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sweet2ndchance

By sweet2ndchance,
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sweet2ndchance

sweet2ndchance

Posted
Posted

That nothing will be open Christmas day. 🙃

Of course this occurs to me AFTER I've made the hotel reservations. 

So it's a 4 hour drive. We can have brunch at home Christmas day and then leave for our trip. But what about dinner when we get there in the early evening? I had planned on Chick-fil-a since that's one of ds's favorite restaurants and this trip is for him (and we don't have one locally). But I find it highly unlikely they will be open Christmas day, yeah?

Nothing is open around here on Christmas day. Even Walmart is closed.

So how can I find out what will be open on Christmas day in the Grapevine, TX area? Or what is a creative solution of something we can do for dinner?

We will have a refrigerator and a microwave in the room.

The most creative thing I can come up with right now is to bring leftovers from brunch, lol. Anyone have any better ideas?

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GoVanGogh

GoVanGogh

Posted
Posted

You can come to my house. I don’t know yet what we will be eating.

Aside from that. Great Wolf Lodge or the Gaylord will likely have restaurants open. I think the Gaylord has a coffee shop type place that would likely have sandwiches. 
There is a Denny’s by Grapevine Mills Mall. It might be open. 
Blue Mesa might be open, though they are in Plano or Addison.

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HomeAgain

HomeAgain

Posted
Posted

I would pack a special dinner for the room: charcuterie board, maybe, or individual meals packed in containers.  That's what we do when we have crazy schedules.  We just pack the cooler with containers that can go in the microwave (and we can toss if it comes to it).

I wouldn't plan on things being open on Christmas, but I might plan on some ham, homemade mac n cheese, biscuits, and a salad to have in our room.

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Mrs Tiggywinkle Again

Mrs Tiggywinkle Again

Posted
Posted
7 hours ago, sweet2ndchance said:

Ds would love Great Wolf Lodge, but staying there is not in the budget this year. Can you eat at the restaurants without being a guest? I've never actually been to one.

A lot of GWLs also have day passes that are cheaper. But you don’t have to be a guest to eat at the restaurant.

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DawnM

DawnM

Posted
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This is the reason we pushed to drive all the way home and we got home at 2:30am on Christmas morning after my mother's burial and funeral (19 hours' drive from my house)

But DH did assure me that gas stations would be open and probably a restaurant or two we might have to drive around a bit to find.

However, I would def. have something in the room you can heat up just in case.   

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marbel

marbel

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I guess I'd look up some restaurants in that city and check their websites or call.  Waffle House is a good option, and, though I've never been to one, I've heard that QuikTrip is a decent place for food when traveling (if there is one there).  Otherwise I'd pack a cooler/picnic basket with charcuterie, fruit, snacks, and something sweet as suggested above. That's pretty standard for us when traveling. You could get Christmassy paper plates to make it at least a little more festive? 

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mmasc

mmasc

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I think I’d do as @HomeAgain suggested and try to pack something good/special from home. It would ease the burden of finding something on Christmas Day after traveling. Maybe you could go to a “fancy” grocery store locally and buy some pre-made food? Or subs? Anything that ds would consider fun/good would be on my menu. 😁 And yes, chick fil a will definitely be closed on Christmas, but you can get it the next day! Maybe you could even do breakfast there one day since it’s his favorite and not local to you. 

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lmrich

lmrich

Posted
Posted

 Another vote to  pack  a fun meal for the hotel room. Since you are driving, you will have the space. Many hotels have microwaves in a common area, too. 

If you have a great thermos or two - make "White Christmas Chili" some sandwiches on great bread and a decadent dessert. Or some fun appetizers and finger sandwiches. 

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Boymama5

Boymama5

Posted
Posted

I’d prepack a meal to heat up in the room so you won’t be met with disappointment and hunger. When we were traveling for Christmas some places were open for short hours but not by dinner time.  Take him to the grocery the day before and choose some fun treats he wouldn’t normally get- maybe a fun drink, snacks and then a frozen meal. It doesn’t need to be fancy to make memories. 

