Grapevine, the Christmas Capital of Texas

Meagan Wristen
Hi everyone, welcome back to Her Travel Expert. I am so excited to welcome back Catherine Parker. We had so much fun talking a few weeks ago. We thought, let’s do this again. and this time we’re talking all things Grapevine because it is a Christmas capital of Texas.
And we have both been at different times. So we had two very different experiences. So Catherine, tell me what was your favorite thing you did when you visited the Christmas capital of Texas?

Catherine
Okay. I have to preface it. I was there in 2021. So let’s remember that.

Meagan Wristen
Well, a lot of the things don’t change. It’s often the same thing year after year.

Catherine
Yeah. So it was probably less people just because this was like right after, you know, COVID. So there were people who were less like, Hey, let’s go out there. But it was a great experience. I mean, I’m not a huge Christmas person, though. Even I have this really incredible tree, but
I’m not one of those people who shop for Christmas before, you know, November. So I was like, okay, whatever. But I went, I was like, oh, this is so much fun. And I had a great time. It’s super popular.

Meagan Wristen

It is super popular. So basically, it runs over 40 days. I think it starts the Monday before Thanksgiving and then goes through to the end of December. Some of the events are also in early January, like Gaylord Ice. But it was like the Texas Senate actually made it. They designated it as the Christmas capital of Texas back in 2009. And I think it’s just getting more and more popular every year.

North Pole Express – Grapevine Vintage Railroad

One, I wish I had written down the stat that they gave me when I went to ride the train. But they’re running that train like seven. So they they’ve got this Christmas train and it’s kind of like Polar Express, but it’s called Santa’s North Pole Express. And Santa does come on the train and they’re running it like 7 times a day and I want to say they said it was over, they sold over 80,000 tickets.

Catherine
And it’s it’s sold out.
I mean, it’s sold out in the fall.
Because when I i write have an article on my site about this best and Christmas trains in Texas, when I checked, it was it was already sold out.
And that was, I don’t know, late October or something like that. So, yeah.

Meagan Wristen
Best Christmas trains in Texas. Was it number one?

Catherine
Well, I just listed them all alphabetically because I didn’t rank them.

Meagan Wristen
Oh, you didn’t. Okay. You didn’t rank them.

Catherine
Well, because that’s a really great one. Well, it depends.

Meagan Wristen
Are there a bunch?

Catherine
They’re like seven.

Some of are, some of them are, like the polar express, which is a licensing kind of deal. And then some of them are just Christmas trains with Santa and cookies.

Meagan Wristen
This one had Santa. It had cookies. It had the chocolate milk in the little souvenir cup and the singing and dancing and the storybook.

Meagan Wristen
And that was about it Oh, and then the bell. and You ring the bell.

Catherine

Well, and then the cars are all decorated.

Catherine

So it’s a whole, and you can wear your pajamas and did the kid, were the kids wearing the pajamas?

Meagan Wristen
Actually, i felt like almost everyone was wearing pajamas, like all the families had on matching jammies. I was like, what is this? Because I’ve gone down. i don’t live that far from Grapevine.

Catherine

Did you wear pajamas?

Meagan Wristen
And so and for those of you that are like, where’s Grapevine? It’s near the DFW airport and the Dallas Fort Worth airport is in the city of Grapevine. And so. I live really close to DFW Airport, so I’m close to Grapevine. And so I pop down there every Christmas because it’s decorated really well up and down the street. i don’t necessarily do a bunch of the events because they do get crowded.

But we go down there and I have never seen the amount of people wearing pajamas. um’m I’m like, is this a new thing? Like, it was everybody.

Catherine

Well, it’s just the whole thing. I mean, my kids, my kids have vetoed it this year. Cause I asked them like, Hey, do you want to have matching pajamas? All right. No, i mean, it wasn’t even a, maybe it was like, no I’m like, okay, fine.

Meagan Wristen
Oh, we’re doing matching Christmas. show but We do that every year. Now we don’t go out in public like that.

Catherine

no, this was just at home. They wouldn’t do it at home.
What you ask them? Do you give them money as you’re asking or you tell them they’re not going to get other presents unless they’re all matching. I want to know some tips because our kids are the same age.

Meagan Wristen
I don’t, I don’t know if my kids would go on a train with me and their Christmas jammies. I think they would. They’re pretty good sports.
They’ll be like, Oh, this is how you make your living. Let’s go. and I’m paying for college, so they’d probably go.

Catherine

It’ll be like, no, mine would just, well, a couple of them would just frown, you know,

Meagan Wristen
and It only lasted, I think, 40, 45 minutes. it just And, like, there’s no stops. It’s not scenic. It just goes out 20 minutes, comes back 20 minutes long enough to, like, go through the song list. They did a bunch of songs. So, yeah.

Catherine
Some of them are longer.
So some of them are like a scenic kind of deal. Like I know the Texas State Railroad does one, but that’s out way out in Palestine, East Texas.

Meagan Wristen
yeah, I’m not driving out there.

Catherine

So I mean, right. So I mean, it’s in DFW. There’s how many people that live in the DFW metro area?

Meagan Wristen
Oh, min what I don’t know. 8 million, 8 million.

Catherine
Millions and millions. So there you go. It’s its one of them.

Meagan Wristen
More every day.

Catherine
Yeah. Yeah. But I had a great time. I didn’t take kids. i Now, I wore like a Christmas-y clothes. Like I had on a green sweater and then I may or may not have been wearing like a Santa hat and had it, but I had on jeans.

So, you know, but i had a great

Meagan Wristen
I wore jeans. Yeah, I just dress normal. You can dress however you want. You don’t have to dress up. That’s true.

Catherine

time. Little kids or if you alternatively like wear little Christmas dresses or, I mean, you might as well, you’re buying all this stuff. You might as well get more than one wearing out of it, you know?

Meagan Wristen
that’s true

Catherine
And it makes the photo ops even cuter.

Meagan Wristen
And Santa did stop with each group of people throughout the whole the whole train and take pictures with them and in your train car.

Catherine
Did you have a good one?

Meagan Wristen
and i’m So i thought it was well done. i personally don’t think I’d ever want to do it again. i would only do it again if my kids really wanted to do it.

They told me they have a wine Christmas train.

That was before Thanksgiving. I’m like, now you’re now you’re speaking my language. That sounds like a good time because you can’t bring food and drinks on it. So really the only thing you drink is the chocolate milk and and you have the cookie if you want, which I didn’t actually have either because we had eaten right before
There’s like a, like a kind of like a German Christmas market with a little Christmas booth set up right outside the train. And this year there was like, you know, those little fried donuts and they have like different toppings like Oreos or s’mores whatever.

I got the s’more like donut holes. And so I was like stuffing my face before I got on the train. So by the time I got on the train, I’m like, i don’t want that cookie. But there’s like, but it was like a mix. It was like little, there were some food trucks out there. And then there were like little, these little shops. And they said that it was all local vendors. I didn’t verify that, but I believed them.
It seemed it seemed like it was local. So they jewelry and candles and, you know, bunch of different stuff.

Catherine

That sounded cool.
Yes, it was fun for adults, you know, for a one-off, but I could definitely see how families, especially with the younger kids, would want to go year after year because it is short. So it’s great for short attention spans.

