It is a small, quaint wooden structure where the jolly man and the missus reside during the season to hear Christmas lists, smile for a picture, and pass out scrumptious sugar cookies. One favorite part that has become a family tradition is our visit to the Santa House. My boys, 3 & 6, had a blast finding the scenes and all the tall, colorful wooden Nutcrackers along the way. These vintage displays tell the Nutcracker story and have delighted children and adults for generations, and provide a great photo opportunity. Make sure you discover the 4 animatronic Nutcracker Suite scenes located throughout the shopping center. While families gather round, Santa counts down and the Tulsa night sky is illuminated by 700,000 lights trimming 175 trees. For over 40 years they’ve held their annual “Lights On” event on Thanksgiving night. It has remained a Tulsa treasure and favorite ever since. Tulsa’s first “suburban shopping center” opened in 1952 on what was then the outskirts of town. Those looking for that “timeless tradition” feel for the holidays should plan a visit out to Utica Square. ![]() Each season, I watch the weather forecast for a particularly warm night, which you can almost count on in Oklahoma, and I text my husband excitedly “It’s going to be 50 degrees tonight!” and he responds “Wanna go to Rhema?” and I say something sarcastic like “Duh!” Now my husband and I can barely hold hands with each other because we have one of our four children on each hand, but we steal glances that say “Remember when…?” and when I see young couples walking huddled together I smile to myself and wonder if they can possibly imagine what’s in store for them.īundle up with a bunch of family or friends and spend a evening at Rhema this Christmas season. Now that we have children, the tradition continues. I mean, who else had a van load of immediate family with whom to enjoy Christmas lights? Then my husband and I started dating, and we enjoyed walking through the lighted winter wonder land with our hearts in love and glowing brightest of all. I thought no one enjoyed it quite as much as we did. My husband calls it “Reema” but I assure you, it’s “Rayma.” Growing up, loading up with my nine siblings in our 15 passenger “church van” to drive through the light display at Rhema was a much anticipated and much loved tradition. Horse-drawn carriage rides are also available and depart from an East paring lot. Light concessions such as hot cocoa and popcorn, are available for purchase, and sometimes a food truck selling funnel cakes is set up on the parking lot. Favorite features are the tunnel of lights over a bridge, the synchronized lights to music show on the west lawn, and looking out at the freezing water fowl on the pond. The mature trees are absolutely dripping with lights and the main walkthrough area features a great little winding sidewalk that meanders around a little creek for about a quarter of a mile. Be prepared for a long line of cars and sometimes big crowds of people walking shoulder to shoulder through the lights. Some people simply drive through while others park and walk through. Each year, they use millions of lights to transform the school grounds into a winter wonderland. ![]() The good people at Rhema Bible College must be part Elf. Our children’s eyes light up every year when we drive by. A company spokesman recently said that nearly 2 million lights are used in the display, which they have put on for about 20 years. Paragon’s annual light extravaganza offers anyone driving along a 3/4-mile stretch of Oklahoma HWY 117 a dazzling light show. This lovely part of Sapulpa has a massive number of lights and acres of Christmas designs.
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