Kid’s Kickoff, pet photos with Santa, contests and more.

A Christmas Story Comes Home

This holiday season, The Indiana Welcome Center in Hammond will feature six animated display scenes from A Christmas Story as well as weekend events and opportunities to meet the cast of the movie. The displays include; Higbee’s Department Store Window, Flick’s Tongue and the Triple Dog Dare, It’s a Major Award, Santa’s Mountain at Higbee’s, The Bumpus Hounds, and the Parker Living Room.

A Christmas Story Comes Home exhibit will be on display from November 1, 2010 until January 9, 2011 in the W.F. Wellman Exhibit Hall. The Welcome Center is located at the intersections of I-80/94 and Kennedy Avenue South in Hammond; only 30 minutes from downtown Chicago and 2 hours north of Indianapolis.

Special Events

Kid’s Kickoff will be held November 21^st at the Indiana Welcome Center and kicks off the holiday events. The Welcome Center will be bustling with children’s activities from 11am to 3pm including a passenger train – kids and their parents can ride for free! “Flick” Bingo, movie showings, crafts and sweet treats will all be available.

Don’t miss Festival Weekend, December 4^th and 5^th! Guests will have the opportunity to meet Flick, Randy Parker, Scut Farkus, Grover Dill and Miss. Shields from the movie, A Christmas Story. Autograph signings will be held at the Indiana Welcome Center on Saturday and Sunday (fees apply). A special Meet and Greet with the cast will take place on Saturday evening. Tickets for the Meet and Greet are $30/person and are limited to the first 50 people. Call (219) 989-7770 for more information.

The popular “Mommy’s Little Piggy” mashed potato eating contest will also be held on during Festival Weekend on Sunday, December 5^th with special guest, Randy from the movie! The event will begin at 10:30am and registration will start at 10am.

The “Oh Fuuudge!” tire changing relay will be held again, on Saturday, December 11^th. Parent/child teams will run through an obstacle course and prizes will be awarded to the pair with the best time.

All events are held at the Indiana Welcome Center in Hammond and signups are available online at www.aChristmasStoryComesHome.com.

Letters to Santa, Live Entertainment and More!

Bring the whole family to enjoy the live entertainment on the weekends and write letters to Santa and drop them in the big mailbox in the exhibit hall! View the documentary, The Untold Christmas Story in our 100-seat theater, vote on the ugliest leg lamp or participate in the Write a Theme Contest – the exhibit is packed with fun for the whole family. More information is available online at www.aChristmasStoryComesHome.com.

Relive the “You’ll shoot your eye out” scene atop Santa’s Mountain

Have your picture taken with Santa on top of Santa’s Mountain, a replica of the one featured in the movie. In the famous scene, Ralphie Parker asks Santa for an Official Red Rider BB Gun, and Santa responds, “You’ll shoot your eye out, kid.”

Photos with Santa on Santa’s Mountain are available between Thanksgiving and Christmas, every Friday from 5pm to 7:30pm and Saturday and Sunday between 11am and 3pm at the Indiana Welcome Center. Children have the opportunity to slide down a big red slide into a pillow of snow. Photos are $5 apiece.

Don’t miss your opportunity to have your pet photographed with Santa on Santa’s Mountain. Pet photos with Santa will be available Sunday, November 28^th from 11am to 3pm. Well-behaved animals only.

More Information

Visit www.aChristmasStoryComesHome.com for a complete list of special events, contests, hours of operation and directions. The Welcome Center gift shop offers an array of movie memorabilia including the infamous leg lamp.