After a year of delays and cancellations, New Jersey finally had it’s second annual Christmas Con at the New Jersey Convention and Expo Center in Edison.
The excitement was felt leading up to opening day on Friday, December 10th. Everyone was looking forward to meeting their favorite actors from all the Hallmark movies we watch throughout the year.
We arrived early to avoid any large crowds, but on a Friday we didn’t expect it to be too bad with it being a week day, plus we had VIP tickets which allowed us early access (an hour ahead of the official opening time). Parking wasn’t an issue if you arrived extra early. Entering was a breeze: show your badge, show your vaccine card, have your badge scanned, get a sticker on it, grab your VIP gift bags and walk through to the floor. Again, we advise arriving early.
For those wondering, the VIP reusable bags contained a special Christmas Con snow globe (shown below) which was unavailable for purchase.
***Watch for an upcoming post where we give a break down on details for VIP Access including tips if you are undecided on what to do for 2022!
The line for Christmas Con apparel and souvenirs was long and wrapped clear around the display. There were some cute glass ornaments, water bottles, t-shirts, plaid flannel pants and more emblazoned with the Christmas Con logo and Gingerbread mascot. Bring plenty of cash if you want to pick up any of these goodies. The Gingerbread glass ornament was $25.
There was a small “food court” area in the center (see below) which offered hot pretzels, hot dogs, empañadas and popcorn. A few large tables and some chairs offered a bit of seating.
T-Mobile was one of the big sponsors this year. They had a trivia game contest going on for contestants to take part in on the floor near the food court area. You can see them in the photo below (to the left of the food court area).
The Gingerbread house, which was adorable and perfect for photos with friends and family, offered hot cocoa ($4) and gingerbread cookies ($6) provided by The Cookie Batch. We picked up two cookies and saved them for an after dinner treat.
Below one of the gingerbread cookies from The Cookie Batch.
There was also a really cute giant snow globe sponsored by Xfinity, another photo op display, over near the vendors.
A giant sleigh offered a third photo op near the café.
What was nice about the photo op displays is that there was a “Santa’s Helper” volunteer at each of the locations who would take photos for anyone who wanted a group or couple snapshot together.
A “Kid’s Zone” was also added which included face painting and other activities at the far end beyond the vendors. It looked like some of the adults were taking advantage of the seats in that area. The gingerbread houses that individuals entered into the contest were on display in this area as well.
Also at this end of the venue was a wreath making area but you couldn’t see what was happening as it was curtained off. For $25 dollars you received a wreath and items to decorate it. We saw some people walking around with wreaths they had made which looked cute.
Below a view of the far end of the venue – vendors on the left, gingerbread houses (back center), kid’s zone (back left), wreath making (back right), Xfinity globe on the right.
A closer look at the gingerbread houses.
Santa was also present at the event. In order to have you photo taken with Jolly Ol’ Saint Nick packages started at $25 for one photo.
This year’s large Christmas tree was off to the side on a stage with a giant lever for the lighting ceremony that took place Friday evening.
Below the official Christmas Con tree before and after it was lit.
The celebrity photo booth area was larger this year and the backdrops were really festive – images of fireplaces and holiday themes with the names and photos of each celebrity in the corners of each.
Below a photo of one of the booths showing the backdrops.
A view of the “Meet and Greet” area for autographs and selfies with the actors.
The biggest draw at the event is the Q&A panels and the celeb photo/autograph areas as well as the professional photo ops (held in a separate room just off the “meet & greet” area).
The overall feeling at the event was joy and happiness of seeing everyone’s favorite celebrities after missing them in 2020. Even the actors themselves were really pumped up and excited themselves – making quite the entrance on the floor to loud cheers. At one point Andrew Walker stood up on his chair in his booth and shouted. Kristoffer Polaha got ahold of a mega-phone and had some fun with that as well.
FAN FEEDBACK ON THE EVENT
We received feedback from fans on social media who offered some pros and cons about this year’s event.
Visually – there was a lot of empty space around on the floor which was good in current times so that it kept people spread out but felt oddly not so “Christmas like”. The lack of seating was another issue for those wanting to take a break. There were a lot of people sitting on the floor off to the side. Perhaps more seating will be added for next year.
