Here's an entire day of family-friendly activities in Downtown Woodstock
Just 15 years ago, Downtown Woodstock, Georgia was a small town.
Scattered with a few shops here and there. The buildings... outdated. The streets... you could zip through downtown in a minute.
Today?
Money magazine named Woodstock one of the top 20 cities "to live in America."
You can spend an entire day downtown trying food, drink, going shopping, doing yoga, exercising, play and more.
And the downtown is only getting better as they continue to build more restaurants, shops, even a hotel.
But what if you have kids?
"Downtown's fun if you're an adult. Tons of places to have a beverage and some fancy and delicious restaurants to eat (like Prime 120, Reel and the new sushi spot, Ten Sushi.
I have 4 kids. My wife and I will hit up the fancy spots on date night... but not with 4 picky eaters!
So what about kids?
Is there stuff to do for them?
Absolutely.
You can spend an entire afternoon exploring Downtown Woodstock and enjoying what it has to offer.
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Here's an entire day's worth of things you can do with your kids (and it'll tire them out!).
You can do these things during the week or on the weekend. Whatever day the sun shines!
J Christopher's for breakfast:
Kids can find plenty to eat at J Christopher's.
The first thing they'll see (and love) when they walk in is the choo-choo train that runs on the ceiling throughout the entire restaurant.
Kids love pushing the button to start up the train!
Your kids can even push the button to start it! That's my kids' favorite.
We've come here dozens of times... our 4 kids love the pancakes with scrambled eggs and chocolate milk! Never fails!
You too will find a ton of options for breakfast...
What's great here is the food comes out fast. You can probably get in and out in less than 30 minutes if you're rushing.
Walk off the pancakes going down to The Sweet Read bookstore:
Finally an awesome bookstore right in downtown!
Sweet Read opened in 2022 and has collections of children and adult books to browse through. Already, 5-star rated, let the kids loose to find a fun book.
Great books, great coffee, great treats. Kids love it! (Coffee is for you!)
Meanwhile, you can grab some of their coffee (it's sneaky good). If you're there during the week, your kids can grab a story time around 11am on certain days.
There are also baked goods and treats if one of your picky eaters didn't eat enough for breakfast.
It's a good 7-minute walk from J Christopher's on our safe sidewalks downtown. Your kids will love walking and watching the cars zip by. You'll likely walk past a few dogs as you go too!
Let the kiddos work up an appetite on the Woodstock Outdoor Playground:
An amazing addition to Downtown has been an outdoor playground located in the heart of the Downtown.
Super fun (and safe) rope climb!
Your kids will spend an hour (or more) climbing the rope course, sliding down the grass hills, building a fort, swinging on the hammocks or just running around. Yes, the playground is now fenced in to protect the little wanderers.
Your kids will make friends in 5 minutes building this massive fort
My young boy loves climbing the rocks up and down...up and down. It's fun and new for them as it's not a standard playground they have at school.
Tunnels, rocks to climb and turf to slide? A kid's dream!
They'll work up quite an appetite here.
Go grab a quick burger or chicken fingers at Canyon's for lunch:
A kid-favorite in our house.
Canyon's has been in Downtown Woodstock longer than most of the current establishments. It's for good reason. They always have new, delicious burgers.
The inside is comfy with TVs on the wall, plus the staff is very helpful to accommodate.
Families flock to Canyon's
The picky eaters will enjoy the chicken strips, fries and burgers you can make however they want.
Hit up the fun arcade we have in downtown called the Blue Ghost Arcade:
Blue Ghost Arcade is becoming a fan favorite down here.
You can find vintage pinball games, Nintendo, PlayStation, trading card games/tournaments. There's something for any boy and girl to try out.
There are Mario Kart tournaments during the week... there's an event almost everyday! It's really cool.
A typical week at Blue Ghost Arcade!
Like I said, even if you have young girls, they'll enjoy playing some of the older games so you can take a breather for a second!
Some weeks, there are events at night just for adults...other nights, it's family board game night. We love board games in our house.
Grab an ice cream or bubble tea as a refresher:
We have a Kilwin's downtown with chocolates and ice cream made in-store. Over a dozen flavors to pick from. And, with its location, you can sit on the benches outside or at their outdoor tables as the kids get chocolate on their face!
Or, older girls will love the Tiny Bubbles Tea location just a few doors down from Kilwins. Tiny Bubbles has a vast selection of fruity teas that all have the popping balls at the bottom.
