8 holiday traditions Northeastern Wisconsinites love that you can try with your family this year
Whether you are new to the area or a longtime resident of The Badger State, it’s always nice to try some new holiday traditions and see if they stick.
For little ones, this can be especially thrilling and is guaranteed to serve as fodder for positive holiday memories. As such, we compiled a list of holiday traditions beloved by Northeastern Wisconsinites. From visiting the North Pole (it's closer than you think) to munching on the state's official pastry while cuddling up next to the fireplace, there is bound to be something on this list that all members of the family will enjoy.
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Send letters to Santa, and get a reply, via these Northeastern Wisconsin 'mailboxes'
What better way to practice your child’s writing skills — whether they are just learning to write their letters and numbers or are already little authors — then by writing to Santa himself?
Appleton Parks and Recreation has a special mailbox for just this purpose at the Buildings and Grounds Operations Center at Appleton Memorial Park. Drop off your letters between Nov. 24 and Dec. 3. Santa is expected to write back, so include your return address and be sure to follow the instructions at bit.ly/AppletonWriteToSanta.
Santa also has a Titletown mailbox. Drop a note in his mailbox outside 46 Below in Titletown, mail it to Santa’s Titletown Mailbox at P.O. Box 13092, Green Bay, or email an image or PDF to titletown@packers.com before Dec. 18 (if you are mailing your letter, it must be postmarked by Dec. 18). If emailing, be sure to mark the subject line “Santa’s Titletown Mailbox.” To ensure you hear back from Santa, include your address. Titletown provides sample prompts at bit.ly/TitletownSantaLetters.
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Break out the kringle
Just because you don’t live near a bakery that makes kringles doesn’t mean you have to miss out on this beloved Danish tradition; many bakeries ship these heavenly halos.
There are so many ways to forge your own Kringle-related traditions. Maybe try a new flavor every year. Bring it as a snack to your local holiday parade, or nibble on it while you watch the parade on TV. Make it a staple dessert at a family gathering.
If you're not sure where to start, Travel Wisconsin lists these "old world bakeries" in Racine: Bendtsen's Bakery, O&H Danish Bakery, Larsen's Bakery and Lehmann's Bakery.
Visit the North Pole (it's in Chilton)
While it’s the season for all of Wisconsin to feel like the North Pole, you can visit Santa’s hometown at The North Pole Christmas Village in Chilton — for free.
Here, Santa’s reindeer chill in their stalls, elves are hard at work making toys, penguins play and the big guy himself is waiting to hear your children’s wishes. The North Pole Christmas Village’s website boasts the display is brought to life thanks to the animation artist Lou Nasti of Mechanical Displays.
Kristin McEneany of Harrison has been visiting the North Pole with her daughters, now ages 11 and 14, for seven years.
“(My daughters’) favorite part is all of the different displays,” McEneany said. “Some are the same every year, but there are always new things added.”
Another plus: much of the North Pole Christmas Village is indoors, so you don’t have to brave the cold to celebrate the season, McEneany said.
Many Wisconsinites celebrate St. Nick's Day
In other parts of the U.S., St. Nick’s Day is an unfamiliar concept. But in Wisconsin, specifically in pockets with a lot of Dutch or German history, children celebrate the Dec. 6 holiday.
Our colleague Amy Schwabe in Milwaukee dug into the holiday and the man behind it. St. Nicholas, she wrote, was known for his generosity and for bringing gifts to good children and lumps of coal to those deemed bad. This evolved into Santa Claus for some, while some celebrate St. Nick’s Day separate from Christmas.
St. Nick would always leave treats for De Pere's Meghan Hasse when she was a girl, and now visits her children every year too. Hasse said he has filled the family's stockings with lots of goodies over the years, including candies, bath bombs, stickers and, one year, a kazoo. Even the dog gets a special treat! St. Nick also decorates the family's tree with candy canes.
"Every year it's a little different," Hasse said. "It's almost as fun as Christmas morning."
Christmas pictures ... with alpacas in Two Rivers
Holiday pictures — you know, the kind where the entire family is decked out in matching PJs or color-coordinating outfits — seem to be a big thing here in the Midwest. But one De Pere mom found a way to take it to a new level.
Every year, Hannah Jaeger and her family made the drive to Two Rivers to visit the LondonDairy Alpaca Ranch and take pictures with the fluffy friends. She uses them for Christmas cards.
“My family and I have gone every year for the past three years. The first year I was pregnant, the second year baby was 6 months, this year he’s a toddler,” she said. “It’s a very special tradition for me and my family.”
Northeastern Wisconsin has holiday lights galore
There are a plethora of light displays to choose from in our area, from drive-thru displays to walking tours.
If you are wanting to cozy up with your family in your warm car, events like the Oshkosh Celebration of Lights — held at the EAA Grounds this year — or the Lakeside Park Holiday Light Show in Fond du Lac may be your best bet.
For those looking to get outside, there are also a number of outdoor options. According to its website, the WPS Garden of Lights at the Green Bay Botanical Gardens offers a golf cart tour, which is accessible for wheelchair and motorized scooter users and up to two guests, but carts must be reserved in advance.
One of Appleton mom Eshalon Mayer’s family holiday traditions is visiting the Fox Cities Festival of Lights at Darboy Community Park in the village of Harrison. A half-mile wooded trail is decked out with lights. While the event is free, a $5 donation per person is suggested. Donations are split between nonprofits that help with the display, its website says.
“It’s the whole lights in the woods, holiday outdoor experience,” Mayer said. “It’s just a magical time, and it’s a fantastic park.”
Some like to turn their own homes into winter wonderlands. If you're particularly proud of your own home light display, and live in Appleton or Green Bay, you can add your home to USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin's holiday lights maps.
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Each family does the pickle ornament tradition differently
Many Wisconsinites love hiding a pickle ornament on the Christmas tree and giving a special incentive to find it first. There are many renditions of the pickle tradition, including giving a prize to the person who finds it first, such as a special gift, or letting the child who finds the pickle open a gift first.
Jerianne Pertl, owner of the Kristmas Kringle Shoppe in Fond du Lac, said she has seen these versions of the tradition and more.
"Sometimes the same family will have the older kids look for the really small pickle, and for the little kids they'll have a bigger pickle," Pertl said.
The origins of this tradition are debated, with some theories surrounding Germanic lore or the heroics of St. Nicholas.
More:What's a Christmas pickle? The tradition you haven't heard of but will want to start now
Take advantage of those Wisconsin skies by stargazing
Apparently, Wisconsin is known as a great state for stargazing, and what says holidays like a hot cup of cocoa, donning your warmest clothes and gazing up at the night sky?
For Christopher Nejedlo, who lives in Bellevue but was raised in Luxemburg, this tradition is tied to a sweet holiday memory.
“When I was young, my father took me outside on Christmas Eve night to look for the North Star. He unfortunately died when I was 14, but I still remember to look up at the night sky on Christmas Eve,” Nejedlo said. “I still have no idea which one is the North Star.”
Lucky for Nejedlo and others on this search, NASA’s website has a helpfularticle.
Madison Lammert covers child care and early education across Wisconsin as a Report for America corps member based at The Appleton Post-Crescent. To contact her, email mlammert@gannett.com or call 920-993-7108. Please consider supporting journalism that informs our democracy with a tax-deductible gift to Report for America.