Sitting in the car, driving around, looking at Christmas Lights was my favorite holiday activity as a child. As an adult I am always looking to recapture the magic of the holidays for myself and my children. Now that they and I are older, I found the grown up way to capture that feeling again, holiday lights installations like Enchant, the epic holiday lights maze set up in San Jose, California. Check out the fun of Enchant, and how you and your family can create holiday magic close to home.
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What is Enchant?
If going around the neighborhood looking at Christmas Lights is one of your favorite activities then you will love Enchant. Started by two brothers from Canada who had a side hustle of setting up neighbors Christmas lights, it’s grown into a multi-city holiday lights extravaganza in major stadiums. The concept is a holiday lights maze, and it changes every year. You are invited to not just see the lights but walk in and immerse yourself in the holiday lights display. At the San Jose Location, you get an ice rink, a holiday market, Santa, food and drinks, and so much more. The best part is it really appeals to all ages. The kids love the story line, the teens love the immersive nature and photo opportunities, and the adults and couples loved the fun, unique experience with adult friendly beverages.
Locations
In 2024 there are 3 locations:
We went to the PayPal Park in San Jose, California.
Holiday Lights Maze
The star of Enchant is the Holiday Lights Maze. At PayPal Park, the entire lights maze took up the entire soccer field where the Earthquakes play. Each year there is a storyline and an adventure to follow along. For us, we had to “help” Santa find his lost reindeer. As we went through the maze, we were hunting for seven huge lighted reindeer statues. You could often see the heads over the walls, but every turn you took you someplace unexpected. Along the way you could find beautiful holiday sculptures (such as presents or ornaments) made of holiday lights. There were light tunnels to go through, and several Instagram-able photo stops. There was even a dance floor playing the best tunes and having lighted up floor. I could not get my kids off it. I loved going through the tunnel of lights hanging down and being able to surround yourself in them. There were also some stops inside to buy drinks, hot chocolate and snacks. You can easily spend more than an hour enjoying all the aspects of this interactive experience.
Ice Skating Rink
But the holiday maze is not the only place to spend time. There is an ice-skating experience you can add-on to your ticket. But the rink is not a normal oval. It’s more of a B-shaped track, which takes twists and turns so you get a unique ice-skating experience. You can rent skates there and it’s for skaters of all levels.
Santa and Play Areas
What is a holiday experience without Santa? There is a Santa you can visit, and if you want you can get professional pictures with the big guy. I will be honest, the line was long when we went, and we had already gotten our annual Santa picture, so we ended up skipping him at Enchant.
Enchant is child friendly with play areas designed specifically for those 0 – 7 year olds. There you will find soft toys that encourage your little one to climb, jump, and touch, all things they can’t do as much in the holiday maze (no matter how inviting it seems to little ones). It is included in the cost of your ticket.
Holiday Market
Around the concourse of the first level, there was a holiday market. The holiday market was filled with local vendors and set up to look like a European Christmas Market. You don’t find quite the same things, but there were several small vendors and I enjoyed doing a little shopping. We bought some outfits for my daughter’s and her friend’s dolls, and we ended up buying some homemade jerky that was quite addictive. There were also snacks such as baked goods, pretzels, and other treats. And through the market are some performers and shows. We got the chance to watch a local tap-dancing troop that was doing creative dances to holiday songs. I couldn’t get my dancer daughter away.
Drinks and Food
The good news is it’s hard to go hungry or thirsty at Enchant. First off, Enchant has a bar, where you can buy themed holiday drinks. My husband and I got margaritas in cool light up souvenir cups. There are also walking vendors that sell hot chocolate and popcorn all around the venue. By the ice-skating rink there are several food trucks with different meal and snack options. And through the Holiday Market there are vendors that sell baked goods, sweat treats and snacks. You can check out the Village Vendors for your location to see what food vendors will be available at your location.
Costs
I will say that Enchant is not a budget experience. For San Jose, here is the cost breakdown on what we spent:
- Tickets: $160 for a Family Offer
- Parking: $35 for regular parking
- Ice Skating: $16 for adults and $11 for juniors
- Margaritas: $30 for two holiday margaritas
- Hot Chocolate: $12 for two kid’s hot chocolates
- Other Food and Snacks: $60
The pricing of the tickets is dynamic based on the popularity of the dates, and everything is timed entry, so be sure to book early. You can get discounts on a family four pack, senior tickets, military, and night owl if you want to only go the last two hours.
Tips
- If you are visiting as a family, watch out for the themed nights. Some are really fun for families like Ugly Sweater Night and Military Night. They even have a night for Sensory Sensitive Kids. But you might want to avoid nights like College Night unless you have older kids.
- Book early to ensure you get the date you want. The popular dates and times can fill up fast.
- There is a clear bag policy, but I noticed when I went, they were not that strict with it, and they were allowing in strollers and stroller bags. Be ready to have your bags inspected, you are entering a stadium.
- There are lots of food options, but they can be pricy. If you want to save money, you might want to ensure that you get dinner before going to the event.
- It’s easy to get lost in the holiday lights maze. Make sure kids know to stay close. If you have older kids, make sure they have their phones on them and are charged up. That can help you keep in touch in the maze, and help you track them if you need to.
- Controversial Opinion: If you are going to book ice skating, I would actually book it first and THEN do the maze. We ended up having to rush through the end of the maze because we had timed entry tickets to ice skating. Ice skating was really an hour or less, but the maze I wanted more time. If you can’t, I would recommend you give yourself at least an hour and a half in the maze, but I would have liked two.
As my two children move from kids to teens and tweens, it gets harder to find activities that help keep alive the holiday magic for them, especially living in sunny California. Enchant in San Jose, was the perfect way to get my older kids to have fun and be active and engaged in the holiday spirit. They love all the interactive aspects of the maze. They enjoyed the adventure having a mission to do during the maze. They loved posing for pictures. They are old enough to sit through and appreciate the shows, and to do a little bit of window shopping at the markets. And as we get older, it’s something that all of us can enjoy and get us into the holiday spirit. I will always love holiday light displays and Enchant is able to make it work for everyone.
Want more holiday activities to do in the Bay Area? Check out The Best Activities for Holiday Fun in the Bay Area.
Edited by SKS
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