"Christmas, Christmas, time is near.
Time, to spend, my gift card here.
I've been good, but that won't last.
Hurry, cashier. Hurry fast." - parody of "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas, Don't be Late)", Chipmunks
Sugar Plum, an admission free festival of arts, crafts, antiques & collectibles, occurs periodically at Buena Park Downtown mall & the OC Fair & Event Center. Winning a $10 gift card at the Buena Park Downtown Summer Concerts, I made my way here on the first day of Sugar Plum's Christmas dates.
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A line of about 50 deep, waiting to be let down the escalator, was what first greeted me. The line did move quickly enough, and I soon felt the festive cheer of Sugar Plum.
Mrs. Claus sang all the beloved holiday classics, angelically, for our enjoyment.
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Santa was ready for photo op's with all those in audience. I couldn't help but smile, as I just watched "Bad Santa" on DVR & thought about all the inappropriateness of the movie.
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A smattering of food vendors had their delectables for sale-
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Julian's Tortilleria in Hawaiian Gardens had hot food for purchase.
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Lisa's Coffee & Tea offered free samples of their drinks by the escalator & their vendor stall. Most were good, albeit rather sweet.
Crafts of all kinds were featured on just about every square foot of festival space. Holiday décor, clothing, woodwork, accessories, cosmetics & candy.
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I found these really cool Sci-Fi-esque wood models of familiar pop icons, which won't go named as they are copyrighted.
https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/sugar-plum-buena-park?select=zDO9mPCAeF9K93tFGb8GQA
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Browsing through the entire festival proved a tiring task, as I was looking for the perfect item(s) to spend my gift card on. After 3 or so times around, I settled on a light up snowman & light up snowy cottage ornament. The queue for the battery of cashiers moved rapidly with minimal wait.
My first time at the Sugar Plum Festival, and I heartily enjoyed myself. There was a crowd of shoppers, but wasn't too congested as to not be able to navigate inbetween the vendors. My eyes spied cool knick knacks here, a wooden nativity there, some flavored dips some place else. Basically, a little something for everyone. All the while, sipping on free samples of hot chocolate & peanut brittle, listening to Mrs. Claus' soothing melodies. I'm now in the festive mood & have a couple gifts all wrapped up. Can't wait to visit Sugar Plum again!
https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/sugar-plum-buena-park?select=scs6bhDJDYMfPMWF3Dlncg
Highly recommend! read more