One of my favorite things about Christmas has always been Santa’s reindeer. The story of “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” called them all by name; Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen. Then of course along comes Rudolph, my all-time favorite reindeer, Christmas special and more. I have a ginormous collection of Rudolph that takes over my house and my studio this time of year. But that is a story for another time.

Growing up I remember drawing, cutting, pasting all of Santa’s reindeer in grade school art projects. I left out not only milk and cookies for Santa, but carrots for the reindeer. On Christmas eve, my dad would put us in the car to drive around and look for Rudolph and the others pulling Santa’s sleigh thru the night. And while you’d always see a flashing red nose (or the top of a tower), we never got to see the reindeer in person.

I always thought I’d have to travel to the North Pole to see all these beautiful creatures in real life, but it turns out, those reindeer are a lot closer than that In fact, they are just up the road in Bowling Green, KY.

The Reindeer Farm on Old Union Church Road, offers up a magical opportunity for the whole family. A reindeer barn, an indoor playground, Christmas movies, outdoor games, even a petting zoo that includes, yes, real, live reindeer!

The Reindeer Farm offers up Reindeer Encounters that actually allows you to get into a pen with Santa’s helpers where you can pet them, learn about them and even get some photos.

Day passes to the farm let you check out all the other fun activities, visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus, there’s ice sculpting, cookie decorating and other theme days; there’s party rooms and you even rent out the reindeer for events! How cool!

Cool, but not cold…like the North Pole. And the commute is a lot better too!