Festival of Trees is a Saskatoon tradition and is something we LOVE attending. We finally made it to the 2021 Festival of Trees. It’s another great Saskatoon event and a family favourite. We have been trying to get there since it opened, but finally made it on the second last day. I thought it was the perfect way to start the weekend so we headed over after our swimming lessons. Saturday, November 27th is the last day but it will be back next year.
Photo by Erin McCrea
We were so excited to visit and there was so much to see. I think the best part about this event being at the Western Develpment Museum is the fact that we can see the beautiful trees, check out the amazing gingerbread houses, explore the museum, AND check out the Eaton’s Once Upon A Christmas Exhibit. It’s a great mixture of activities and we were able to spend about two hours exploring.
My son brought his stuffed Christmas puppy to see the trees. I apologize to anybody that he decided his puppy needed to bark at or lick. He takes the role of stuffed puppy owner very seriously and thinks everybody is there to see him and the puppy – not the trees. It turns out the puppy named Believe had a little adventure as we explored the museum – which brings me to the amazing people who were helping at Festival of Trees and the wonderful people working at the museum!
Photo by Erin McCrea
While visiting the train, my son dropped his puppy out the window of the train and it fell all the way down onto the tracks. There was no way we could get it on our own. We went to the Festival of Trees information desk and they called somebody from the museum to help us after my son told them about his poor puppy. It’s so easy to just ask for help and I’m glad my son can see that. I’m also glad that he didn’t attempt to climb under there on his own because I know he wanted to.
Photo by Erin McCrea
Basically, this lovely man saved our night. The Festival of Trees is a fabulous event but if we had lost this puppy on our visit, that would have been my son’s memory of it. Big big thanks to all the people who helped us out.
Photo by Erin McCrea
We stopped to take some photos in some of the areas designated to take the photos. (After putting the puppy safely away in my bag.) My son loves hamming it up for the camera but he also wants to explore and adventure so getting him to stay still for a photo was a pretty big win.
Photo by Erin McCrea
The Fun House is a WDM exhibit – unrelated to the Festival of Trees event. It’s part of the museum adventure though. We went through it while waiting for the Facepainting line up to hopefully shorten. If you have a brave child (or you feel brave), give it a go. My son had such a blast in there. He went through it three times and I finally had to catch him at the exit so we could go back to the trees.
Photo by Erin McCrea
Kreative Mum was at the event to paint the faces of the little ones. They had Christmas options but of course, mine asked for Iron Man. He had a back up in case they were just doing the Christmas themed faces. If you put Iron Man next to a tree, it makes it Christmas themed! They did a great job and she was very patient as my son talked non-stop the entire time she painted his face. He LOVED it and did Iron Man moves the entire night until we washed it off.
Photo by Erin McCrea
Sleighing it
We stopped to sit in a sleigh for another photo op. My son was now making his Iron Man face in every photo. We did wear masks while walking around, but took them off for photos. Once his face was painted, he had a lot more trouble leaving it on. (But he did pretty good). I loved all the opportunities to stop and take photos. The line ups weren’t bad while we were there.
Photo by Erin McCrea
We did a quick tour of the Eaton’s Once Upon A Christmas Exhibit and we both loved all the displays. I’m glad we were able to get this into our visit as well.
Photo by Erin McCrea
Our last stop was to see the AMAZING gingerbread houses. We did the gingerbread tour and then headed home. My son loved it but all he wanted to do was eat the delicious pieces of art.
We had so much fun exploring this event. Festival of Trees – A Saskatoon Tradition is just what we needed for some extra holiday spirit. Next year, we want to try to attend the events that they hold during the Festival of Trees. We didn’t sign up in time this year but we would love to have a visit with Santa Claus while there! If you made it this year, I hope you had as much fun as us. If you weren’t able to attend, make sure you check it out in 2022! It’s such a great day/night out for both the little ones and the adults.
Check out Your Ultimate Guide to Christmas Events in Saskatoon for more amazing things to do this season.
