If you want to visit the REAL Santa though, you’re in luck!  You can find him right here in Portland!

For the last 25 years our family has been visiting Santa at Santaland in downtown Portland.  Santaland is now located in the basement of Macy’s.  Gone are the good old days when Santaland occupied the 10th floor of Meier & Frank and you could ride the monorail around the ceiling!

It was a sad day for our children when they grew too tall to ride!

Although the monorail no longer circles the ceiling of the 10th floor you can visit the monorail museum downstairs in Macy’s.

That is also where you will find Santa!  He is only there through 4 p.m. Christmas Eve, Dec. 24th.  See their website for hours.

So if you haven’t given Santa your list yet hurry on downtown!

Oregon is known for it’s Christmas trees and rightfully so.  Oregon is ranked the top producer of Christmas trees in the U.S. harvesting 6,850,841 trees in 2007!  Among the more popular varieties are the Doug fir, noble fir, grand fir, and scotch pine.  While not everyone comes to our great state to buy their tree, chances are good they are enjoying one anyway!

Among one of the oldest Christmas traditions, cutting down your Christmas tree is a perfect way to kick off your holiday festivities.  Cutting your tree is also great for the environment and our economy.  Both renewable and recyclable, the perfect tree is just waiting to be found!  Everything Northwest has an exhaustive list of local tree farms to help you find the farm nearest to you.  Also check out The Pacific Northwest Christmas Tree Association.   For more information on local recycling of your live tree, click here.

Lastly, here are a few of our top picks:

Christmas Mountain Choose and Cut 

25470 N.W. Dixie Mountain Road

Scappoose, Oregon 97056

Loch Lolly Christmas Forest

28366 NW Dorland Rd.

North Plains, Oregon 97133

Hagg’s Christmas Tree Farm

18175 SW McCormick Hill Road

Hillsboro, Oregon 97123

One thing to put on your list for the day after Thanksgiving, in addition to some great shopping, is the Tree Lighting at Pioneer Square.

One of the sure signs that the holiday season has officially begun in the Portland area is the lighting of the 75 foot tree in Pioneer Courthouse Square the day after Thanksgiving.

Large crowds gather to see the lighting of this spectacular tree so go early if you want a good view! 

Remember it gets dark early now and the tree lighting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.  It would be the perfect end to a day of shopping downtown.  Just grab yourself a nice warm beverage and join in the fun.

 There will be music and maybe even a special visitor!  A great way to kick off the season!

A perfect activity to do with any relatives/friends that may be visiting for the holiday – show them beautiful downtown Portland.