Christmas at Gaylord Rockies, 6700 N. Gaylord Rockies Blvd., Aurora, is a spectacular event that runs through Jan. 3.

There’s something for kids of all ages. The centerpiece for this year is “I Love Christmas Movies,” a sensory pop-up exhibition put on in collaboration with Warner Bros. Consumer Products where small groups of guests take a 25- to 30-minute tour of sets for some popular Christmas movies.

Other activities include outdoor ice bumper cars, snow tubing, ice skating and a snow merry-go-round.

In the Mistletoe Village, there’s photos with Santa, storytelling, Build-A-Bear Workshop. the Gingerbread Decorating Corner and other retail outlets.

And it’s not limited to hotel guests.

Local eatery serving ‘over-the-top-delicious’ fried chicken for pickup every Sunday

“We are totally open to the public,” said Deanna French, director of marketing and public relations.

“You do not have to be a guest to experience any of the activities at the resort. And our restaurants are open to the public.”

Social distancing is in place, and face masks are required for visits and for activities.

Tickets with reservation times available at christmasatgaylordrockies.com.

A taste of Poland

Dominika Mills and Zachary Short, a husband and wife team in Colorado Springs, have launched an online business, Mika’s Pierogi Kitchen.

Mills is from Krakow, Poland, and came to Colorado in 2003 to attend school and work as an au pair. Short, an Army veteran, met Mills in 2014 when he moved to Colorado. He quickly learned about pierogis, the popular Polish dumplings.

“It’s hard to find pierogis and other Polish foods in Colorado Springs,” Mills said. “So we decided to start making a few flavors. We did not expect to get so busy so fast.”

Popular Colorado Springs chef on the move

Short said, “We’re making hundreds of them a day.”

At first, they were making and delivering the tasty dumplings by themselves.

“We were overwhelmed,” Mills said. “We hired drivers to help us.”

They have now expanded from a shared restaurant kitchen to a larger commercial kitchen and have bought a food truck.

“We intend to do a couple of the truck rallies and have the truck available at the commercial kitchen for pickup,” Short said.

They make seven filling flavors. Top sellers are potato and cheese, sauerkraut and wild mushroom. Meat lovers will like the Cowboy with meat and barbecue sauce or the Redneck Special with Buffalo chicken & ranch dressing. They are $15 a dozen with free delivery for two or more dozen. Visit facebook.com/mikaspierogikitchen.

Not your ordinary pizza

Nicholas Blake, co-owner with Charlie Snow of Papa Bear Pizza, 243 Washington St., Monument, is known for dreaming up pizza combinations with craftsmanship and creative flare. Add to that, they are addictively delicious.

Make healthy green chile stew using convince products

New this holiday season is the 1939 — a nod to the year when Coloradans celebrated Thanksgiving twice after the date was moved up a week nationally.

“Because we love Thanksgiving and its flavor is good year-round,” Blake said.

For $24, you get his artisan dough that takes three days to make. Then he makes a savory sauce of duck demi-glace au poulet and roasted mirepoix gravy. The pizza is topped with Tillamook aged sharp cheddar, roasted herb crusted turkey breast, organic sweet potato, green beans and cranberry compote.

“We were going to offer this in November for Thanksgiving,” he said, “it’s been so popular we’re bring it back in mid-December for Christmas.”

Hours are 4 to 9 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays. They start taking orders at 1 p.m. on Thursdays and often sell out before 3 p.m. Details: 418-2070, papabearpizzas.com.

contact the writer: 636-0271.