Salisbury House & Gardens

I had always heard the The Salisbury house was a beautiful place to visit, full of history.  It's on Tonawanda Drive in Des Moines (not far from the Art Center).  But, with a little one, I never really found a time to visit.  That is, until I realized all of the fun events that they do throughout the year!  We went to their Halloween event last year, and my son couldn't wait to come back for this year's event.  They had face painting, Story-time with Dan Wardell, fantastic decorations, crafts, spooky science experiments and more. It's a great event.

I had no idea until this year that they had Christmas-time events too!  We attended the Chocolate-making class hosted by Beaverdale Confections at the Salisbury House and it was a blast!  My six year old can't stop talking about it.  It was only $20 and he took home over 30 pieces of chocolate!

Luckily, my friend Lisa was able to attend the Gingerbread house workshop and she was nice enough to share about her experience with us!  Thanks Lisa!  You might remember Lisa from her last guest post about The Little Gym =)

Hi!  Lisa here guest posting today about the Gingerbread workshop at Salisbury House in Des Moines.  

My 6 year old has been asking to make a gingerbread house, and I’ve been wanting to see the Salisbury House-so this was a perfect fit!!  

We opted to purchase one house and one student ticket for $20, but if you have more than one child, you might want to purchase more than one house.  

We were greeted on a very cold day by a nice volunteer in a big golf cart offering rides up from the street (overflow parking) to the house.  Once inside the house, we were led downstairs to a room that smelled of candy!!  The gingerbread house kits came with candy, but the volunteers had provided a ton more!  There was a lot of decorating, and a lot of eating the candy!!  Christmas music was playing while everyone worked away.  After we were finished, we were encouraged to leave our gingerbread house to dry and take a walk around the house.  

My 6 year old enjoyed the tour as much as I did!  Our favorite room was Edith’s bathroom…check it out and you’ll see why.  The Salisbury House was beautifully decorated for Christmas!  This included a huge tree, some local celebrity decorated gingerbread houses, and Santa in the garage next to a gorgeous red Packard!  Overall, a great local experience.  They have a lot of events and are supported by donations so check it out!  http://salisburyhouse.org/

Make sure your follow us (Eat Play Love Des Moines) and The Salisbury house on Facebook so we can remind you about upcoming events! =)

Witch Hazel @ Chocolaterie Stam

Every year, just before Halloween, Chocolaterie Stam on Ingersol hosts their Halloween event.

The event has been $10 per child for the last few years and is very well worth it.

The event usually takes place on a weekday evening and is announced on their facebook page a few weeks before the event.  Children arrive in costume and are greeted by staff who help the child pick a gelato flavor (included in the $10 fee) and they have all sorts of Halloween candy to top their gelato with.  Kids eat their sundaes until all the kids arrive and then Witch Hazel comes out and reads the kids a few Halloween stories with surprise Halloween treats in between stories.

I usually sit back and relax with one of my favorite drinks, a Stam Hot Cocoa and watch the kids have fun.

My son has enjoyed this event for the last few years and can't wait til next year!  Thanks for a great event Witch Hazel Chocolaterie Stam!

PS. Keep an eye on their facebook page for an announcement about their similar Christmas event!

Night Eyes

Take your kids trick-or-treating at the zoo this year!

After 22 years, Night Eyes at Blank Park Zoo has become the sweetest Halloween fun in Central Iowa, and this year’s 23rd annual event is sure to continue the tradition! A big thank you to our presenting partner, Dahl’s and to our many, many supports and volunteers for making this merry, not scary, event possible for everyone to enjoy!

Children and adults will go on a treat safari, travel along the yellow brick road, explore Fareway Food Stores Spooky Forest, and travel past the sea of orange at the Dahl’s Pumpkin Patch.  Don’t miss this sweet and enchanting tradition.  Inflatables and games are available.

Night Eyes is taking place on October 17-20 & 24-27

Thursday & Fridays: 5:30pm-8:00pm

Saturday & Sundays: 1:00pm-8:00pm
Gate Tickets: $5
Zoo Member: $4
Children under 12 months old are free
Children under 12 months old are free

Advance Tickets: $3 (purchased on or before October 16)  Ticket info here.

*Night Eyes admission supports the many programs and opportunities that are brought to our community and ensures quality care for our many animal friends.

Interested in volunteering during Night Eyes?  

For more information on this sweet event, please call 515-285-4722 or e-mail events@blankparkzoo.org.

 *All info from Blank Park Zoo Website

Living History Farms Halloween Info

Family Halloween Tickets on sale now!

October 17-20, 24-27  |  5:30-8:30 pm

Family Halloween is presented by Bob Brown Chevrolet/Buick & GMC

Horse-drawn wagon rides, marshmallow roasts, storytellers, scarecrow and jack-o-lantern displays

delight all during this non-scary family event. Children aged 12 and under can trick or treat through town, and we'll have free pop and popcorn for all!

 

Get advanced tickets and save!

Advanced tickets:
(on sale through October 16)
$4.50/member
$5.00/non-member 

 

Purchase tickets >

 

Tickets at the door:

$5.00/member
$6.00/non-member

*All info direct from LHF website.

Boone & Scenic-Valley Railroad

Today's guest post comes to you from our friend Margaret who loves to do fun activities with her son around Iowa.  Here is a great review about her recent experience at the Boone & Scenic-Valley RR!  Thanks Margaret!

One special event at the Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad is the Day Out with Thomas. For five days in September, the incomparable Thomas the Tank Engine comes to Boone. This event has everything any Thomas fan could imagine: a 25-minute train ride in coaches pulled by a full-sized Thomas, art activities, storytelling, temporary tattoos, several train tables for playing, inflatables, photo opportunities, and more. Sir Topham Hatt makes appearances before each boarding time, too.