And then, you know, they get their little sugar rush and then boom, you’re you’re off the train. And then you get to do other events and it’s a ton of it’s walkable. That’s what I really liked.

Meagan Wristen
yeah that’s true i mean a lot of the events are right there on main street and that’s where you get on the train is main street and so you know several of the things I did were right super close to the train section so inside of the visitor center they do this old timey looking

walk through holiday displays did you do that inside the visitor center

Catherine

that what the train have like train?

Meagan Wristen
They do have us they have, I think, two, what do you call that, model trains in there?
Yeah, it’s really pretty.

Meagan Wristen
I mean, it’s kind of random. I think it’s really cheap. i want to see it with like two bucks to walk through it. So it’s a good place to get your pictures taken. It’s called Hometown Christmas.
So it’s supposed to be like a little city decorated, like an old school city. Yeah. So there was like an ice cream parlor that’s all decorated. and then there was like a porch to something all decorated. And was kind of like, and I mean, if you photographed it right, it would be like a bunch of little scenes, I guess.

Catherine

Which is great. Yeah. Yeah, have but if you have a train kid, it’s an automatic yes, right?

Meagan Wristen
Yeah. So that’s right. That’s just right across from the train. And then I know when I was, one of the things I did was glass blowing while I was there, which I’ve never done before.

Have you done that glass blowing?

Glass Blowing Ornaments at Vetro Glassblowing Studio

Catherine

A couple of times, there’s a place in, in between, i live in Austin. She lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. We are connected by this fabulous road, Interstate 35.

So it’s kind of halfway, it’s just south of and Waco is Salado. And so they do glass foaming there. So I’ve done it two or three times. Like I did it this past year, I did a pumpkin.

Meagan Wristen

Oh, so this is my first time. So it turns out when you’re walking to the train, there’s there’s a building right there. And at the far end of the building is Vetro Glassworks or Glassblowing. And they have, you can just sign up. It was like $65 a person and you can make an ornament. But same thing, like you were talking about the pumpkin. In the fall, you could do a pumpkin. I would totally do it again. I thought it was a really great experience. And I was like a little nervous because it is so hot in there, but they had taped off X’s on the ground. And they they’re like, stand here, you know, do this, do that. I mean, it’s very, you’re not like, oh, you know, they were, they were, they’re all over you. They’re making sure you don’t screw up. But, and then there was one lady that like broke three times and they just kept redoing it till it stuck. So I don’t know what the deal was. I don’t know why she was having a problem. This didn’t happen for anybody else while I was there. And we were in there for a little while because I was with like five other journalists. So it took time for everybody to get a tour. to get a turn. Everybody picked out their own colors. And, I don’t know. I just thought it was a super cool experience. And I can’t tell you how many times I’ve walked right there and I had no idea that glass blowing studio was there.

Catherine

What colors did you choose?

Meagan Wristen
I did red and white.

Catherine

So did I. Mine’s hanging. my Okay. So mine stays up year round. I will say for this glass blowing experience, it’s more hands-on. So you were actually really close to, I mean, the process, i mean, that glass is what, like thousand degrees?

Meagan Wristen
Oh, I was close.

Catherine

Yeah. Well, you stick it in and you’re moving and doing all this. Cause the other place I went to basically has you blow, blow the glass to make the shape and then you don’t do anything else.

They don’t let you put it in the furnace. They don’t let you do any of it.

Meagan Wristen
Oh no, I stuck it in the furnace. I got to roll it in the, in the colored glass that you use and then roll it some more in the furnace. And, I got to like tweeze it to.

Catherine
Oh, yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, it’s like glassblowing 2.0.

Meagan Wristen
Yeah, no, this one, I highly recommend this one. It was great. So

Catherine
I mean, for adults, is there an age limit? I’m assuming as you have to be age.

Meagan Wristen
I do think there’s an age limit and I did see, so teenagers could definitely do it. That’s a great question. I should find out what the age limit is. I don’t know, but I thought for 65 bucks, I mean, you get the experience.

It’s very unique and and it’s like a souvenir. So it’s like kind of a a multifaceted, you learn, you do, you take away. Yeah.

Catherine

Right. And it’s a, it was a ball, at least mine was a ball. So it doesn’t scream Christmas. So I keep mine up in my kitchen window. So it’s just because it catches lights like a sun.

Meagan Wristen
I mean, mine’s supposed to be an ornament, but it’s so heavy it’s too heavy to go on my tree.

Catherine
Yeah. I never put mine on my tree.

Meagan Wristen
I mean, maybe if got a heavy-duty ribbon, but it’s not going to, you know, those metal hooks you hook up an ornament? That’s not going to cut it It’s way too heavy for that. So I haven’t done anything with it yet.

Catherine
Yeah, it was, yeah, it was very cool. i enjoyed that experience. But you can’t take it away that day. they have to stick it in the furnace and let it cool off. So it’s difficult.

Meagan Wristen
That’s true. It had a thing saying when you could come back. So let’s say you’re coming to Grapevine on a trip. You’d probably want to do that on the first day. That way you can get it the next or the next. That way you’ve got time to, but great. I mean, Grapevine’s a really small area. So, I mean, you’re going to be back in that area multiple times. I mean, you might go eat down there. You might be doing another activity down there. i don’t know, but you’ll be down there the surprising amount of times. I know one of the things also right next to the train station is the ice skating at they call it Peace Plaza in front of Hotel Vin.

Ice Skating at Peace Plaza

Catherine
Yes. Now that is new. So it wasn’t there in 2021, but I think it is an absolute, you know, great thing to do outdoor ice skating.

Meagan Wristen
It is, i will say when we went, we went kind of late at night because we were headed to these bubbles. Hotel Vin also has those bubbles. They’re like the igloos that you can go in and get food and drink.

Catherine
How was that? Cause I want to do that. I haven’t done that. I’ve always walked by it.

Meagan Wristen
I really liked it. We could only get drinks. We didn’t get to do any of the fondue experiences, but I was like, oh, this would be super fun if you could do like the whole, the whole thing. Great. I mean, i was there as press, so you’re getting like kind of a a sample of it, but it was really warm.

I mean, it got really cold, a week ago, two weeks ago. So when I was on the trip, it was freaking freezing. It’s like 40 degrees outside. I’m like, what is going on? It should not be this cold.

Catherine
Makes it seasonal.

I said makes it seasonal. And then you get to wear a coat and it looks like Christmas.

Meagan Wristen
Girl, I do not live in Texas to have a winter. and do not. Anyway, unfortunately, we’ve been experiencing winter.

And it’s I’m wearing long sleeves. It’s my least favorite look.

Catherine

It’s like my Christmas sweater. I know. I totally hear what you’re saying. Yeah.

Meagan Wristen
Yeah, so it was really cold. So, as we as we went to Hotel Vin to do the bubbles, we stopped, watched the ice skating. They have a 60-foot Christmas tree there that they actually brought in from Oregon, which i I was surprised that they brought it so far.

Catherine

It’s a live tree. Wow.

