on the menu?

Drinks

Iced Brown Sugar Latte

Iced Matcha Tea Latte

Iced Vanilla Latte

THE FESTIVITIES – FINAL HOORAY!

Columbus Museum of Art

Our last and final stop while in Columbus was the Columbus Museum of Art. If you are into history and art, this is the place for you. Founded in 1878, CMA was the first art museum to be charted in the state of Ohio. The art here is beautiful. This was certainly an activity my husband loved and surprisingly my kids were just as into the art. I loved that! We walked around and looked at art and answered the kids’ questions about the art. It was such a great family experience. On exhibit right now is Raphael – The Power of Renaissance Images featuring gigantic tapestries and Wild Things are Happening: The Art of Maurice Sendak. Both exhibits were amazing and very well done. The kids really enjoyed Wild Things. It of course was geared more for kids and a cartoon. I remember Wild Things from back in the day. It was neat to see an entire exhibit in its honor. They also had a room dedicated to LEGOS. It was a mini town created out of LEGOS that transitioned to different themes and seasons. Additionally, if your kids love to explore, they will love the Wonder Room. It’s a cute little kid’s room with different areas for them to experience and explore. They had these huge plushy blocks that my daughters worked with other kids to stack and build. It became a girls vs. boys fort game. LOL! The Columbus Museum of Art was a fun, family experience. I would highly recommend visiting and tapping into your artsy side.

The holidays are a magical time in Columbus. After reading this full packed weekend, you should be starting to plan your trip here. I truly hope you enjoyed this travel guide for a fun, family holiday weekend in the state’s capital. The city is known for its welcoming spirit that only gets more cheerful this time of year. With dazzling events, unique shopping, and an elevated dining scene, Columbus is the perfect place to bring in the holiday cheer. Pack your bags, grab your family, and head to Columbus for the perfect weekend getaway.