Tickets get you in to all the activity tents and are sold with a specific train boarding time. They come with instructions to arrive an hour early. Beforehand, I thought this was excessive, but it turned out to be good advice. Given that we had tickets for only the second boarding of the day (the second of nine!), I was surprised by how busy it already was when we arrived. Parking is at a premium because the event tents take over the entire parking lot. We found parking in the grassy area adjacent to the museum, but ticket-holders for later in the day would have to walk and might take some time for the toddler set. Boone also has a very active railroad so we had to wait for 2 trains as we made our way through town to the depot. The crew positions Thomas in a way that provides great photo opportunities. We were there in time to see him arrive and got pictures before our ride.

The train ride is 25 minutes, so the trip does not reach the high trestle bridge as in other excursions, but for a first train ride, that was a selling point. In case your child doesn't like it, you're not too far from the depot! There was a lot of waiting involved with nearly everything at the event, but the train ride required extra patience. It took a long time to board all the passengers and prepare for the trip, so we were on the train longer waiting to leave the depot than the train actually moved. Had I known, I probably would have taken one of our Thomas books to read while we waited on board. I saw parents doling out snacks and drinks to fidgety toddlers, and it is definitely something to keep in mind if you choose a boarding time around lunch or snack time. 

There are several food vendors at the event selling snacks, drinks, and food for lunch. We chose to pack a picnic and found there are several picnic tables and a gazebo near the parking area to enjoy our lunch while enjoying views of the train yard.

After eating lunch, we visited the on-site museum which is half-price for Day Out with Thomas ticket-holders. The 9,000 square-foot museum has a Thomas play table (with fewer children vying for engines!), antique track maintenance vehicles, memorabilia, model trains, informational displays, a theater, plus a library and gift shop. Admittedly, I was a bit reluctant to head in to the museum initially, but I am very glad we did. I learned a lot, it was a welcome respite from the activity just outside, and it ended up being one of the highlights of our day.


In all, this was a special treat for our Thomas fan that won't be soon forgotten. Peep! Peep!

Boone is about a 50 minute ride from Des Moines and while it might be too late to get in on the Thomas event this year, they also host Pumpkin Express train rides in October and Santa Express train rides in December.  These rides are along the same lines as the Thomas event.  Here is the full Special Events Calendar.  They also offer weekly un-themed train rides and lunch and dinner train rides too.  Visit their website for more info.

Center Grove Orchard & Howell's Pumpkin Patch

I LOVE fall and everything about it from pumpkin spice lattes to cider donuts to apple pies....ok....I guess there is non-food stuff I like about it too, like visiting the pumpkin patch!



We are so lucky in Des Moines to live pretty close to some awesome farms that get decked out for the fall and provide some pretty great family fun.




My two favorite places to visit are Center Grove Orchard in Cambridge and Howell's Pumpkin Patch in Cumming.  Both are less than an hour from pretty much anywhere in the metro.  They both offer corn pools, tractor rides, duck races, hay rides, pumpkin patches, corn mazes, slides and much more!  Including apple slushes and cider donuts! YUM!



You can ride out to the pumpkin patch and pick your own pumpkins or pick from stashes ready to go.  At Center Grove you can pick your own apples too.  They both offer farm animal petting areas as well.





At Center Grove you can jump on the giant jumping pillow and sling shot apples.  Both have snack bars available.




Both locations are fun for any age and I would totally recommend making both stops this fall.  Howell's often has pony rides for kids.




Center Grove farm yard opens up on September 7th! Yay!  Pricing is $9.95 during the weekend and $7.95 on weekdays.  Kids 3 and under are free.




Howell's opens on September 21st and admission is $8.




Both locations actually offer birthday party packages!  How fun for a kid with a fall birthday.  And there are special discounts for school tours too.



There is also a farm in Ankeny called Williamson's Pumpkin Paradise that is FREE everyday.  We haven't been there yet, but it's on our to-do list for this fall!  They open on September 29th this year.




Wherever you visit you are sure to have a lot of fun.  Enjoy the Fall!

Chocolate, Chocolate everywhere!

I'm not sure why I've never stopped into the Chocolate Storybook on Grand Ave in West Des Moines before.  I've driven by 1000 times and always say that I'm going to stop in (when the kids are in school of course). Probably the sheer fact that I know how many calories would be consumed if I dared to enter.

But I took the plunge and went in the other day.  This store is so cute!  It's been there since 1985 and it looks more like an ordinary house from the outside, but the inside is floor to ceiling chocolaty goodness.

The store is welcoming and the staff is happy to point you in the right direction.  They have lots of choices for gifts, celebrations, graduations, sports-themes, etc.  And they of course deck the store out to celebrate the upcoming holiday.  Since I stopped in right before Easter they were doing personalized fudge and hollow (filled with chocolate candies)  Easter eggs.  Very cute!  And who doesn't love gift with their name on it?!  I picked up some chocolate-covered oreos and some dark & milk-chocolate bunnies.  So good!

The chocolate items are handmade and they pride themselves on using only the freshest and highest quality ingredients.  You can't go wrong with anything in the store really.

Tip: Check out the website before you head over.  It can be overwhelming to chose what you want since the store is packed with items.  Most of the items found in the store can be found online, so get an idea of what you are looking for and the prices first so it's not so overwhelming when you get there. You can even pre-order personalized items right online and indicate when you'd like to pick them up!  Makes things much easier =)

Also, if you sign up for the e-mail list, they will e-mail you a coupon for your next purchase online or in the store.

Check them out for gifts, the next holiday or event or just because you need some chocolate. So good!