Meagan Wristen
Yeah, it’s a live tree and it’s huge. So great photo op. And then, but I looked at the ice. So I would recommend if you want to ice skate there, I think you should go earlier in the day because that ice was chopped up. I would, I can ice skate and I was like, no way I’m not ice skating on that.

Meagan Wristen
But you know how it is when you’re like in rental skates. So if you’re in a rental skate, which is kind of loose around the ankle, so you’re already like working hard and then the ice is all chopped up. Like it just gets a little frustrating. So

Catherine

Yeah, I’ve run into that too, at outdoor rinks, where it just, it feels like you’re going down a bumpy road and you’re just like, my God, I hope it don’t fall.
I mean, you know.

Meagan Wristen
And the longer I get, the harder I have to work to do the activity. So if it’s too choppy now, I’m like, I’m good. But I mean, that’s pretty common, I guess, at all of the ass rinks around the holidays. I think probably, you know, whether it’s that one or the one over at Gaylord at ICE.

Gaylord Texas ICE!

Next to it is an ice rink. And well, we got there right when they opened. The ice looked great. I thought, well, this I could do. Whereas the night before, I’m like, no way. But we weren’t there to ice skate. We were there to snow tube and walk and see the ice sculptures.

This year, the theme was elf. So it was really, really cute, really well done. A bunch of scenes from the movie. So my kids loved that movie when they were little. So i recognized every scene. i thought it was, it was fun.

Catherine
And is that where you did the slide? Where you…

Meagan Wristen
Yes. They had the ice slide too. Yeah. So first I, first I snow tubed and that was pretty fun. And then, yeah, the ice slides are in there. in the

Catherine
Oh, so there’s tubing and slides. I guess I didn’t see the two.

Meagan Wristen
Yeah, so the tubing’s outside of the ice room.
So now when you go into the ice room, like as you walk through the different scenes of the movie, about halfway through it are the ice slides.
And I know what it sounds like when I say the word ice. I can hear it as I’m saying it. Y’all, I’m from West Texas, and I’m saying ice, I-C-E.
So just to clarify, if anyone’s listening to this and saying What is she saying? Anyway, that’s what I’m saying. But yeah, about halfway through are these ice slides. And so if you go up one story, that’s there’s a smaller slide for kids that are like under 42 inches or there’s a height requirement.

But then for everybody else, you go up two stories and then you can slide down. And I mean, they’re slick and they’re super fast. Luckily, when you go in the room, they give you that parka, a blue parka to put on.

Catherine
Look, that’s why I think I commented. I’m like, how cold is it? Because you look like you’re going to the Antarctic with this giant coat on.

Meagan Wristen
So the goal, I think, is nine degrees. Now, because i i believe because it was just so brutally cold, the week I happened to be Grapevine for this trip, it was much colder than normal.
So the room, when they opened that morning, was like three degrees. And they’re like, holy smokes.

Catherine
Wow.

Meagan Wristen
So I believe by the time I was in the ice bar having my cocktail, they told us it was up to five degrees. So it was really cold.
So I will say hats, gloves, coat, wear thermals under your jeans if you can. Like, that yeah, gloves that fully cover.

Catherine
Good gloves.

Meagan Wristen
So and back in the day, when the very first time I took my kids to do it, we ended up rushing through because it was so cold that Jonah couldn’t handle it. and i think he was eight or nine at the time.

So remember thinking, well, he needs to be a little older But had I had like gloves on him and some hot hands, maybe a better hat, you know. So this time i was I was real prepared. I knew in advance we were doing this. So I had on earmuffs. I had on gloves. i I’m trying to think.

I had my coat on. i don’t think it was my ski jacket. I think it was just my regular coat. It might have been my ski jacket. I mean, wear your ski jacket if you have one. It is really cold. And I…

Catherine

Do they have jackets for you to borrow?

Meagan Wristen
Well, that they have a parka that you put on, and it helps, but it is nine degrees. You need you need your own coat on, plus the parka.

But the parka’s really long. It’s like knee length. So when you sit down to do the slide, you would make sure when you sit down, that parka’s underneath you so you don’t sit on that wet slide, and then your pants are wet.

Catherine
Oh, so you don’t sit on something you’re sitting on the parking.

Meagan Wristen
Oh, you sit directly on the ice, and it is slick, and it is fast.

Catherine
Wow. Okay.

Meagan Wristen
That’s why it’s like… I mean, it was over like that. I mean, it was seconds long.

Catherine
Did you, did you catch some air?

Meagan Wristen
No, but it there was like a bump in it and I was a little worried I was going to. I was like, oh no. But luckily I just keep getting heavier. So no, I did not.

Catherine

I did live Canada and I did catch a little air.
It was like, whoa. Okay. I mean, we’re we’re talking inches, but you didn’t feel your bottom leave.

Meagan Wristen
Okay. But you didn’t like slam down.

Catherine
No, I didn’t like, you know, bust my tailbone or anything.

Cause I mean, mean yeah that can happen and that hurts.

Meagan Wristen
Well, and I, I heard the guy like kind of getting onto somebody. Cause I guess the first time they went down, they leaned way back. Well, you don’t want to hit your head and a block ice.

You want to sit up and like, don’t, you know, it seems like common sense, but I guess some people don’t think, but yeah

So then once we got done with the slide and the next room was a bar Which, this is my third time going. I’ve never seen a bar there before. It was really tiny. There are only, like, two cocktail options. It was, like, a margarita or an Old Fashioned.

I had the Old Fashioned. It was delicious. So, and we stopped and, like, had a drink. But then they were like, oh, you can keep walking with your drink. I was like, oh, okay. And they do say the area is 21 and up, but everyone has to walk by it to go to the next room. So I’m like, there are kids in here and they have mocktails. But thought I was like, why don’t we have hot chocolate in here?

But they didn’t. So, yeah, it was a, I mean, it’s freezing. It’s beautiful though. And it always ends with a nativity, a very beautiful nativity with Jesus. There’s an angel, the three wise men. I mean, it’s really well done. It’s very impressive

Catherine
So how long would you say the whole to really truly and enjoy the whole thing? Would it take.

Meagan Wristen
I mean, you’re going to be there at least half a day. And so they have different passes.

So depending on what kind of pass, if you’re doing the tubing, the ice skating, there’s a carousel now.

Catherine
Is that indoors the carousel inside?

Meagan Wristen
yeah it’s inside. Yeah, it’s right.

Meagan Wristen
It’s right before you walk into the ice area. Now, will say, like, depending on, because this sucker sells out. I mean, they sell an insane amount of tickets to this every day, every single day. And so you’re going be waiting in line up to an hour. That’s also part of the reason you want to be dressed really warm because the waiting area before you go in is also freezing.

So I mean, it’s not nine degrees, but it might be 20 or 40. I mean, it’s cold.

Catherine

Right. Well, and those hot hands are just, they’re an easy thing to snag when you’re at the store and they definitely.

Meagan Wristen
Well, and the The feet ones that you can stick in your kid’s shoes too.

I highly recommend that.

Catherine

Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.

