Ethel M. Chocolate Factory {+ Family-Friendly Activity Ideas in Las Vegas}

Nestled near the heart of Las Vegas, the Ethel M. chocolate factory is a fun, family-friendly activity everyone can enjoy.

Are you planning a trip to Las Vegas, NV? Are you looking for some fun family-friendly activities you can do while you’re there? Great! You’re in the right place.

Ryan and I just got back from a weekend trip to Vegas where we celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary, enjoyed some kid-free fun and scoped out some activities we’d love to do next time were back WITH the kids.

On the top of the list… Ethel M. Chocolate Factory! Last time we were in Vegas with our kids the Ethel M. Chocolate Factory was closed for tours due to the nasty virus that’s shook everyone’s lives. So, Ryan and I took it upon ourselves to do some pre-family vacation research and checked it out now that it’s open.

WHERE IS ETHEL M. CHOCOLATE FACTORY LOCATED?

This “open kitchen” chocolate factory is located just a few miles east of the Las Vegas stripe. It was a short 15 minute drive from the stripe to the factory.

CACTUS GARDEN AT ETHEL M. CHOCOLATE FACTORY:

If you have some energetic kiddos, you will love walking through the cactus garden they have to the east of their building before or after your self-guided tour. It’s beautiful! They have music playing through out the garden, paved sidewalk paths and benches so you can enjoy the scenery (maybe while you’re enjoying a chocolate or two).

WHEN DOES THE FACTORY OFFER TOURS?

The cool thing about the tour at this factory is that it’s self-guided, meaning you can go quick or slow through it. As I mentioned before, their factory is designed as an “open kitchen” with glass walls visitors can look through to see what’s going on that day.

Note: There is no set schedule as to when the factory is “in production” or making candies. You may be able to call ahead and ask if anything is being made before you head over.

Even if nothing is being made at the time you tour the factory, it’s still very fascinating to see the tools and machinery. They also have little descriptions that explain what certain equipment do in the candy making process.

When Ryan and I arrived we were greeted by a very nice employee of the factory. She offered us a sample of milk or dark chocolate and explained how the tour worked. It only takes a couple of minutes to walk from one end to the other but you will end up taking much longer because you’ll want to see all the cool things they have inside.

While we were there, there was a single worker in the kitchen making chocolate covered espresso beans. As we neared the end of the “touring wall” there were workers working on the packing line.

GIFT AND CHOCOLATE SHOP:

The glass wall self-guided tour ends at the gift and chocolate shop. There’s an awesome giant wall display of the classic chocolate box with the #chocolatewall above it and some history of Ethel Mars.

LET’S TALK ABOUT THE CHOCOLATES:

If you’ve been following me for a while you may already know that my family has a tradition of making homemade and hand molded chocolates for friends and family during the holidays. To learn more about that you can check out Our Christmas Tradition: Candies & Chocolates post. We love chocolate!

There is absolutely no question that the Ethel M. chocolates are beautiful and taste yummy. There were some flavors I was pleasantly surprised at how good they were and others I was actually disappointed in but not because of the flavor.

The first flavor we tried was the prickly pear chocolate. It’s our all time favorite (and we pretty much tried every kind they had). I’d never tried this flavor with chocolate and am not sure how I could even recreate it. The chocolate center was an oozy liquid that was sweet, tangy and fruity all at the same time. My other favorite was the lemon chocolate. When it comes to me and my taste buds, you can’t go wrong with lemon and chocolate. I’m a sucker for lemon desserts especially when they’re paired with chocolate like these homemade lemon eclairs.

I wasn’t overly impressed with a few of the crème based flavors. Not because of the flavor but because of the grainy texture. I loved the spot-on and intensity of flavor but the texture was definitely not as smooth as I’d expected. The raspberry, vanilla and crème flavored chocolates were grainy because of small sugar crystals in the filling. This kind of texture isn’t usually what people want. It happens when sugar crystals form or aren’t fully dissolved during or after the cooking process. I felt I was paying top dollar for these chocolates and was disappointed with the texture of these ones but blown away by amazing, fresh flavors.

HOW EXPENSIVE ARE ETHEL M. CHOCOLATES?

I suppose that question can be subjective to the individual. I, coming from a home were we make homemade chocolates that can be and are as good as these, feel the chocolates here are VERY expensive. You can check out my chocolates post for more information on how much it costs to make chocolates at home.

Outside of homemade chocolates, most commercial chocolates are still less expensive then what you will find at Ethel M Chocolates. Chocolate shops like See’s Candies or local shops like Bluebird Candy Co. located in my home town of Logan, UT currently charge $37 to $47 for about 1 1/2 lbs or 40 pieces of chocolates, boxed. Ryan and I splurged for our anniversary when we bought the 40 piece custom box from Ethel M. gift shop for $75. Yikes! But it was beautiful. That’s almost a whopping $2 per chocolate.

HOW CAN I ENJOY SOME ETHEL M. CHOCOLATE WITHOUT BREAKING THE BANK?

The gift shop at Ethel M. chocolate factory offers a variety of options including custom boxes where you get to choose each chocolate in the box, bagged goodies like chocolate covered espresso beans, caramelized pecans covered in chocolate (so good!), or small chocolate bars.

