How to Spend a Weekend in Santa Claus, Indiana

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The first time I heard about Santa Claus, Indiana — I couldn’t believe it. I had to see it for myself. It was everything you’d hope it would be — like a real life Hallmark movie.

Everything in this cute little town is holiday-themed — even in the middle of the summer. They even have an entire theme park called Holiday World.

Here’s exactly how we spent a weekend in Santa Claus, IN:

Where to stay in Santa Claus, IN

We stayed in this super spacious Christmas Cabin with an enormous deck

Lake Rudolph Campground & RV Resort

Cabin
- The Christmas cabin had a large porch and a fire ring. The kids loved having a loft. Be sure to bring blankets and towels
- If the weather isn’t great and you can’t use the fire ring, no worries! There’s a full kitchen in your cabin so you can use the stove, fridge, and microwave
Camp Shop
- The camp’s shop has everything you need to have a good time, including firewood, souvenirs, and food
Waterslides
- The camp has two water slides next to the pool at Santa’s SplashDown WaterPark
Cabins, campers, and tents
- There are many different options for staying at the camp, like the cabin options, camper areas, and tent areas. You can rent an RV right at the campground so you can get the RV experience without the trouble of owning one
- There’s free wifi
- Enjoy the playground, paddle boats, horseshoe pits, kayaks, gem mining, mini golf and more
- Rent a golf cart to get you around the campground — it’s big
- There are shuttle stops throughout the campground to take you to and from Holiday World, which is just next door
Get your reservations in now
- Some reservations start for camp as early as a year before, so plan ahead
Parade
- Every so often, there is a golf cart parade through the camp around nine – some carts even throw candy

Activities in Santa Claus, IN

Santa’s Candy Castle

There’s a rumor that Candy Land made its board game based on Santa’s Candy Castle in Santa Claus, IN. I can see why — it’s magical and full of candy.

They play Christmas music year-round, and you can sample the wall of flavored popcorn. If you’re up for the challenge, try their gourmet frozen hot chocolate.

Check out their multiple rooms- Jelly Belly and Pez galore
- The castle has multiple rooms- two are separately dedicated to Jelly Belly and Pez products
Frozen hot chocolate & challenge wall
- The frozen hot chocolate here is rich and there is a challenge for anyone willing to try- finish their ½ gallon Avalanche size cocoa, and have your picture on their wall
- There is a wide selection of popcorn flavors
Scavenger hunt & prizes
- There was a scavenger hunt starting here that took you to different locations in Santa Claus and gave you discounts if you were on the hunt
- If you finished the entire scavenger hunt, then you could return to the castle and pick a prize

The wall of popcorn at Santa’s Candy Castle
Harry Potter goodies at Santa’s Candy Castle!

Holiday Drive-In

We were thrilled to go to a real drive-in theater. The last time we went was a good ten years ago in South Dakota!

You get 2-movies to enjoy
- The drive-in plays movies in sets of two – but you can leave whenever. Movies will play rain or shine provided they still have electricity
Battery die?
- Don’t worry about your car battery- there’s someone to go around and jump cars if needed. We had them jump our dead battery between movies
Bring cash as there’s no ATM, reasonable prices
- Although there aren’t any atms there, there are areas nearby with them, and the employees are happy to direct you
- The concessions are of reasonable prices, and you can butter your own popcorn
- The menu has a very wide selection of food and drinks–we loved the hot dogs, nachos, and pretzels

Enjoy a Day at Holiday World

Take the shuttle right from Rudolph’s Campground & RV Resort to Holiday World, which is located next door.

Free drinks & sunscreen for everyone
- Holiday World has free fountain drinks and sunscreen stations around the entire park
They’ve got the #1 Waterpark
- USA Today rated Holiday World’s Splashin Safari as the #1 water park and #4 theme park of 2017
Each section of the park has a different holiday theme — we loved Halloween

Check out more about Holiday World here.