Meagan Wristen
Yeah. And if you’ve got snow boots, like whatever your warmest shoes are, you can’t, you can’t overdress for this. It is freezing. so

Catherine
Well, Yeah. and And if you’re a Texan that doesn’t go really cold places in the winter time, you may or may not have the clothing.
So that’s something to think about

Meagan Wristen
And then the Gaylord, I mean, you’re at the Gaylord so you can walk around and it’s It’s really pretty. It’s decorated at Christmas. and So you can hang out there if you want. They have different restaurants you can eat there.

Catherine
I haven’t been to the Texas one. I actually have been to the Nashville one a few times, but and I was there
this is going age me i was there for the millennium so like what is that 25 years ago back when i flew for the airline that might may or may not be based down the street from you that’s where i spent yeah so it was yeah it’s beautiful like it tons i think that year they had tons of poinsettias and christmas trees and yeah just beautiful but i haven’t been to the dallas one so

Meagan Wristen
I think another thing that they added, which I didn’t get to see, is they’re they’re doing a drone show on like every Monday night now.

Catherine
Those are popular.

Meagan Wristen
And I saw, i have some friends that live in Grapevine and i they went to it. It must have been this Monday because saw pictures of it and I was like, oh, that’s pretty good.

Catherine
Is it in indoors?

Meagan Wristen
No, it’s out it’s outdoors.

So you go down to Main Street. So they’re actually closing Main Street down for this, which used to you could just drive down Main Street. That was one thing that really surprised me was that the street was closed.
They’re closing the street, believe it’s Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

Catherine
That’s a good though.

Safety

Meagan Wristen
And no joke, they’re blocking it off with like heavy duty blockades. Like nobody’s going to drive a car into a crowd.

Catherine
Yeah. No, I had to be real. Yeah.

Meagan Wristen
I don’t know what the thought process was around that, but I did happen to notice it.

Catherine
Well, that’s. That is not the only community that does it. I think that’s now just kind of standard operating procedure for cities now, because I’ve seen it several times where it’s a temporary closure. They’re putting up like blockades and stuff like that, but there are so many people down there.

I can see why it just makes it easier just to block off the traffic and you can, you know, wander around because their streets aren’t, or their sidewalks aren’t tremendously like large. And there’s so many things like you’re walking in between, there’s shopping, there’s dining.

There’s the train, there’s ice skating. It’s just like all right there.

Meagan Wristen
Yeah. And there’s a lot of free parking around there.

Yeah, there’s all these parking lots off of Main Street and kind of around the area. So I usually just park on the side street. So, I mean, you can still find parking and just walk over. I happened to have a friend in town the night before I started the press trip, and I wanted to show him the Christmas area. He got stuck at the airport overnight. He missed his flight. So I went picked him up, and I was like, oh, we’ll go do we’ll just go do this.

You can see this area. It’s great. You’ll love it It’s all decorated, blah, blah, blah. Well, he didn’t have a coat. His luggage went on to DC. He didn’t have his luggage here and it’s freezing. So it’s not like we could get out and walk around.

And then the street was blocked off because they had the drone show. And I was like, since when do they block this off? And on a Monday, well, then when I was there, they also do a parade, a Christmas parade.

And they blocked the road off for that too. And that’s on a Thursday night every year.

Meagan Wristen
I believe it’s just a one-time thing, but you might want to just find out what days the streets are going to be blocked off just for planning purposes. i mean, you can park at Hotel Vin too, but they’re charging for parking now.

It used to be free at Hotel Vin.

Catherine
So is it free to park in?

Meagan Wristen
It’s not anymore.

Catherine

Yeah, no. Because they have a parking garage.

Meagan Wristen
They do have a parking garage in the first couple of years they were open. Yeah. Again, we live so close. They do fireworks over Lake Grapevine on the 4th of July. So we would just, no kidding, we’d go park in the parking garage, stand there and watch. We wouldn’t even go out on the street. We would just watch from the parking garage.

But it was free. It didn’t cost anything. But now it’s, now you have to pay. And I can’t remember how much it is. So, and then I guess they do like a, they, and do a show? Like a light show on the… They project it onto City Hall. Did you see that?

Catherine
No, I did not see a live show. Those and might have been things that they like added. I went up to the tower. Did you do the tower?

Meagan Wristen
No.

Catherine

So you can go up to the top of the tower and then just kind of get a view of the whole, like you can see the lake from that, from up there and just, you can see the airport. It’s the tower that’s like right there, like Peace Park. and And it’s, yeah, it’s like their clock tower, i think it was.

Meagan Wristen
I did hear the clock tower go off a few times and it was doing like Christmas bells.

Catherine

So they have they know the harvest hall. and That’s, I think that’s where the elevator is at and that’s where you were getting, you could get the tickets.

And so we just want to, I mean, it would it’s just a quick kind of thing. I mean, you’d be.

Meagan Wristen
Is it part of Hotel Vim?

Catherine
Well, it’s yeah, it’s right, right, right next to it.
So yeah, right next to the, like literally a food hall and that’s where you catch the elevator to to get to the top of it. It’s their clock tower. Cause I got an ornament and it’s featured on the ornament.

Meagan Wristen
I didn’t do that, but I did go into the Holly Jolly Bar at Harvest. It was all decorated for Christmas.

Catherine
fun well and and that’s a great place to just kind like it’s a food hall mean they call it and they have what eight eight venues inside

00:27:55.03
Meagan Wristen
Actually, there’s even more because now they’ve got these smaller carts. So kind of in the back section where there were only a handful of food vendors, there were at least four more now. there there has There’s definitely more than 10 vendors now. The one I like the most, I think it’s called Zatar. They’ve got shawarma.

Meagan Wristen
every Every time I go, because I’m there quite often, because they do like trivia k nights and dueling pianos and stuff in the bar area at Harvest Hall. And I just, my friends like to hang out there a lot.

And so I’m always like, oh, I should try something different. And I get the shawarma. It’s so good. I just default.

Catherine
It sounds good.

Meagan Wristen
Yeah, it’s pretty good.

Catherine
Yeah. Well, and then I ate because I stayed at the hotel then and you, so where did you stay?

Meagan Wristen
I stayed at Hilton DFW Lakes. almost said Grapevine Lake, but it’s Hilton DFW Lakes. So I was not, it was too far to walk to Main Street from my hotel, but it was within walking distance of Grapevine Mills Mall.

Catherine
Oh, really? That’s a good tip.

Meagan Wristen
It’s right next to Grapevine Mills Mall.

Catherine
Okay. Yeah. Cause, so you were talking about like where, depending, depending on, you know, how you’re trying, uh, who you’re traveling with, what’s the best place to stay.

So I would say that hotel then is definitely a couple’s place.

Meagan Wristen
Well, yeah, because they don’t have a pool. Not yet.

I did find out next year they’re adding another like block of another tower or whatever you want to call it with rooms. And that section is going to have a pool.

But yeah, I would say with the bar set up there and everything. and the in the bubbles that we did out on their wine lawn, I think is what they call it, right outside.

Those are family friendly, even though it seems more of like an adult experience. Kids are allowed.

Catherine
But I mean, in grapevine, there’s a lot of competition for the family traveler. I mean, you have to get to Gaylor and then Grapevine will launch.

Meagan Wristen
Well yeah, because Gaylord, Great Wolf Lodge.

Catherine
So yeah.

