Families looking for a quick, FREE, Christmas outing in Omaha can head to the annual Gingerbread Festival at the Mormon Trail Center at the Historic Winter Quarters in Florence. Each year, the gingerbread display typically runs from mid-November through Dec. 31, 2016.
What to expect
This was our first year visiting, even the Historic Winter Quarters which is a landmark in our city. You can simply walk through the exhibit, admiring the details, or try the scavenger hunt.
I recommend doing the hunt. The kids enjoyed seeking little details like a penguin and Tinkerbell. Upon completing the hunt, kids are given a small candy cane.
There is a stage there for occasional performances, but we didn’t catch any while we visited.
You’ll also find a few photo opps, which my kids cannot resist.
About the Historic Winter Quarters
If time allows, you can tour the Historic Winter Quarters. It is an interesting piece of Omaha history I knew very little about. The tour includes some interactive and hands-on elements.
The tour does, however, involve a short documentary, so factor in that for time (and your child’s patience).
The kids’ favorite part was the interactive map, that lit up to the corresponding short video clip about the Mormons’ journeys.
If you go
Gingerbread Festival
When: Typically, the annual festival runs daily from mid-November through Dec. 31, 2016, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Where: Mormon Trail Center, 3215 State St.
Cost: FREE
