great wolf lodge.

This is our fourth year going to the Great Wolf Lodge. The first Christmas we came back from India, we were looking for some new family traditions, and decided to give it a try. We had so much fun that we went back the next year, and the next! We specifically love going in December because it’s fun to go swimming when it’s cold outside, and because the Great Wolf Lodge is over-the-top about Christmas. The whole place is decked out and there’s a special evening story time with a wintery surprise at the end.

Because Charlotte is just an hour and a half away, we’re able to go for one night. We start swimming at 1:00 pm on the day of check-in, and have access to the water park for the rest of the following day, even after check-out. We bring our own breakfast and pool-side snacks, and eat dinner out. It’s the perfect amount of time.

This year we brought the whole family! It was the first McWilliams family trip this year, and so fun to make new memories together. It was also glorious to have seven adults for the six children. We loved introducing Gabe and Noah to the GWL experience. They were thrilled with everything, and were quite content to play for hours in the kiddie pool. I had one of those delightful revelations as a mother, where for 24 hours, all of my kids were happy, and there were plenty of arms to hold them. Also, I’ll happily admit that I love all the slides as much as anybody, especially screaming my head off on the Howling Tornado.

A wonderful time was had by all!