Great Wolf Lodge Grapevine

Meagan Wristen
And Great Wolf Lodge just went under a massive, r like $50 million or something. I forget how much money upgrade. Yeah. So I think I’m trying to remember what all they changed. I went inside and I didn’t, it had been so many years since I was in there. I didn’t notice anything, but.

Catherine
Our kids have kind of gotten grown out of that. I mean, it’s great for under 12.

Meagan Wristen
Yeah, because that’s where the indoor water park is.

Catherine
Indoor water park. I mean.

Meagan Wristen
Which I found out they sell day passes to that now. You don’t have to stay there to go. I didn’t know. i don’t know when that rule changed, but when my, when we were going, you had to stay there to go.

Catherine
That happens. Yeah, there’s quite a few of those indoor water parks that that have day passes. And you’re right, it’s a great way, even in the summertime, when in Texas, it’s hot, hot here.

So indoor water parks are popular in the summertime, too, because it’s not 150 degrees outside. So, I mean, is there a day that an indoor water park isn’t the, you know, thing to go So…

Meagan Wristen
Yeah, that’s good point.

Catherine
Yeah, but is it those those two options are further out. So it’s not like you’re going to leave your hotel room and walk. You’re going to have to drive.

Meagan Wristen
No, really Hotel Vin, I feel like is the only one that’s right there on Main Street walkable. I mean, there’s Airbnbs and stuff around, but I don’t think there’s any other hotels right there.

Catherine

Yeah. And so how do you what do you think of your hotel?

Meagan Wristen
I liked it. They said that it had been renovated recently, so I don’t know what it was like last year, but my room was nice, very spacious. i It included breakfast.

I don’t know if it includes breakfast for everybody. I don’t know if that’s standard or not. It was like a breakfast buffet, but they would do an omelet, so i had a really good omelet. They go to the gym.

It had a pretty good gym. Not the best gym I’ve ever been to, but way bigger than most most hotel gyms. And then it had an indoor pool. It also had an outdoor pool, but obviously it was cold. So, and it had an indoor hot tub, outdoor hot tub. And then there were ton of pickleball courts outside.

Ilove pickleball, but it was too cold to play. So and don’t

Catherine
Right? You just need get yourself some better clothes, right?

Meagan Wristen
I was hoping that they would have indoor pickleball. Cause I believe they do have indoor tennis. Yeah. And so I was like, do you have indoor pickleball? they’re like, oh, don’t know. we’ll We’ll find out. And they didn’t. Otherwise, I would have been playing.

Catherine
Well, no, isn’t that called like the, what is it, Pato?

Meagan Wristen
Oh, Paddle. Paddle.
I don’t know how to play that. That’s that’s a different type of paddle. Different rules.

Catherine

Okay, I’ve heard people call it like, pop

Meagan Wristen
I’ve never played it.

Catherine
Something different, but they were all European and very, they were fancier. so

Meagan Wristen
Yeah, apparently it’s really popular. We don’t know how to, we the kids and I had talked about and we’re like, okay, the next time we’re like at a resort and they have it, we got to take a lesson and figure out what it’s all about. So, yeah.

Catherine
Right. Yeah. So, okay, moving on. So we both, those are good, good places. And we talked about the train. What can, what else is, oh, and I forgot to say, I had eaten at the Brock’s kitchen and bar at Hotel Ben and it was fabulous.

Meagan Wristen
Is that their main restaurant?

Catherine
It is, but it’s, it has an outdoor space and an indoor space. So kind of that big green area, kind of like a, court it’s kind of like a courtyard in the back. I ate indoors for lunch and it was good.

I really, really liked the, it was like the strawberry and brie bruschettas. Those were, yeah, that was a more of an elevated kind of adult, an adult place to eat.

Meagan Wristen
Okay. So you really, you really feel like the whole hotel’s an an adult experience. So that’s, that’s valid. I mean, I never go out there to hang out with my kids. I only go there to hang out with friends, like girls not out or whatever.

I ate at a bunch of great places.
One of the lunches I had that kind of surprised me was Cafe Italia.

Catherine
I did not go there.

Meagan Wristen
It’s, it’s BYOB.

Catherine
So you buy a bottle like at one of the wine shops and then

Meagan Wristen
yes yeah you’d have to bring it I don’t know why it’s BYOB but they don’t they don’t serve any drinks at all which I thought was surprising because it’s I mean it’s a huge Italian min menu like the tiramisu was the bomb they had a cheesecake too that was freaking awesome like I mean everything was good and then we had dessert and I was like holy smokes I wish I’d known the dessert was going to be this good I would have just mainly had that so

Catherine
Skip the appetizers and go straight into the dessert. So where is it located? Is it on Main Street?

Meagan Wristen
I don’t think so. It’s, if it is on main street, then it’s some, there are now like certain places that are considered to be like an extension of main street.

So if you head up North and just, and it kind of like curves a little bit, I did a, so that’s considered main street.

And I actually did quite a few things there.

Rudolph Themed Escape Room

We did an escape room, like a Rudolph themed escape room. That was pretty good. And we made it out with two minutes to spare.

Catherine
but You sound like a pro.

Meagan Wristen
You know what? I always make it out. I do not like being locked in a room. I want out and I want out. They were like, man, you’re not playing around. Like you’re. Yeah.

Catherine
On it. could see that about you.

Meagan Wristen
yeah Yeah. I want out. And then if we get too stuck for too long, I’m like, I want a hint. Give me a hint right now. Like, I just want to like, let’s move this along. So, I do think like at the very beginning, the video,

so if you think, If you didn’t like it the first time you did an escape room, it’s worth trying again because you’ll be surprised. Like you start like you you start thinking about it differently and you can get out quicker, I think. but the other thing that was right there in this shopping center that’s considered part of Main Street now, there were two things. One’s a pizza place called Sauced.

I didn’t eat there during this trip, but I’ve eaten there with my kids before and it’s freaking awesome. Like, and they have really good smash burgers. Why they why it’s burgers and pizza, I don’t know. But the pizza is phenomenal.

Catherine
Can you go wrong with either?

Christmas Cookie Wine Pairing at Winestein’s Tasting Room

Meagan Wristen

But this time, I went to wein Weinstein’s. the The people that own it, their last name is Einstein’s. So it’s Weinstein’s.

And they do a cookie and wine pairing. Huge fan. Apparently, you can do a a white flight or a red flight. They had the red flight set up. So that’s what we did. And it was like…really good cookies that they bake and then they paired it with some there was a french wine a california wine and an oregon wine i think it was the willamette uh pinot noir let’s see the one from paso robles is it opolo i’m trying to remember start with an o ohh

Catherine
And what kind of cookies were they pairing with wine? It just seems seem so random.

Meagan Wristen
One paired with like a ginger, one paired with like an oatmeal raisin, and one paired with a chocolate, like a chocolate chip cookie.

Catherine
Cookies, right? Really?

Meagan Wristen
The cookies were really good. And the wines were rich. And like, I was shockingly good. Like, I just don’t think about pairing wine with cookies.

But it was, I would 100% go back and do that. That was probably my favorite thing out of the whole trip that we did. Because it was just unexpected. i And I really like wine.

And I’m a red wine drinker.

