We visited Branson during the Christmas season for the first time this year. My husband worked in the retail field, and vacations were verboten during the months of November and December. My husband had to retire for health reasons last year, so this year, we finally got to take a Christmas trip to Branson. We took our trip the weekend before Thanksgiving weekend because we figured that Branson would not be as busy then as it would be after Thanksgiving weekend.
There was a snowstorm in the St. Louis area the day before we were scheduled to leave on vacation. The city we live in received 3.5” of snow. By Friday morning, however, the highways were clear. We ran into some rush hour traffic on Hwy. 270, but Hwy. 44 was easy to drive.
We had lunch at Steak & Shake in Lebanon, MO. It’s right off of Hwy. 44, so it was easy to get back on the highway. We had great service and good food. We stopped at the welcome center outside of Conway to use the restroom and to pick up a Sunny Day Guide and a Best Read Guide, along with other Branson brochures.
Our first stop in Branson was at the Branson Travel Group headquarters at Green Mountain Drive and Wildwood Road to redeem our Groupon for our hotel stay. We used this Groupon last summer for our annual Branson trip. This Groupon was only available in February, so we snapped it up quickly for our Christmas trip. This Groupon came with two tickets to a show at the Jim Stafford Theater and a game of mini-golf for two at Wildwood Miniature Golf. We did have to buy an extra show ticket/mini-golf ticket for our son.
We then proceeded to the Andy Williams Performing Arts Center to redeem our Groupon for that night’s show. The Groupon description said that I needed to redeem the voucher at the ticket office on the day of the show, but the lady at the ticket window said that we could have made advance reservations. I wish I had known that beforehand; I would have called ahead and obtained better seats.
We then went to the hotel (Stone Castle Hotel and Conference Center) to check in. The lobby was beautifully decorated for Christmas. Check in was quick and easy. We were given a map of the property with our room highlighted. Stone Castle was completely booked on Saturday and Sunday, so breakfast was served in both buildings 1 and 2, and then only in building 2 on Monday and Tuesday of our stay. We enjoy staying at Stone Castle because it has indoor corridors, a great breakfast buffet, and it has a close proximity to all Branson activities. The rooms are clean and there are a refrigerator and an ironing board and iron for guests to use. Plus, I also like that the vanity is located outside the bathroom. It is more efficient to get ready that way.
After unloading and unpacking all our gear, it was time to relax for a while. Dinner on Friday evening was at Florentina’s Italian Restaurant. We had a voucher from KY3/Half Price Ozarks for $20.00 of food for $12.00. Our server was very attentive and brought me a drink refill before I even asked for it. He took our voucher right away too. Our meal was delicious and hubby and I agreed that Florentina’s food is much better than Olive Garden’s.
We went back to the hotel and got ready for the Andy Williams Ozark Mountain Christmas Show. The doors opened at 7:30 PM for the 8:00 show; however, there were a few bus tours there and it took a while to get everyone checked in, get their photo taken, etc. The doors should have opened at 7 PM in order to get everyone seated before the show started.
The show itself was very good. Jimmy Osmond (who now owns the PAC) was the host. He still sings well, even though his jokes were corny. Jimmy dedicated the Christmas version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” to Roy Clark, who had died the previous week. AYO – Voices of Glory was awesome. The young lady who sings with them was excellent. It’s hard to believe she’s only 19 years old.
The Lennon Sisters still sound great after all these years. They had some of their granddaughters on stage with them. And the ice skaters added a wintery touch to the show. There were lots of videos of the Osmonds on the Andy Williams Show in the 1960s.
We stayed after the show so I could get my photo taken with Jimmy. I also purchased a CD of songs by Jimmy to give to my friend Lisa, who’s a huge Osmonds fan. I had Jimmy autograph it for her. I mentioned to Jimmy that she was a big Osmonds fan and he cracked that that made two of them.
Saturday started with breakfast. Hubby and I left the son at the hotel and ran some errands. We went to the Jim Stafford Theater to pick up our tickets for the 3 PM Taylor Reed show. We then went to Walmart to pick up lunch supplies and some other items we needed. I’m so thankful there are stores we can purchase items at in case we forget or need something.
After lunch, the son and I headed over to the Tanger Outlet Mall to do some shopping. We dropped off our coupon from Travelhost at the customer service office and received a little red coupon book and some 20% off coupons. I was searching for a new pair of athletic shoes. I wear an 8W and it is really hard to find good shoes in that size at a reasonable price. I figured that since Tanger was an outlet mall, the selection might be better. I went to the Nike store, the ASICS store and Famous Footwear but couldn’t find a pair I liked. I did score a really cute red purse at the Vera Bradley Outlet store. It was on the clearance rack for 70% off and I was able to use one of my 20% off coupons, so I purchased a $98.00 purse for $18.00. Now that’s a deal!
