Guest Post: An afternoon at Tysons Corner

Another wonderful post by my friend, Patricia Masi. Patricia works as Director for Edible DC and has two beautiful children whom she takes on lots of fun adventures in the DMV area. Most of us dread the thought of driving to Tyson’s Corner; the idea of endless traffic convinces me not to go every time but this post may change my mind! Patricia recently spent an afternoon there with her girls and found many ways to keep her girls entertained.

Last week I hit a holiday home-run with my daughters. It started with Tea at American Girl Doll, followed by a shopping spree for their cousins at the Disney Store and ended with a visit to Santa Headquarters. Throw in a ride on a purple unicorn (YES! A purple unicorn!) and a quick visit to Pottery Barn Kids and you have, without a doubt, a holiday home-run.

The best part- all of this took place at Tyson’s Corner (One)! Free parking, tons of free holiday decorations to look at, music playing, perfect temperatures and accessible restrooms when the kids just can’t hold it any longer.

Let’ start with American Girl Doll. It’s a beautiful store. It is a beautiful and very expensive store. Be forewarned. However the afternoon tea is very affordable! Just $13.50 per adult and the kids dine free. My daughters were given an activity to keep them busy (as if looking at the dolls wasn’t enough) and everyone, including their two grandmothers and two aunts that joined us had a blast. Highly recommend. Bring your American Girl Doll with you and they are given the royal treatment as well.

After tea we walked to the Disney Store where the kids stared in amazement at the gigantic movie screen in the back of the store. They were in awe!  It occupied enough time that I was able to purchase a few gifts for their cousins.

Since we had a few minutes before Santa returned from ‘feeding the reindeer’ we decided to take a joy ride on a purple unicorn! Two lovely ladies were working at this ‘holiday pop-up’ and for $6 you are able to take the animal of your choice on a joy ride around the mall for 10 minutes (other packages available.)   My description isn’t doing it justice but trust me it’s worth checking out. Located a few feet from Santa across from L.L. Bean.

Strategically located, we couldn’t resist a quick visit to Pottery Barn Kids but soon it was time to visit Santa. Once again Santa’s headquarters is sponsored by HGTV and has a very similar feel to the past two years (but I don’t think my kids noticed).  They got to push lots of buttons, pull lots of levers and watch lots of magic take place. Best part: Santa’s headquarters is totally free and you do not have to purchase the pictures to participate. The Santa was very warm and authentic looking. The entire staff was in the holiday spirit and my daughters bought every minute of it.

The entire evening was a success. That is until we got in the car to drive home at 6:30pm. Poor timing on my part however we took the express lanes and sang holiday music “From Atlantic to Pacific Gee, the traffic is terrific, Oh there’s no place like home for the holidays.”
**Please note we did all of this at 4pm on a Monday. I highly recommend you avoid peak times on the weekends if you can. We will certainly be back to Tyson’s this holiday season. Happy holidays!

The outdoor ice rink is open as well; the skate rental shop is located inside the mall on level 2 near Lord & Taylor.