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KungFuPanda

KungFuPanda

Posted
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Do you have a roaster or crockpot to reheat a precooked meal? You could probably be creative with foil and section of areas for different dishes. A crockpot would hold turkey, gravy, potatoes, and stuffing. You can bring a pie, cranberry sauce, and drinks for the fridge. Rolls and butter are easy enough to transport. 
 

If you don’t want to cook, get a premade meal from a grocery store and only bring what you can eat for dinner (and fit in your crockpot, roaster, or preportioned microwave plates) so you’re not dealing with leftovers. (You’ll have enough leftovers to stash in your freezer at home and do this meal a few more times later)

you can even modify the menu by doing a picnic version of a holiday meal. Gourmet ham or Turkey sandwiches on really good bread, condiments, salads, chips, mini pies or cheesecakes, and some wine. If you do a muffuletta style sandwich on sturdy bread it’ll travel real well and be even better after it’s been made for several hours. Maybe a small Turkey pot pie and you travel with your toaster oven? 

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GoVanGogh

GoVanGogh

Posted
Posted
13 hours ago, sweet2ndchance said:

Ds would love Great Wolf Lodge, but staying there is not in the budget this year. Can you eat at the restaurants without being a guest? I've never actually been to one.

Yes, you can just go to one to eat. 
Oh. Someone mentioned QTrip gas stations. There is a Buccee’s by Alliance airport and one could easily eat a decent meal there. 
I also vote for the charcuterie board in the hotel room. We have done that for Thanksgiving meals before and enjoyed it. 

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vonfirmath

vonfirmath

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, marbel said:

I guess I'd look up some restaurants in that city and check their websites or call.  Waffle House is a good option, and, though I've never been to one, I've heard that QuikTrip is a decent place for food when traveling (if there is one there).  Otherwise I'd pack a cooler/picnic basket with charcuterie, fruit, snacks, and something sweet as suggested above. That's pretty standard for us when traveling. You could get Christmassy paper plates to make it at least a little more festive? 

There are QTs in the Dallas area (Which is where I believe Grapevine is)

The food -- is okay. I like their egg rolls. It's gas station food.

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vonfirmath

vonfirmath

Posted
Posted
16 minutes ago, GoVanGogh said:

Yes, you can just go to one to eat. 
Oh. Someone mentioned QTrip gas stations. There is a Buccee’s by Alliance airport and one could easily eat a decent meal there. 
I also vote for the charcuterie board in the hotel room. We have done that for Thanksgiving meals before and enjoyed it. 

Bucees would be a fun day to go on Christmas. I'd call the Buccee's ahead of time though. Looking around. One article says they are open on Christmas day but close at 8p

Another only has hours for Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas and implies they might be closed on christmas.

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marbel

marbel

Posted
Posted
13 minutes ago, vonfirmath said:

There are QTs in the Dallas area (Which is where I believe Grapevine is)

The food -- is okay. I like their egg rolls. It's gas station food.

Yeah, I didn't figure it was *good* food, but OK food. 😉 We have Wawa and Sheetz here - same concept, decent food which can either be utilitarian (we're traveling and have to eat *something*) or a treat (oooh, Sizzlis* for breakfast on the way out of town!)  When my kids were little, it was always a treat. 

*Typical breakfast sandwiches

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SKL

SKL

Posted
Posted (edited)

I think you will find someone open.  You'll need to be flexible about food options though.  🙂  Most likely, there will also be access to nature parks and similar.  The hotel pool may or may not be open - check on that.

I'd plan to bring stuff for a nice, laid back Christmas day together in the hotel.  Besides Christmas decorations and gifts, bring some Christmas movies (maybe those can be some of the Christmas gifts), puzzles/games, story books if your kids are read-aloud age, cookies, and hot cocoa mix to make using the room coffee machine / hot water boiler.  😛  Mix in one or two walks in the park, walk/drive through areas with pretty lights, and catch up on sleep.