And then who doesn’t like cookies? So, and it was a really cute space too.

Catherine
Plus more. So I wasn’t until you stayed in one location and just

Meagan Wristen
Yeah. You just go in there. It’s, it’s a little wine bar and you, they have, food and wines from all around the world.

Meagan Wristen
And they said, typically they have wines that you can’t find anywhere else in DFW.

So I did see some Texas wine on the menu, but for the most part, it was not Texas wines. And if you’re very familiar with Texas wines, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. so

Catherine
But they do have a couple of tasting rooms up there. I think Messina Hoff has one in grapevine.

Meagan Wristen
They do right on main street.

Catherine
So if you’re looking for texture, fine.

Meagan Wristen
I’ve never done a tasting there, but it’s a real cute.

And it’s like a replica of a historic hotel that used to be on main street.

They’re building. Yeah. It’s like a, old school country looking building with a big porch. And, then there’s an outdoor space right next to it. And that’s where they always set up.

Like it’s basically a bunch of Christmas photo ops. They call it the toys in toy landing or so they’ve got big blocks.

She can sit on like ABC blocks and they have a huge operation game. And that’s where, Noah always poses. We take the same picture every year and he’s like playing the operation game and,

And then there’s some like sleds that are decorated cute for Christmas and this old log cabin that is sometimes decorated. So it’s kind of a cool photo op area right there.

Catherine
And it’s good day and night too, because aren’t those, that area is well lit at night.

So yeah, that was, and but when I was there, I did a wine tour where we walked around and we were pairing a lot.

Meagan Wristen
it is. It’s super well lit at night. night. Um,

Catherine
It was like a chocolate and wine pairing. And we went to a couple of the different places, but the highlight of that was I learned the art and I’m probably going to butcher this is Sabertage.

I think it’s like sabering where, You like hold the bottle and they literally give you like a machete and then you have to hit it just right, like on this seam and then it pops off like the head.

It was a lot of fun and some people are a little intimidated by it, but if you just follow the direction, literally you’re just, you know how the wine bottle kind of curves. You’re just getting on this. I think it had like 45 degrees, having enough like strength behind it and then just hitting it just right. And then just kind of pops it off.

Meagan Wristen
I want to do that.

Catherine
what you can do it just sell some just knife and just go in the back do it in the backyard right be like hey do it your kids because that’s the kind of stuff that really upsets the boys what what are you doing what are you trying to do at least my boys they’re just like mom knives alcohol it just makes him nervous but yeah

Meagan Wristen
What could go wrong? did, I went into two different wine places on Main Street. One was Bingham. So Bingham, they grow out in the panhandle of Texas and they have a tasting room in High Texas, closer to Johnson City.

And then they might have one in Fredericksburg. I don’t think so. They’ve got the one in the panhandle at their place and now they’ve got one and Great

Catherine

Is it near Lubbock?

Meagan Wristen
It is near Lubbock, yes.

Catherine
Because I’ve done a wine tour out, a wine trip out in Lubbock because they grow something like 80% of the grapes out there in Lubbock.

Meagan Wristen
Yeah, and to be considered a Texas wine, has to be 75% Texas grapes.

So, I mean, if you’re drinking a Texas wine, more than likely the grapes came from the panhandle. up

You know, it it one of the directions from Lubbock, whether it’s north, south, east, or west, it came from somewhere out there.

Catherine
And it wasn’t particularly like scenic. I mean, these are agricultural fields. I mean, they have tasting rooms and those are cool, but the actual vineyards there run like an agricultural area. So it’s just fields of grapes and it could be next to like cotton or whatever.

Meagan Wristen
Well, a lot of the farmers have transitioned from cotton and peanuts because there’s such a water suck and grapes need so much less water. And the demand for Texas grown grapes for these wine is going through the roof.

So, actually met Mr. Bingham a couple of years ago at a wine event in Fort Worth.

I talked a lot about this because my dad has Haslane in the panhandle. And I’m like, you should be growing grapes. He’s like, no way. He doesn’t want to, but I was like, so I,

I talked to Mr. Bingham about it for a long time. They’re a really interesting family and they have a very diverse collection of wines. So

Catherine
That’s good. Good tip there.

Meagan Wristen
very diverse. I think just because they’ve been growing it for, for a long time, they were just the grower and they supplied the grapes for all these different wineries and they still do that, but then they started of making their own wines and they all went to Texas Tech.
So, So, you know, big fan.

Catherine
Well, and that was, that was that when I was in Lubbock, it was, it seemed like that’s where they were developing all the grapes. Yeah.

Meagan Wristen
Well, because Texas Tech now has a wine program just like out in California because because of this industry. So Texas, I believe, is the second fastest growing wine industry in the country now.

It’s Napa and then us, which is shocking because, I mean, this is big business in Oregon. This is big business in the fingerlights of New York. You know, it’s shocking to me that Texas has, in a very short period of time, they’re just booming.

Texans love Texas.

Texans love to drink Texas wine.

Catherine

Well, and that’s a grapevine. I mean, you can’t miss with the name, but we’re primarily talking about Christmas, but it doesn’t like this town is not fun outside of Christmas. I mean, the whole wine portion of it,

Meagan Wristen
It’s a huge wine destination. Yeah.

Catherine
Yes, it’s equally as fun. not Not too much with the kids, but you know, but just a girlfriend getaway or a couple’s getaway or whatever. and that’s what I liked about the hotel that I stayed at is the fact that you can park your car and then do do the tasting rooms or do a tour and then not have to worry about driving someplace. So,

Meagan Wristen
Yeah. Let’s talk more about the food, though.

I ate at two really good breakfast places. One was Old West Cafe. Massive portions. They had like a million options on the menu. had the huevos rancheros, and I got a side of tomatoes, and they gave me these huge, thick slices of tomatoes, which I love.

Then the other one is like a completely different experience. It’s Cafe Fabin. And it’s like a French pastry place. So they’ve got all these different crepes and French toast and croissants and like every kind of croissant you could want. I mean, it’s like half bakery, half restaurant. They have lunch and dinner too, but I i just have breakfast there. It’s phenomenal.

Catherine
Great tips. Yeah.

I didn’t, I don’t know. I just let didn’t eat breakfast.

Meagan Wristen
No?

Catherine
I don’t know. and I was sitting there looking through my photos and I was like, okay, whatever.

Tolbert’s

Meagan Wristen
Oh, man, I ate a ton. One of the places we went was Tolbert’s, which I had never been.

Catherine
The chili place.

Meagan Wristen
yes and it’s like a historic landmark, practically, in great way.

Catherine
Okay. I’m going to be honest. I am not a huge chili fan. People either love it or like they hate it.

I shouldn’t say hate. Don’t like it.

Meagan Wristen
Well, didn’t do the chili. I tried their Chili Verde.

Catherine
Okay. So there’s more than chili. Okay. So the name kind of was like, I want to have you chili. And so I was a pass for me, but they have more.

Meagan Wristen
I had some like poblano cream enchiladas. had a jalapeno soup, chicken fried steak.

Catherine
I missed out.

Meagan Wristen
Yeah, it was pretty good.

Catherine
And so how was like the vibe or the ambiance? It seemed cool.