When we take our family back, I will plan to budget $4-5 a person and let my kiddos choose a chocolate bar.

WHY BUY CHOCOLATE BARS?

The price of the chocolate bar is much easier to swallow at $4 a bar or 3/$10 and it consists of 3 sections per bar, almost like buying 3 chocolates of the same kind. They offer them in a bunch of flavors such as white chocolate, milk, dark, peanut butter, mint, lemon, and more at the time we were there.

To my surprise, the bars are filled and not flavored. I didn’t read the packaging very closely and figured they would be flavored chocolate. When I bite into the mint chocolate bar I was pleasantly surprised that it was chocolate filled with mint. The lemon bar was the same, filled with the same or very similar filling as the molded lemon chocolate.

OTHER PLACES WE ENJOYED AND WOULD TAKE OUR KIDS TO:

NATIONAL ATOMIC TESTING MUSEUM:

We decided to enjoy one more activity before heading home, the National Atomic Testing Museum located just east of the Las Vegas strip. We’d read some reviews and were excited to go. I’m not sure what I’d expected but looking back on our quick trip, this activity was one of my favorites.

The museum is so well kept and full of interesting and interactive information. We were greeted by an older gentlemen who was a very knowledgeable volunteer of the museum. He offered to take this photo by the big boy practice shell they received around 2019. He gave us a bunch of interesting information before we began our self-guided tour through the museum.

Tickets can be purchased ahead of time or on location. We snagged a Groupon deal that made our tickets about $15 a piece and it was worth every penny. Kids 6 and under are free. 7-14 are regularly $18 and 14+ are $24.

If you plan on this activity, expect to spend an hour to an hour and a half depending on how quick you will need to move to keep the kiddos entertained.

SWEET SIN TREAT SHOP:

On the last night we were in Vegas we hit the strip to see the lights. We walked the promenade between the Flamingo and Linq hotel. It’s full of fun shops and eateries. There we found Sweet Sin, a gelato and sweet treats shop. For $25 we enjoyed two flavors from the gelato counter, mango sorbet and chocolate hazelnut crisp, a lemon raspberry mousse dessert and a chocolate hazelnut cupcake with a lemon macaroon on top. It was “sweet sin,” delicious, and worth it.

FIESTA MEXICANA RESTUARANT:

After eating all the sweet treats for dinner we enjoyed a late “second dinner” at Fiesta Mexicana located a few miles west of the strip. We’d never been to a restaurant in this chain but I’m so glad we gave them a chance. The food was delicious, large portions, service was phenomenal and the décor was authentic and detailed.

We enjoyed dinner then took our leftovers home and enjoyed them for breakfast the next morning. The service was top notch even though we came in within 30 minutes of closing. They had karaoke while we were there too (Saturday night). All the bench backs were carved and painted with bright, beautiful colors.

When we told our waiter how much we loved the restaurant and that we’d never eaten here before he asked where we were from. Utah. He grabbed a restaurant menu that showed the few locations they have, the closest one to us being Moab, UT ( a 4 hour drive away). We’re planning a spring trip to Moab and will be enjoying some delicious Mexican food at the Fiesta Mexicana there. We’re so excited to let the girls experience it.

OTHER ACTIVITIES WE’VE ENJOYED IN THE PAST:

Linq High Roller – we did a day session with the girls the last time they came with us. We found a Groupon to help lessen the cost. We were skeptical but not anymore. It was amazing! We want to do a night ride with the girls next time we’re there.

Fremont Street – we walked Freemont street with the girls last time they were there. We played at an arcade, listened to street preform, gazed at all the pretty lights. It was a lot of fun because the street is 100% walkable.

Tournament of Kings at Excalibur – If you’re looking for a family-friendly show to take the family to this one is fun. You can enjoy dinner and a jousting show. I wouldn’t normally pay for this show (my parents actually scored tickets for our group by attending one of those timeshare sales pitches) but after seeing it once I’d definitely consider it again.

Nathan Burton Comedy Magic Show at Planet Hollywood – This fun, high energy magic show was loved by my whole family. It won’t break the bank either. Tickets ran us about $20 a person.

Coca-Cola and M&Ms World on the Strip – Always a favorite activity to explore and enjoy. On the day we plan to walk the strip with the girls I pack the M&M treats I picked up at Walmart because everything at the M&Ms store is nuts expensive. I’m too cheap and that’s ok. I look at it as a mom win! lol

DO YOU WANT TO MAKE YOUR OWN CHOCOLATES AT HOME? HERE ARE SOME DELICOUS CHOCOLATES MY FAMILY MAKE AND YOU CAN TOO:

• White Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
• Peppermint Bark
• Peppermint Patties
• Butter Almond Truffles
• Tiger Butter Bark
• Soft Homemade Caramels
• Black Anise Caramels
• Peanut Butter Balls
• Peanut Brittle
• English Toffee
• Peanut Butter Cups
• Smores Presents
• Cherry Cordial Chocolates
• Almond Joy {Copycat} Chocolates
• Caramel Pretzel Rods
• Orange Cream Chocolate