Yes — and it is one of the few Minneapolis holiday outings that works for a six-year-old, her parents and her grandparents on the same evening without anyone being bored or cold. The Minneapolis Trolley Tours Holiday Light Ride has an all-ages version built for exactly this, it boards inside a heated mansion rather than a parking lot, and 300 Clifton, a historic bed and breakfast a few minutes away in Loring Park, welcomes children and has room types for every budget in the family. Here is how to put the whole weekend together.
Which holiday lights ride is right for a family with kids and grandparents?
The trolley company runs two versions of its Christmas light tour, and only one of them is for you. Santa’s Nice Ride is the all-ages, one-hour trip aboard a heated vintage trolley — the company’s own list of who it is for reads “Families, Grandparents, Kids, Holiday traditions, Visitors.” Along the way riders vote for their favourite decorated home, with Christmas music and festive narration. The Naughty Holiday Party Ride is the 21-and-over, two-hour version with cocktails first; leave that one for a night when the grandparents have offered to babysit. If you want the full comparison, read Naughty or Nice: How to Pick Your Minneapolis Holiday Lights Trolley Ride.
Why the boarding point matters when you’re wrangling three generations
Every Holiday Light Ride begins inside the Pillsbury Club, the historic Pillsbury Mansion at 100 East 22nd Street, rather than at a curb. That changes the logistics completely. Free parking is available across the street from the Club, so Grandpa isn’t circling a block in the snow. You arrive early and wait in a warm mansion, not on a sidewalk. Before and after the ride there is a holiday market with handmade gifts from more than 50 Minnesota artists — which means the kids have something to look at, the grandparents have something to buy, and nobody is standing outside. The Club also serves dinner, appetizers and holiday cocktails, so the evening can be trolley-then-supper or supper-then-trolley. Details on arriving are on the Club’s Plan Your Visit page.
Sleeping arrangements: eight room types for three budgets
Multi-generational trips usually break down over the hotel bill: the grandparents want something special, the parents want value, and everybody wants to be under one roof. 300 Clifton solves that better than a hotel corridor does. There are eight distinct guest room types across the Main Mansion and the Carriage House. Put the grandparents in the king Georgian Room or the Crystal Mansion suite in the main house; put the parents and kids in the Carriage House — the Coachman’s, the Hayloft or the Blacksmith’s Forge with its own patio — and if a teenager or a cousin comes along, the Estate Rooms are the most affordable option, queen rooms that share a bath. Children are welcome (pets are not), every room has air conditioning and a private en-suite except the Estate Rooms, and check-in is from 3 p.m. with check-out by 10 a.m. If the family is big enough, you can take the whole house — see Can You Rent a Whole Mansion in Minneapolis?
A sample two-night plan
Friday. Check in from 3 p.m., let the kids find the resident Great Danes (two of them, both well over 100 pounds and calm about it), and have an easy dinner in the neighbourhood — Eat Street is minutes away. Grandparents get the hot tub: the private garden hot tub is a bookable experience, and a December soak under the stars is the kind of thing they’ll talk about at Easter.
Saturday. A slow morning with coffee in the common area (breakfast isn’t served on site, so this is a good day to walk down into Loring Park or over to the Sculpture Garden with a stroller). In the afternoon, head to the Pillsbury Club early enough to browse the market, eat, and be seated for Santa’s Nice Ride. It is a one-hour loop, which is exactly as long as a small child’s patience and a grandparent’s back. Back at the mansion, book Gertrude’s Cistern, the movie lounge with heated reclining seats, for a family film — it is a private, bookable experience like the hot tub.
Sunday. Check out by 10 (a late check-out can be added for $25, subject to availability), then, if you still want lights, the older kids and adults can cover the neighbourhood displays on foot — see Can You See Minneapolis Holiday Lights Without Driving? Trips from elsewhere in the city are easy to plan with the Metro Transit trip planner.
Three practical notes for the organiser
First, the trolley company flags the Holiday Light Ride as popular and “likely to sell out,” so book the ride before you book the rooms, then match your dates. Second, dress the youngest and oldest riders for a heated trolley with stops, not for a hike — warm coats on, hats in pockets. Third, if part of the family is arriving from out of town, Loring Park is directly below the mansion and a good place to burn off a car ride before the evening starts.
Book the ride, then book the house
Reserve Santa’s Nice Ride on the Holiday Light Ride page, then book your rooms at 300 Clifton direct for the best available rate and to add the hot tub or movie lounge to the stay. Direct bookings also come with a $20 Pillsbury Club dining voucher and a $20 Minneapolis Trolley voucher per stay (see Vouchers), which is a start on the grandparents’ cocktails. For the adults-only version of the same evening, read Can You Bring Your Own Drinks on a Minneapolis Holiday Lights Trolley?