Below, a view of the venue walking from the back area where the vendors are, before the doors opened at 10am. On the right is the small food court area, followed by Santa’s display and down the far end is where the celebrity meet and greet area begins.
FOOD/VENDORS
The food selection at the event was limited. The venue itself sits in an industrial park and there weren’t a lot of options close by to duck out, grab a quick bite, and head back. There was a small café on the far end of the building which offered a variety of sandwiches, salads and quick bites with a few more tables and chairs. The line was extremely long for this on Saturday and Sunday.
Someone suggested this would be a great place to have a couple of food trucks outside to offer other options.
One person said, “The atmosphere was a miss, felt empty and cold – it could have been a lot better. The food court was another miss. The vendors were not good and didn’t seem to align with the Christmas theme.”
WHERE WAS HALLMARK?
One thing that was missing from this year’s event was the presence of Hallmark Channel as a sponsor. I read somewhere that Hallmark in general wasn’t appearing at conventions in 2021, but I’m not sure if that meant all conventions. I would guess this was due to the pandemic. If this is the case, it would explain their absence at the event this year.
Below, Christmas Con 2019, Hallmark Channel display.
In 2019 Hallmark Channel offered life-size greeting card photobooths and a hot cider bar offering free cups of hot apple cider and a cookie, as well as a number of other large displays and a lounge area which included couches and chairs around a fireplace with Hallmark movies playing on a TV. Hallmark always does things big. It was a shame not to see them at an event where the majority of the celebrities who were at the event are in movies from their channel. Many people noticed this and commented about it.
More images from Christmas Con 2019 — credit: Teresa’s Reviews
Here’s what one attendee had to say –
“The Pros: The larger space, more celebs, loved having VIP to move quickly through photo lines, great panels, absolutely loved the Christmas backgrounds behind celebs instead of the black curtains from 2019.
The Cons: Missed the interactive Hallmark photo-op sets from 2019, pricey concessions, tree lighting was a bit underwhelming; it should be out on the floor not against a wall with a plain white backdrop; photos with Santa could have been free with option to purchase; least expensive photo package was $25. All in all had a wonderful time! Even with a handful of celeb cancelations I still managed to go broke meeting everyone I had on my list!”
More comments from other attendees —
“Loved the bigger space but you need a hot chocolate bar on the floor and Christmas music playing.. Sing along before Christmas lighting and during!!! Everything else was superb!!! See you in 2022!”
“Please have more decorations next year.
We need a Christmas wonderland!”
Teresa’s Reviews has additional photos of the 2019 event – see her post here. My Central Jersey also has additional photos here.
Q&A PANELS – Audio/Visual and Seating
A few commented on the panel discussions and how it was nice but that the “audio visual was not so great”.
“You couldn’t really hear and the seats were connected, not something you should do during a pandemic. In my opinion I didn’t want to be that close to someone I didn’t know. I attended the wreath making class, that was the highlight besides meeting the celebrities.”
Unfortunately because the T-Mobile trivia contest was being held just outside the Q&A panel area, coupled with the Christmas music playing overhead, it was so loud that it interfered when the panels were going on making it hard to hear, particularly if you were sitting towards the back.
PARKING
Another issue was parking at the Expo center. According to the NJ Expo Center website the main lot holds 1200 cars and the auxiliary lot holds another 600. The site also states that there is street parking, however, one attendee said that they were told not to park on the street. You can find more information on parking at the NJ Expo site here.
Here’s what this person had to say —
“On Saturday there was no parking after the first hour. Several people had to circle for almost an hour and were told by security they couldn’t park along the road. Perhaps some direction on exactly where to park for next year’s event would be helpful.”
One person said she planned on attending both Friday and Saturday and booked a hotel room but felt it wasn’t necessary because they were able to do the event in one day.
We hope everyone found this post helpful and that you’re ready for Christmas Con 2022 New Jersey!
CHRISTMAS CON 2022 NEW JERSEY
Christmas Con 2022 NJ is set for December 9, 10, 11, 2022. Tickets will go on sale January 8th at 10am. More information to come on ticket prices and how to purchase – be sure to follow That’s 4 Entertainment on Instagram, Twitter and their website here.
MORE TO COME!!
Check back for more posts to come on highlights from Christmas Con – Celeb Q&A Panels – what they had to say, more photos and more.
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