Leawood's Holiday Season Now Runs All the Way to 147th Street

On Sunday, November 22, the Lodge at Ironwoods Park will fill with 10-by-10 vendor booths for the first Ironwoods Holiday Market. The Leawood Chamber describes it as its "first-ever" holiday market. The market runs from noon to 5 p.m. and admission is free. Local boutiques, artisans, makers and specialty vendors will sell gifts, seasonal décor, handmade goods, clothing and accessories, with holiday music and seasonal refreshments while you shop.

One new market changes the city's holiday map. Until now, most of Leawood's seasonal calendar sat near 119th Street, at City Hall, Town Center Plaza and Park Place. This year the Lodge at Ironwoods hosts two of the holiday dates on the city calendar, two Saturdays apart. Leawood's season now has a second center at 147th and Mission.

A $25 booth and a free front door

The market's setup is small on purpose. The Leawood Chamber's vendor call set a $25 vendor fee for each 10-by-10 booth. Vendors keep 100% of their sales and handle their own sales tax. The deadline for vendor applications was September 18.

That kind of structure works for a one-person jewelry studio or a home-based candle maker, and it fits the market's goal of supporting local businesses. Shoppers pay nothing to get in. Booths that cost little and an entry that costs nothing make an easy Sunday stop for anyone checking off a gift list a month before Christmas.

The City of Leawood's event listing gives the address as 3640 Ironwoods Court.

Why the Lodge works for a holiday crowd

Ironwoods Park covers 115 acres at 147th Street and Mission Road. The city says the Lodge can seat 300 for dinner or 500 for meetings, and it has audiovisual equipment and a commercial kitchen. The city's Lodge brochure also mentions a patio overlooking the woods.

Those details explain why the season can grow here. A room that seats 300 and has a full kitchen can serve breakfast to several hundred people in one morning. That is the next holiday event on the Lodge's calendar.

Breakfast with Santa is set for Saturday, December 5, in three sessions:

1. Session I, 7:45 to 9 a.m.
2. Session II, 9:30 to 10:45 a.m.
3. Session III, 11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Tickets are $17 for residents and $19 for non-residents. Children 12 months and under eat free but still need to register so the city has a headcount. The registration deadline is November 23, and the city calls the breakfast an annual tradition. Tickets are sold through the city's online registration system, and the event page has the full details.

With the market added, the Lodge hosts a Sunday shopping afternoon on November 22 and a Saturday breakfast with Santa on December 5. A household near Ironwoods can now spend two weekends of the season without driving up to 119th Street.

The north end still opens the season

The 119th Street corridor still gets the season started, and it does so before anything happens at the Lodge.

Mayor's Holiday Lighting, Monday, November 16. From 5:45 to 6:30 p.m., Mayor Marc Elkins and the Leawood City Council host the lighting at City Hall, 4800 Town Center Drive. There will be cookies, hot drinks and caroling by local students, and everyone helps light up City Hall for the season. In its 2024 listing, the city already called the lighting an annual tradition. The whole event lasts 45 minutes, and it fits between getting home from work and dinner.

Photos with Santa at Town Center Plaza, daily from November 21 to December 23. Jordan Photography is in its 18th season of Santa photos here. The storefront is at 4872 W. 119th Street, behind Whole Harvest Kitchen, with its entrance facing KC Aerial Arts and the Town Center Mall Office. Sessions last three to five minutes, require an appointment and are booked per family. Besides the standard visit, there are Peek-A-Boo Santa sessions for children who are nervous around Santa, sensory-friendly sessions and Pets with Santa sessions. Each type requires a credit card to book, and late cancellations or no-shows are charged $50. You can also drop off a toy at the storefront for a toy drive benefiting Children's Mercy. Booking is on the Jordan Photography Santa page.

The Ice at Park Place, mid-November through March 1. Park Place calls The Ice Leawood's only outdoor ice rink and says it is open every day of the season, holidays included. General admission is $12, skate rental is $4 and children 4 and under skate free. A $9 after-school rate applies weekdays from 4 to 6 p.m. but not during school breaks or holiday hours. A season pass with rentals included costs $150. Regular hours are posted on The Ice's page, and holiday hours may be different.

The weekend that connects both ends

Santa photos open at Town Center Plaza on Saturday, November 21. The next day, the first Ironwoods Holiday Market opens at the Lodge. That puts events at both ends of the city on one weekend for the first time this season.

The season returns to Park Place on Sunday, December 13, for the Great Santa Run 5K and Santa's Little Elves Fun Run at 11549 Ash Street. Every runner gets a red Santa hat and a large finisher's medal. The charity partner is Operation Breakthrough, which receives part of the registration fees and all meal ticket sales. Each runner is asked to bring a $10 unopened, unwrapped toy, and each toy earns a raffle ticket for a drawing after the race.

Dates to put on the calendar now

A few of these events have a price change, a deadline or a booking rule to plan for:

• Santa Run pricing goes up after Sunday, November 15. The basic 5K with hat and medal costs $32 through November 15, $36 from November 16 to December 11, and $40 on packet pickup day and race day. The kids' run is $12 through December 11 and $15 after that. All fees are non-refundable.
• Breakfast with Santa registration closes November 23, the day after the holiday market.
• Santa photo appointments are open now for November 21 through December 23, and the $50 late-cancellation fee applies to every session type.
• The Ice's group rate is $12 per skater with free rentals for groups of 20 or more. It is available Monday through Thursday and Sunday after 6 p.m., and groups must reserve 48 hours ahead.

The holiday market is the easiest event on the list to attend. It needs no registration and no ticket, and it is open all afternoon on November 22 at 3640 Ironwoods Court.

At The Red Bow Standard, we like seeing Leawood's holiday calendar spread from City Hall to the woods at Ironwoods, and we'll be cheering on the vendors at the first market. If a move is on your list for the new year, schedule your strategy session with us. We'll plan around your holiday calendar so you don't miss any of it.