Meagan Wristen
So yeah, it was super casual and it come to find out they have live music seven days a week.

Catherine
At what time?

Meagan Wristen
It depends on what day of the week it is. So the closer it gets to the weekend, the later the music is. I was there on like a Tuesday, Wednesday. can’t remember. So I think it started at seven.

Napoli’s

Catherine
Sounds like a great, like a great tip. I went to the Italian place.

Meagan Wristen
And the police.

Catherine
yeah. And, I don’t know. I must’ve, I went and looked through my photos and I ordered a really great looking salad, but I’m, I must’ve been like full from something else that I

Meagan Wristen
You know what? My doctor tells me, Megan, when you’re on these trips, you got to eat more salad. Because I’m like, don’t get the steak. don’t get But I want the steak.

Catherine
Oh, I know. Right.

Meagan Wristen
I do not want a salad. I want a steak. But I did have the pasta there and it was great. And then they had some Christmas cocktails and my Christmas cocktail had like sparkling edible glitter in it.

Catherine
Love that. It’s like, I need some of that at home.

Meagan Wristen
Yeah, it was fun.

Catherine
Cause always trying to up my cocktail game at home.

Meagan Wristen
Edible glitter.

Catherine
Right, because it can do gold, but that seems a little out of my tax bracket. I don’t…

Meagan Wristen
No, no. You need the cheap edible glitter.

Meagan Wristen
They took us to Weinberger’s Deli, which is apparently a super-famous deli that I must have walked past like 300 times at this point. It’s super cheap and has an extensive sandwich menu.

Meagan Wristen
I’d never heard of it before.

Catherine
Oh, you have to take your kids. I mean, what?

Meagan Wristen
It’s award-winning.

Catherine
Well, did you know you can actually get to Grapevine from the airport on the train?

Meagan Wristen
I had no idea.

Meagan Wristen
And there’s a shuttle. They have a whole shuttle bus system.

Catherine
So if you’re stuck at DFW for whatever reason, or you have a really long layover, you could pop over there and grab something to eat.

Meagan Wristen
Yeah, plus the visitor center will hold your bag for two bucks.

Catherine
Really? I didn’t know that either.

Meagan Wristen
Yeah, so I actually asked about this because I was like, wait, you can get here from the airport? I had no idea. I live here. I’m at the airport all the time.
They said realistically, if you have at least a four-hour layover, that’s plenty of time to hop on the shuttle or the train, go over there, check your bag at the visitor center for two bucks, and then shop. And they’ve got new shops.

Catherine
We’re just going to go home, Meagan.

Meagan Wristen
There’s been some turnover on Main Street, and there was really good shopping when I was there this time.

Catherine
When I went, there were two places that really stood out for me. One was a Christmas shop, which was great. Let me see if I have the name written down.

Meagan Wristen
Was it the General Store? They had a famous General Store right on Main Street, but it moved to Grapevine Mills.

Meagan Wristen
I also found out they’re opening a second location for that General Store in the airport.

Catherine
Really? Which terminal?

Meagan Wristen
I don’t know. I didn’t ask. It might be the new terminal that’s coming.

Catherine
Oh yeah. I’ll be honest — I live in Austin and I avoid DFW like the plague.

Meagan Wristen
I’m there every week.

Catherine
So the Christmas shop was really great. I got a little Christmas gnome ornament. It’s somewhere on the tree. I love getting Christmas ornaments as souvenirs because they’re only out one month a year. Then you put them away, and when you bring them back out, it’s like, “Oh, I remember this.” It’s not clutter.

Meagan Wristen
That’s a really good idea.

Meagan Wristen
I don’t do souvenirs at all.

Catherine
You just end up with a lot of stuff. The other place I loved was the British Emporium. I love all things British.

Meagan Wristen
That’s near the escape room I was talking about.

Catherine
Yes, it is.

Meagan Wristen
It is all things British.

Catherine
If you’re an Anglophile, it’s a must. They literally have a wall of tea — stuff you’re not going to find even in a really good H-E-B or Central Market. Especially at Christmas, it’s great for stocking stuffers. I used to get my kids international candy.

Meagan Wristen
That’s a great idea.

Catherine
Those were my two favorite places, and they’ve both been around for a long time.

Meagan Wristen
The Christmas shop definitely has. I don’t know how long the British Emporium has been there, or if it moved locations.

Catherine
You can still walk there.

Meagan Wristen
Yeah, it’s between Sauced and the escape room. You could have lunch, shop, do the escape room, then shop at the British Emporium, and finish with a wine and cookie pairing.

Catherine
And then go ice skating.

Meagan Wristen
Yeah, and you’ll think you’re better than you are.

Catherine
You might bounce if you fall.

Meagan Wristen
The main place I shopped was Grapevine Mills Mall. It’s considered one of the top malls — I think it’s in the USA Today top ten now.

Catherine
I did a drive-by, I’ll be honest.

Meagan Wristen
You didn’t go in?

Catherine
I was doing all the Christmas stuff.

Meagan Wristen
Oh my gosh, it’s every store you can think of.

Meagan Wristen
They also opened Meow Wolf a couple of years ago, and it’s really well done.

Catherine
I haven’t been to that one. How many Meow Wolfs have you been to?

Meagan Wristen
Three.

Catherine
I’ve only been to one.

Meagan Wristen
This one is house-based. The family’s son is missing, and you’re searching for clues. You open refrigerators, washing machines — you slide into other rooms. It’s this whimsical artist creation.

Catherine
Plus there’s music.

Catherine
The Houston one has a dive bar, and the storyline is based on an old Texas radio station.

Meagan Wristen
There’s a room in the Dallas one with a camper radio. If you listened closely, you’d know the next location was Houston.

Catherine
That’s so collaborative.

Meagan Wristen
They added a bar recently and do really creative cocktails.

Meagan Wristen
Another new thing at Grapevine Mills is Bubble Planet — 11 rooms of bubble- and ball-themed experiences.

Catherine
So, like a ball pit?

Meagan Wristen
Yes. I was jumping into a massive ball pit, recording myself. It was actually really fun.

Catherine
All I think is, “I’m going to get sick.”

Meagan Wristen
I did think about that. You see kids wiping their noses and you’re like, okay…

Catherine
It’s one of those motherhood things.

Meagan Wristen
They also have Lego, Peppa Pig, and SEA LIFE.

Meagan Wristen
I did SEA LIFE this time — I’d never been, and it’s really well done. They have a sea turtle rescue.

Catherine
How long would you spend doing activities, not shopping?

Meagan Wristen
You could spend the whole day just doing activities.

Catherine
Or split up.

Meagan Wristen
Exactly. Mom shops, teens do Meow Wolf.

Meagan Wristen
There’s also a huge new Cavender’s.

Catherine
Really?

Meagan Wristen
I went in to buy my son a hat and somehow left with a summer dress.

Catherine
Now you have to go back.

Meagan Wristen
That counts, right?

Catherine
“I thought about you… and then I got distracted.”

Meagan Wristen
I was a teenager when Grapevine Mills opened. It was a huge deal.

Meagan Wristen
Now it has Old Navy, Gap, Vans, Adidas, Under Armour, Nike, H&M, a movie theater, a bowling alley — it’s a whole complex.