The son and I returned back to the hotel to pick up hubby and we then went to Andy’s for frozen custard. The temperature was 60 degrees on that Saturday, so it was warm enough to eat custard. We then went to the 3 PM Taylor Reed show at the Jim Stafford Theatre. I noticed at the concession stand that they now sell alcohol, probably because of the Jimmy Buffett Margaritaville tribute show there on Friday nights.
We had seen the Taylor Reed show several years ago, but it was the only show at the Jim Stafford Theater that fit our schedule and we didn’t want to waste the free tickets that came with our Groupon deal for the hotel. Taylor has a good rapport with the kids, but he can be a little snarky sometimes. The illusions were very good, however. It wasn’t the worse way to spend a Saturday afternoon.
After the show, we went to McFarland’s Restaurant in the Branson IMAX complex for dinner. The store area/lobby for the movie theater was beautifully decorated with a large Christmas tree and other Christmas lights. We once again had a voucher from KY3/Half Price Ozarks for $20.00 of food for $12.00. Our server was good and the food was great, as it always is. McFarland’s is one of our favorite places to eat in Branson.
We went back to the hotel to get ready for the Tony Orlando Great American Christmas show. Tony only had two Christmas shows scheduled in Branson this year (for the first time in 5 years) and as luck would have it, they were both on the weekend that we were there, so of course, we had to go. These tickets are the only ones I paid full price for, because I wanted to make sure we actually could get tickets to the show (since there were only two of them) and because I wanted to select specific seats, because of my husband’s knee problems. I went to the Mansion’s website and bought our tickets there.
In all the years we have been visiting Branson, we had never been to a show at the Mansion Theater. The theater is very big and beautifully appointed. The concession area needs some work, however. It needs to be bigger and there needs to be more than one. The line at the concession stand was long, although it moved fairly quickly. The seats are probably the original ones too – they were faded, narrow, and the seat was lumpy. I have lots of junk in the trunk, but the seat was still uncomfortable. The handicapped ramp to the lower level needs to be better marked as well.
The show was excellent. Even our 22-year-old son enjoyed it. It was an hour and a half long, with no intermission. Tony started with a few Christmas songs. Then he sang some of his hits from the 1970s. Finally, Santa showed up on the stage. Santa scolded Tony for not having a Nativity scene on stage. Tony and Santa talked about Tony’s childhood and about the true meaning of Christmas.
There was a series of songs from 1950’s artists played by actors with large plastic heads that represented each artist. I think this segment of the show could have been cut and replaced with something else and no one would have probably missed it.
Tony’s band was excellent – you could tell they had played together for quite some time. At the end of the show, Tony introduced Mickey Gilley and Barbara Fairchild, who were in the audience.
Tony’s show really emphasized the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ. It really helped put me in the Christmas spirit. We took a wrong turn coming out of the Mansion parking lot, however. We drove on Shepherd of the Hills Expressway by Sight and Sound Theater and got a great view of the Branson Gift of Lights drive-through light show. We ended up on Roark Valley Road (the blue route) which we followed to Hwy. 76. All roads in Branson lead somewhere; you just have to follow the road until you get to another road and then you’ll get your bearings. That’s what I told my hubby, although I don’t think he believed me.
Stone Castle offered a special Christmas story with guest readers from the Clay Cooper Theater and other shows on Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday nights at 10:15 PM in the lobby of building 3. Hot wassail and Christmas cookies were served; sadly, however, we didn’t get back home from either weekend show in time to participate.
Sunday was the day we went to Silver Dollar City (and my birthday). In the morning, we watched our church’s Sunday morning worship service on a live stream. We ate an early lunch and headed out to SDC.
The park opens at 12 PM, but the chains at the main square that lead to the other parts of the parks didn’t come down until 1 PM. It was a cold, rainy day that Sunday, but there were lots of people in the park. We admired the huge Christmas tree in the town square. We nosed around in the general store and sat in the Wilderness Chapel to warm up until the chains were removed.
We decided we wanted to see the 2:00 PM showing of “Dickens’ A Christmas Carol” at the Opera House, and so did a lot of other people. The line snaked all the way back to the entrance to Wildfire.
The production of “Dickens’ A Christmas Carol” was excellent. It contained many songs from the Kelsey Grammar version of “A Christmas Carol” and the “Thank You Very Much” song from Albert Finney’s “Scrooge.” I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house when Tiny Tim sang.
