Taking the Kids: Soaking up the holiday spirit at a theme park

That's the idea, of course -- at a price. Across the country, theme parks are adding new and bigger holiday attractions every year, enticing more and more families to come through the gates, glad to forsake holiday shopping and cooking for a few hours, even though it can be a costly afternoon or evening. (Check out our Annual Guide to the Best and Brightest Holiday Lights.) The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions says that based on anecdotal information, they believe there's a growing trend in parks hosting holiday events across the country.

If you are lucky, you may even snare a deal. Think SnowWorld, complete with a snowball target area and Reindeer Training Academy at SeaWorld San Diego and a Christmas-themed sea lion and otter show. (Pay for a day now and get all of 2015 free!) And in nearby Carlsbad, LEGOLAND California offers Holiday Snow Days and Winter Nights with the 30-foot LEGO Christmas tree, and photo op beside the life-sized LEGO Santa and reindeer. (Get a free ticket to return!)

Busch Gardens boasts Christmas Town in Tampa, Florida, complete with more than a million lights -- Tampa Bay's Biggest Christmas Celebration. Check out The Bottle Christmas Tree that, with the help of local school kids, transformed 5,000 recycled plastic bottles into a holiday masterpiece. (Pay for a day and get now through 2015 free with a Fun Card!)

For those with young "Sesame Street" fans in the house, Pennsylvania's Sesame Place has a nightly illuminated Neighborhood Street Party Christmas Parade and new holiday-themed "Elmo the Musical."

Orlando, of course, is Theme Park Holiday Central. VisitOrlando.com reports the parks add new holiday attractions every year, making the holidays one of the most popular time to visit, whether you are at Universal Orlando, Walt Disney World, SeaWorld or LEGOLAND.

See Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom transformed by "Frozen's" Queen Elsa into a glittering ice castle with 200,000 lights; At Epcot, the candlelight processional remains one of the most popular holiday traditions with the retelling of the Christmas story by celebrity narrators accompanied by a 50-piece orchestra and choir.

Every night at Universal Studios Florida, the Macy's Holiday Parade showcases the same balloons seen in the Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York and families flock to Universal's Islands of Adventure for the live retelling of Dr. Seuss' classic holiday tale, "Grinchmas Who-liday Spectacular."

At Disneyland, families lined the route for the "Christmas Fantasy Parade" with more than 100 performers -- dancing reindeer, Mickey, Minnie, Anna and Elsa from "Frozen" and Santa, who makes a special appearance form the North Pole as the kids yell "Santa! Santa!"

"We come every year," said Kerry Kirchenberg, a Southern Californian. "It's really busy, but everyone is in a good mood. Coming here," she said, "gets me ready for the holidays."

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If you are heading to Orlando, San Diego or Los Angeles, check out Eileen's Kid's City Guides with input from local and visiting kids; There are nine books in the series. Follow @Taking theKids on Twitter and Facebook.