Catherine
Is it indoor or outdoor?

Meagan Wristen
Indoor. One full lap is a mile.

Catherine
Gotta love that.

Meagan Wristen
Especially when it’s 110 degrees.

Meagan Wristen
That was really the only shopping I did. Main Street was fully Christmas-ed out, and I wasn’t shopping for Christmas yet.

Nash Farm

Meagan Wristen
Yeah.

Meagan Wristen
Oh my gosh, I did, and I had no idea that was there. I’ve been to Grapevine so many times. Some of my book club members live there, and I go to Grapevine for book club. I was like, how did I not know they have five acres set aside in the middle of the city with a historic farm on it?

Catherine
With animals.

Meagan Wristen
Yeah. There were sheep there when I was there — sheep and chickens.

Catherine
I think there might have been geese or something like that. And were you there for their Christmas traditions? Everyone’s in period outfits.

Meagan Wristen
Yes. I cannot imagine having to wear a dress like that every day for work. But we did the cookie-making.

Catherine
That’s just how you dressed when you lived back then.

Meagan Wristen
I’m glad I wasn’t born then.

Catherine
You’re sitting there cooking your food on an open hearth.

Meagan Wristen
Well, that’s the thing. We did the cookie-making, but the batter is already prepared. You basically roll it out and press out cookies with cutters.

Meagan Wristen
Then she cooks them, and you can eat them. And I was like, yeah… that old-school stove in that room.

Catherine
What are we cooking them in — like a potbelly stove?

Catherine
Yeah, well, I wasn’t really necessarily either, but then I just totally got, you know, in the mood. So, and then did they have, we didn’t talk about, and did you do Nash Farm?

Meagan Wristen
Yeah. And she was like, “Don’t get near it — it’s very hot.” But I was asking, why aren’t we mixing the batter and doing the whole thing? And she said, “This is a very different batter. It takes a long time to mix, and we don’t have that kind of time.”
I was like, oh, okay. And it’s cheap — I don’t know, maybe four bucks to do the experience.

Meagan Wristen
And then they have this really cool thing where you can make a Christmas card. It’s like a gel mold. They already have ink in it, and there’s a design, like a snowman. You press the paper onto it and really mash it down, and when you lift it up, the snowman is on the paper. That’s how they made cards back then, using this gelatin process.

Catherine
But there’s also an old house there. You can walk through it and see what it was like to live in the Grapevine, North Texas area 100 — or maybe 150 — years ago.

Meagan Wristen
Well, I know right behind the visitor center is that settlement area with more historic houses. I didn’t do any of that. Did you?

Catherine
I think I walked through it. It’s right next to a neighborhood. The house is beautiful — it’s green, two stories, and when I was there, it was decorated for Christmas.
If you’re looking for a pretty house to do Christmas photos, this is the one.

Meagan Wristen
Oh, that’s true.

Catherine
You know, wear red so you stand out. But it’s just very quaint — the houses, the animals — and everyone was really knowledgeable about how people celebrated the holidays back then. It was just a different life. Everyone tended animals.

Meagan Wristen
It was really interesting that they have all those hands-on workshops. It’s very educational.

Catherine
Yeah. I did some hands-on workshops, but they were closer to the train station.

Meagan Wristen
That’s what I was going to ask you. Those are called the settlement houses, right?

Catherine
Okay, I have to show you — I brought stuff. I don’t know if you can see it.

Meagan Wristen
Yeah — a coin?

Catherine
So I did this. I just stamped my initials into brass. You take stamps and hammer them, and it turns into a little tag.
They were also doing some tinsel-making, but I don’t know what happened to that. And then they had the train ornament.

Catherine
You could color it, but I’m going to be honest — I liked it just like this. I literally just ripped it off my tree because it was hanging there.

Meagan Wristen
I didn’t see that.

Catherine
Yeah, it was kind of tucked right there.

Meagan Wristen
Was that in the historic homes behind the visitor center?

Catherine
It was kind of in between there and the glassblowing area. It’s a separate experience, but it runs from Thanksgiving to about the week of Christmas.

Meagan Wristen
Oh, was Santa back there? I met Santa back there.

Meagan Wristen
I know where you’re talking about now — that’s closer to the train than what I was describing.

Catherine
Yeah, and it’s an additional activity. I want to say it was under ten dollars. There’s a blacksmith back there and a bunch of heritage-style skills.

Meagan Wristen
That’s neat. I don’t know if that was there when I went. I didn’t see it, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t.

Catherine
Right. So yeah, I did that and thought it was great. I’m kind of a kid at heart — if they say, “Hey, do you want to try this?” I’m like, sure. And obviously kids love it too.

Catherine
So yeah… what else did we do? I think we’ve talked about everything.

Meagan Wristen
I’m trying to think what my favorite meal was, because I ate a lot of really good food.
I was honestly surprised by how good some of the restaurants were — places I’ve walked by hundreds of times and never gone into.

Catherine
So it’s definitely a food destination. But how long would you say someone could spend there at Christmas?

Meagan Wristen
If you do ICE!, that’s at least half a day. If you do Great Wolf Lodge and the water park, you’ve already paid for it, so that’s a full day right there.

Meagan Wristen
So just those two things alone, you need at least two nights. Then there’s Main Street — you can do that during the day or at night. At night it’s beautifully lit, but during the day you can see everything better.

Meagan Wristen
I think it’s perfect for a weekend getaway. And if you want to do more, it’s easy to extend — you’re so close to Fort Worth and Dallas.

Catherine
I would find it hard to run out of things to do.

Meagan Wristen
I don’t think you would.

Catherine
Not on a two- to three-day getaway.

Meagan Wristen
Exactly. And then you can add things like Chicken N Pickle in Grapevine. I’ve never done it, but it looks fun. Pickleball, games, food, bars.

Catherine
That’s new to me.

Meagan Wristen
Pickleball. I carry my own paddle. I keep it in my car. I’ve become one of those people.

Thank you so much for joining me again to talk about all things Grapevine. I think it’s a really wholesome destination with a lot to offer in a very small footprint. You can do a lot in a short amount of time.

Catherine
Just make reservations. Especially for the train.

Meagan Wristen
Yes — the train. One last thing about the train.

They said there are counterfeit tickets, and families show up thinking they’re getting on the train, only to be turned away. The kids are crying, and the staff does everything they can to help, but the trains are usually sold out.

Tickets open around October, and they sell out immediately. You really have to mark your calendar and be ready.

Catherine
I also think the ornament-making sells out — not as fast as the train, but still quickly.

Meagan Wristen
It was packed, so I believe it. And I think Gaylord runs different ICE! specials. I’d check Groupon.

Catherine
How long does ICE! run?

Meagan Wristen
This year it runs through January 4th. I think it started around Thanksgiving.

Catherine
That’s something to do while kids are out of school.

Most people are probably driving in, but I would definitely put Grapevine on the list of Christmas towns. I even nominated it for Newsweek Reader’s Choice — and it didn’t win.

Meagan Wristen
Yes, it did. It was number one.

Catherine
Merry Christmas.

Meagan Wristen
Merry Christmas.