Kids will love eating them or smashing them on the ground. Either way, they have fun and that's what matters! (But, really, the teas are creative and tasty).
If you're in need of an adult beverage to cool off rather than tea or ice cream, the Woodstock Beer Market is right next to Tiny Bubbles. They're new to the spot. They have a few arcade games too, wouldn't you know it!
Closer to Kilwin's, a new wine bar is opening up. They have a location in Roswell and now expanding to our booming downtown. The owners are extremely friendly and the wine is divine!
Finish up the afternoon shopping at the #1 rated children's boutique in Georgia --- madisonn ave.
That's our store, just a few doors down from Kilwin's!
We carry baby clothes up to tween.
Our focus is mostly girls, but we do have a selection of boys clothes up to around size 7.
Our mission is to make girls feel confident in what they wear.
Building their confidence now will set them up for a successful life ahead as they take on high school, college and beyond.
Nothing makes us happier than seeing a girl walk in, unsure of if she'll like anything, tries on a new dress we got in, and walks out of the dressing room beaming. Those are the moments we cherish.
When you visit, you can count on:
- Unique styles your girls will wear again and again (no more picky dressers!)
- Personalized service. If you need help picking out an outfit for a party, dance, pictures, even just to stand out at school. We can work with you and your child. We have dressing rooms and she can try on as many outfits as she pleases.
- Your girl will walk out with something she will love. She'll be clutching her madisonn ave. bag all the way home.
They'll insist on carrying their items home!
Like I said, we have some boys clothing items.
But, we also have a gift table your boys will like as well.
We have toys that they can build, sensory play dough that's a big hit, GloPals, and more. Tons of gift items you won't find at a Target or Walmart. (We can even gift wrap a birthday present for FREE for a party they're attending).
Just a small taste of the gifts your girls and boys will love
You could spend an hour trying on different outfits and we'll be happy to help.
We may even post your picture on our social media!
It's a great end to a day in Downtown Woodstock.
Kids will be tired, but excited about the new clothes, gifts and books they got.
Come visit us in Downtown Woodstock! Tons to see here and still growing!
Start by finding us at madisonn ave. and walk from there.
We are located at:
500 Chambers Street
Woodstock, GA 30188
*********UPDATE********
How do I find parking in Downtown?
One of the biggest complaints about downtown is "I can't find parking." And I agree... it can be ridiculous sometimes!
In the past couple years, the city has added a little more parking on the main drag, but not a ton.
Here are a few spots many who aren't from Downtown don't know.
1. Behind Rootstock. Address 8558 Main Street Woodstock, GA. There is a large parking lot. If you're coming from Exit 8 off 575, you'll turn left into it as you come towards Main Street. It's FREE to park.
2. On Market Street (right behind Reformation Brewery at 105 Elm St. Woodstock) there are some parallel parking spots. It's right where the children's outdoor playground is. It's NOT a ton but there is a small lot and parallel spots.
3. Behind Bank of Ozarks at 8770 Main St. Now, during the working week, the main Ozarks lot is only for customers. When the bank is closed, the bank has said Ozarks customers can park in the main lot. But, there's also a small lot behind that main lot you can park at right before the big apartment complex at 735 Market St.
4. Some places have parking built in like Ipps Pasteria at 8496 Main which has a parking lot behind it. The Sweet Read has their own lot. Others like Madlife at 8722 Main St. has valet parking you can pay to park to eat/listen to music there.
5. In front of madisonn ave. on Chambers Street, you'll find dozens of spots and a small side parking lot.
6. There used to be an Ace's Hardware at the corner of Main and Arnold Mill. It was demolished as the city builds more. For now, they used that demolish site for a decent size parking lot. (It's right behind Freight at 251 E Main St.)
7. If you have friends in Woodstock Knoll, Serenade, or South on Main, you can park in their neighborhood and walk 7 minutes right to Downtown too!
During the week, it's not as difficult by any means to find parking. Usually, you'll find parking. It's on weekends that you should refer to this list and I PROMISE you'll find something!
The city is in a multi-year plan to build more restaurants, a boutique hotel, but also a PARKING GARAGE! It's 2023 when this is posted and it will likely take a few years before the happens. Don't be scared thinking "DT Woodstock is a construction zone." Any construction does NOT interfere with traffic much.