We were hoping to catch the 3 PM showing of the saloon Christmas show, but when we got there at 2:45 PM, the sign was up stating that the theater was full. We never did get back to see the saloon show. The saloon show will be our first stop the next time we make a trip to Silver Dollar City during the Christmas season.
We went to the Carousel Barn and saw Rudolph, Clarice and the Bumble, and some elves. You could have your photo taken with the characters (for a fee). There were t-shirts and souvenirs available for purchase.
We made our way to the Riverfront Playhouse to see the Living Nativity show. By this time, the son and I were pretty cold, so we went to a nearby vendor and used our refillable mugs to buy hot chocolate and a pretzel to eat while we waited to enter the theater. The Living Nativity show was narrated by an angel. It was only about 15 minutes long. The acting was good and there were a few musical numbers.
The hubby wanted to eat an early dinner (like at 4 PM), so we headed to the Lucky Silver Mine Christmas Buffet to eat dinner. Our waitress used our refillable mugs for drinks. When I mentioned to our waitress that it was my birthday, she wished me a happy birthday and told me I should go to the General Store and tell them that it was my birthday. I would then get a list of special deals for my birthday. We went back to the general store to look around some more, but I forgot about speaking to someone about my birthday specials.
I then went into the Christmas in Midtown area to take lots of photos. I have never seen so many Christmas lights in one place in my life!
After I was done taking photos, I met up with hubby and son.
We decided to wait for Rudolph’s Holly Jolly Christmas Parade. Tracy Heaston played piano in the gazebo before the parade started. Despite the fact that it was cold and damp, Tracy played magnificently, even without gloves. There’s no way I could play piano outside in the cold and damp.
We found a good place to stand right at the edge of the marked strip for the parade. Rudolph led the way in a lit up car. There were nine floats, which included Santa and Mrs. Claus, and finally, a stained glass Nativity float. The parade was about 15 minutes long.
I asked hubby if perhaps we could try to catch the saloon show or the “It’s a Wonderful Life,” but he said that his knee was hurting badly and we needed to go back to the hotel. We stopped in the Hospitality House and we each bought a sweatshirt. We then caught the bus back to the parking lot and drove back to the hotel. The next time that we visit SDC during Christmas season, hopefully, hubby’s knee will be better and we can stay at the park longer. We also missed going on the train.
On Monday morning, we went to Branson Landing. The shops don’t open until 10 AM, but the 5 and 10 cents store next to Bass Pro Shops opens at 9:30 AM. So we looked around in that store to warm up until Bass Pro opened. Hubby bought a hooded sweatshirt, but I could not find one in my size, so I settled for a new plastic coffee mug with a lid.
We then looked around several of the stores at the Landing. We bought some things at the Cardinals Clubhouse since they had a great sale of buy 2, get one 1 free (of equal or lesser value). We then went to Branson’s Festival of Trees, which was located in a store across from H & M, to see all of the beautiful Christmas trees and wreaths. There was even a tree decorated like the Bumble.
We went back to the hotel to eat lunch. After lunch, we went to the Grand Village shopping center. I was on the hunt for a commemorative Christmas tree ornament to mark our first visit to Branson during Christmas season. I couldn’t find anything suitable at Silver Dollar City, or maybe I just didn’t look in the right place. I found some ornaments at Dickens’ Christmas Store that could be personalized, so I bought one with three figures in a car and had the lady at Dickens personalize it for us.
We went to dinner that night at Montana Mike’s, with yet another voucher from KY3/Half Price Ozarks for $20.00 of food for $12.00. The waitress was very sweet and very efficient. Our food was served quickly and it was hot. My steak was done just the way I ordered it. It was an enjoyable meal.
It was dark by the time we were finished with our dinner, so we went to our last activity, the Let There Be Lights drive-thru trail at Promised Land Zoo. We had vouchers from KY3/Half Price Ozarks for $5.00 each (
the deal is still available as of this writing). There were lots of lovely animated lights, including a lighted up version of the 12 Days of Christmas. Some of the real animals were still outside and we could see them in the fenced areas. At the end of the trail, you could get out of your vehicle and have hot chocolate and visit with Santa.
Hubby’s knee was bothering him again, so we decided to just drive back to the hotel. We spent the rest of the evening hanging out in the hotel room and packing our suitcases so we could leave the next morning.
If you have never been to Branson during the Christmas season, I highly recommend it. There is Christmas all around in Branson – the lights, the shows, the Christmas trees. And the real reason for the season – the birth of Jesus Christ – is emphasized. Thanks as always for reading and I wish for you and yours a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Diane
