All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My husband, the merriest gentleman this side of the North Pole, was researching new holiday traditions when he stumbled across the most Christmas-y towns in the US.  Realizing that one of the top contenders was just a few hours away, he booked a last-minute trip to Solvang.

The town was founded in 1911 by a group of Danish settlers looking to escape harsh winters.  Now a quaint community, it is filled with bakeries, restaurants, souvenir shops, and windmills.  Imagine stepping into a Hallmark Christmas movie set but with yummier treats!

We arrived early on a Saturday morning.  Since it was a last-minute trip, we found a hotel just outside of town.  The charming windmill delighted our children, as we settled into our room.   The promise of a dessert trail was too tempting to stay cooped up in a hotel room for long.  We drove into town to sample the pastries and grab a spot on the sidewalk for the Julefest parade.  The  community parade was filled with everything from dogs wearing their best bandanas, monks from the nearby mission, and real estate agents in their cool cars.  It was so cute and quaint!

After the parade, we explored the town.  One of our road stop traditions is to visit the local book store, so we happily picked up new books for each of the girls (perfect for the drive home on any road trip).  Since we hadn’t done a whole lot of research in advance (other than researching Danish pastries), we strolled through town looking for somewhere to eat.  We stumbled upon a pretty mediocre restaurant, but they had chicken nuggets so the kids were happy.

Neaby in Solvang Park, Santa had made an appearance for photos.  It was a great opportunity for the kids to run around and explore mini playhouses.  We decided to head back to the hotel to let our youngest rest and head back into town that evening.

There are nods to Hans Christian Andersen, the Danish author of fairy tales and beloved stories like The Little Mermaid throughout town.

For dinner, we checked out the Solvang Brewery.  The town closes down very early, so there wasn’t much to do in ways of nightlife (even family-friendly nightlife).  In hindsight, we should have stayed through the afternoon and left town after dinner.

The whole day was so delightful with the cute parade and sweet treats.  But Sunday was even better!

Just outside of town is Ostrichland, USA, home to 50 ostriches and emus.  Admission was pretty inexpensive and bird food was just $1.  I don’t think I’ve laughed that hard in my entire life.  The combination of their long dinosaur necks and my children’s fear of them had me giggling for an hour straight.  There are also tons of cute photo ops.

We headed back into Solvang afterwards to check out the parts of town we had missed.  With my eldest being in  4th grade, we took advantage of being so close to an important part of California state history and visited Mission Santa Ines.  The church was beautiful, and the grounds have stunning views of the lands once belonging to the Chumash.

We snapped some photos in the local landmark, an oversized shoe, outside the Solvang Shoe Store.

All of our vacations require finding a Christmas ornament to commemorate the fun, so we explored the many souvenir stores to find just the right one.  A pair of Danish shoes was just the thing! Jule Hus with holiday decorations all year round was one of our stops.

We also needed to try homemade ice cream (despite it being a chilly December morning).  We were so sad to head home and leave all of the sweetness of the season.

With sweets, holiday ornaments, and the merriest memories Solvang was an instant family tradition.  We plan to visit again in 2018, this time bringing extended family for even more fun.  We’ve been adding to our itinerary, swapped hotels for a location in town, and daydreaming about the pretzels.  If you’ve been to Solvang, we’d love any recommendations for family-friendly fun.

This post is not sponsored; I just adored the ostriches.  This post may contain affiliate links.  Please read my Disclosure Policy for more information.

My husband Matt loves Christmas.   So we spend all of December celebrating with activities ranging from caroling with the neighbors to visiting Santa at the Grand Californian Hotel & Spa.  For the holiday season 2017, Matt added a new tradition to our calendar when we visited Solvang, California.  It’s a charming tourist town that resembles a little Denmark.  Danish bakeries, lots of windmills, and all around adorableness.

As we driving towards Solvang, I yelped with delight as we drove past OstrichLand USA.  This is the magic I hadn’t anticipated as part of our vacation, but something I knew we needed to add to the itinerary.

OstrichLand USA

OstrichLand USA is located right outside Solvang in Buellton, California.  The central California landmark is home to over 50 large birds, both ostriches and emus.

When we arrived, we purchased bird food for $1 a bowl.  My kids being very good shoppers wanted to buy Costco-sized portions of ostrich food.  Now, I’ve learned from previous experiences that they will most likely chicken out so I figured we’d start with just a few bowls.

With admission for adults being only $5 and children 12 and under set at $2, I was willing to risk being the only one feeding them.  The kids could always observe and enjoy from afar.

An employee advised that emus are actually friendlier than ostriches and gave some basic feeding instructions.  The ostrich food comes in bowls adhered to metal dust pans.  To feed the birds, you hold the handle of pan.  All of the birds have been trained to eat out of the bowls, but as a general warning we were reminded that birds can bite.

Once outside in the feeding area, we wound around past the ostriches and found the emu enclosures.  The birds stroll along the plains of OstrichLand, but most were gathered along the gates waiting for their morning audience to deliver breakfast.  We had checked the website and knew they opened at 9 AM, and feedings happened throughout the day.  However, busier days may limit feedings to ensure the birds aren’t overfed.  So we planned on arriving early in the day.

As anticipated, my three girls were apprehensive at first.  Score another bowl of ostrich food for me.  I share these photos not because I love the baggy clothed, no make-up look on the internet.  But because IT WAS SO DARN FUNNY.  The birds have these dinosaur long necks that they stick through holes in the fencing.  And then they peck at the bowls with so much gusto that it sounds like stones hitting the road.  Oh my god, I’m still laughing about it.

After seeing me fall over with glee at feeding the birds, my older children warmed up to the idea followed by their younger sister.  We started by assisting them holding the bowls until they felt comfortable and then let them take over.  We ended up going back to buy additional bowls of bird food.  But still we’re are only up to $20 for a family of five.

There is a gift shop with unique ostrich-themed gifts.  I couldn’t see buying ostrich jerky for my husband or kids after so happily engaging with my feathered friends, but that’s the vegetarian in me.

Once our bowls were empty, the girls took turns taking pictures with the photo backdrop.  Thanks to a perfectly positioned potted plant and a timer on my cellphone, we even got a family photo.

Not that we need the family photo because this is a road trip stop I will never forget.

You can check out a peek of our time as OstrichLand USA.

OstrichLand USA is located at 610 E. Highway 246, Solvang, Ca 93463.  More info on OstrichLand can be found here.

What’s your favorite road trip destination?