Traverse Tree

Christmas is upon us and the air is filled with panicked shoppers, snow, and the smell of the holidays drawing closer.

School is wrapping up for the semester

and I still haven’t sent out my Christmas card! Kids still need to tell Santa what they want for Christmas and I haven’t done my yearly tradition of seeing the holiday lights and parade show before the Christmas season is over. Lucky for me, Traverse Mountain Shopping Center has the perfect

combination of events and activities to fit anyone’s holiday needs.

Traverse Shopping Center is a brand new outlet of shops that overlooks Lehi, Saratoga Springs, American Fork, and other cities surrounding the mountains. Many popular shops live here such as Coach, Ralph Lauren, Forever 21, Macy's, and Auntie Anne’s. This mall is mostly outdoors, with a mix of inside shops, all having a huge holiday sale until the end of the year. In the center of the outdoor mall sits Utah’s tallest Christmas Tree, standing over 80 feet tall. This tree is so ginormous, that you cant miss it in the middle of the mall, or from driving along the interstate. This is a wonderful place to take a unique Christmas card photo to send out. The tree is highly decorated with over 7,000 lights and 6,000 ornaments. These ornaments are bigger than the size of a grown mans hand. This tree glistens in the sunlight, and is fully lit when the sun sets. The forest from which this tree came from, was planted with over 25 saplings to fill in this newly found void. Along with this huge tree, there are fun,

Giant Ornaments

ornaments strewn about the shopping center. This provides excellent further opportunities for photos and cool memories.

Along with these giant ornaments around the mall, there are several reindeer houses with moving reindeer heads. Elves sit on the backs and saddles of the reindeer. Occasionally, the reindeer will make some noise and wag their tails. All 9 reindeer are present in the mall, although they are separated from each other making it a scavenger hunt to go find all 9 reindeer. This a great opportunity to get kids out of the house and searching for something tangible and fun. Traverse does have an Instagram photo challenge for the tree and the reindeer. Winners can receive up to $25 gift cards to the shops in the shopping center.

Around the giant tree, a massive stage is set up for the many concerts and bands playing all of December at Traverse. Especially on Thanksgiving eve, the shops are open all night for a “Shopping Party”, live bands play, Santa is available at his workshop for kids to sit on his lap, and gift cards are given away as part of the shopping Instagram photo contest. As mentioned, there is a giant Santa’s workshop sitting at the end of the mall with Santa waiting for little kids to sit on his lap. Little elves are present as well for photo opportunities.

This event is perfect for families and friends to celebrate the holiday season as well as get some holiday shopping done while the kids play around the mall. Be sure to stop in before the year is over!

Author and Adventurer Lindsey Strother