With Christmas being one of the shortest days of the year in this hemisphere, I suspect it will pass surprisingly fast.

Edited by SKL
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Danae

Danae

Posted
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3 minutes ago, vonfirmath said:

QT is QuikTrip -- the station mentioned.

 

There webpage shows a typical store front -- with both the QuikTrip and QT prominently posted

https://www.quiktrip.com/

 

Yes, I know that.  But I thought it was possible that the person who originally mentioned it had heard that the convenience store in question had good food and the person speaking had meant the other one.  

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vonfirmath

vonfirmath

Posted
Posted
3 minutes ago, Danae said:

Yes, I know that.  But I thought it was possible that the person who originally mentioned it had heard that the convenience store in question had good food and the person speaking had meant the other one.  

Ah Ok. I'd never heard of the K gas station. We just got the Q one right before covid and they became almost immediate sfavorites in our house

 

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Carol in Cal.

Carol in Cal.

Posted
Posted

Hotel restaurants are usually open for all meals every day, but sometimes with more limited hours on holidays, and sometimes limited to their own guests on holidays.  If you decide to go that route, be sure to call well in advance for a reservation.  Also be aware that often holiday meals are from a much more limited menu than the regular one.

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Bootsie

Bootsie

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We have found ourselves away from home on Christmas Day several times.  We have done everything from going to a nice hotel for a meal, to finding a fast food restaurant that opens in the evening, to packing a picnic to have with us, to finding a local restaurant that is open 24/7--In a worst case scenario, movie theaters are usually open on Christmas Day and have food.  We could often find a Golden Corral, or other type of buffet, open for at least part of the day on Christmas Day.  

The most difficulty we had was traveling through west Texas the day after Christmas; that year Christmas had fallen on a Sunday, so many places that would have traditionally been closed on Sunday also close the following day to give their workers a holiday.  The few places to stop had hours-long lines.  

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vonfirmath

vonfirmath

Posted
Posted (edited)
11 hours ago, Bootsie said:

We have found ourselves away from home on Christmas Day several times.  We have done everything from going to a nice hotel for a meal, to finding a fast food restaurant that opens in the evening, to packing a picnic to have with us, to finding a local restaurant that is open 24/7--In a worst case scenario, movie theaters are usually open on Christmas Day and have food.  We could often find a Golden Corral, or other type of buffet, open for at least part of the day on Christmas Day.  

The most difficulty we had was traveling through west Texas the day after Christmas; that year Christmas had fallen on a Sunday, so many places that would have traditionally been closed on Sunday also close the following day to give their workers a holiday.  The few places to stop had hours-long lines.  

Oh cool. We've been travelling through West Texas on Christmas day. (A Sunday -- so may have been same year if it was recent). I forget exactly where we stayed that year -- Ft Stockton, Van Horn, or El Paso. But we woke up Christmas day in a hotel. We had the gifts and stockings with us. The kids got the stockings on Christmas morning to open, then we finished travelling to relatives in Arizona and did "christmas morning" the next day with family.  (we made extra careful that day to keep topped up on gas but found the gas stations, at least, on that major road were open)

 

Edited by vonfirmath
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mominco

mominco

Posted
Posted
On 9/23/2023 at 9:42 PM, sweet2ndchance said:

Christmas day in the Grapevine, TX area

This is close to where I live.You will have a lot of options if you look a few miles beyond Grapevine. Gaylord takes reservations and you don't have to stay there.

Las Colinas/valley ranch in the Irving area has a lot of Asian/Indian/Mediterranean (look at Japan house,India 101,Royal chopstix,Shwarma press,Benihana to name a few)I know the Mcd's on Lbj freeway in Las Colinas is open 24 hours year round and there is a Denny's right beside that location.

Please feel free to pm me if you need any specific information.

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