Family Fun Can Be Found All Around Muskogee This Winter

Though 2020 may not have been what we envisioned, the magic of Christmas is still all around us.

This is especially true this year in Muskogee, Oklahoma.

"The park is beautiful. Million-plus lights out there," Castle of Muskogee owner Matt Hiller said.

For an entire fun-filled day, you can shop for gifts downtown, visit Christmas displays, and eat. A lot.

"Our pies will change daily,” Harmony House owner Mandy Scott said. “We have a bread pudding that we do daily.”

Harmony House is a bakery and tea room inside of a mansion built in 1914. At Christmastime, they go all out with the decorations.

"We try to make it real festive here for the holidays," Scott said. "A lot of families come into town and this is where they want to come for lunch."

Scott designed the festive ceiling all on her own. People can walk in for lunch or stay for tea with some friends. Scott promises the bakery is full of tasty treats. Trust us: we sampled it just to make sure.  

After your belly is full, you can walk off some of those calories along Main Street in Muskogee which offers both boutiques and cute shops decorated for the holidays.

Stacey Burns owns Hattie’s House & Vintage Market.

"These are locally made," Burns said. "I think it just brightens it up and adds some cheer to the shopping experience.”

The store offers both new and old. It features a wide section dedicated to Christmas decorations, even 2020-themed ornaments. The store is also connected to four other shops.

Burns tells us the owners keep their doors open, so shoppers can walk from one to the other with ease.

"It's just available for them to just walk back and forth and not have to be out in the cold," Burns said.

When you're finally all shopped out, just wait until the sun goes down, because in Muskogee, there is no shortage of light displays. 

The Castle of Muskogee is famous for its Renaissance Fair. At Christmastime, the castle transforms into a Winter Wonderland.

"From the day we quit Halloween festival, we started putting up Christmas stuff," Hiller said.

Visitors can drive through a more than half mile light display that takes weeks to set up. Inside, people will find vendors, Santa's Workshop and, according to 7-year-old Presleigh Doublehead, hot chocolate!

Back outside, there's a hay ride and a train with even more lights as well as camel and pony rides.

"Kids love it. I ride quite a few moms, a few dads," said Balinda Gaultney with Happy Trails Pony Rides.

Less than a mile away from the castle is Honor Heights Park. There, your full day of Holiday adventures can come to an end by driving through the Garden of Lights. 

It's 130 acres of trees, bushes and ponds decorated for the holiday season. 

It's a season that may be a little different this year, but for visitors to Muskogee, it's still a whole lot of fun.