It’s December! Bust out the Christmas lights and stockings, Santa hats and mittens, Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer and snowman holiday decorations, egg nog, fudge and sugar cookies, and all your other favorite wintry things – the winter and holiday time is here!
Wintertime is a great time to bundle up the kids and go out and do things together as a family. Fortunately, there’s lots to do! Here are some fun things to do with kids in Chicago this December:
1. Go See the City of Chicago’s Christmas Tree in Millennium Park
Come on over to Millennium Park to visit Chicago’s official, beautiful Christmas tree in the park. Bring the whole family and have a ton of fun posing with the tree and The Bean (Cloud Gate). Bring a thermos of hot chocolate and some Santa hats and make a night of it – maybe even get that perfect holiday photo together for your Season’s Greetings cards! There will also be Caroling at Cloud Gate on December 1, December 8 and December 15, from 6-7pm, so bring your kids to sing along!
2. Gaze into the Beautiful Holiday Windows at Macy’s on State Street
Talented teams of painters, welders, costume-makers, engineers, visual artists and carpenters all put their skills to use in the wonderful decorations in the large windows of Macy’s from November to January. Using traditional artistry combined with striking visuals, marvelously imaginative scenes decorate the large windows and are a lot of fun to explore with your little ones. Take a trip inside too, and see the 45-foot Great Tree that is decorated with more than 25,000 Christmas lights and 1,200 ornaments. A great way to come in and get warm from your window-peering adventure!
3. Go Play at the Fifth Third Bank Winter WonderFest at Navy Pier
For an excellent indoor day of fun, come to Navy Pier from December 1, 2017 through January 7, 2018, for a great selection of slides, rides, and ice skating all beneath some beautiful icicle lights and holiday trees. An astounding 170,000 square feet of fun is on offer for the whole family to enjoy the festivities, with a number of free events and public programs on the bill during the holiday period as well.
4. Experience Christmas Around the World & Holidays of Light
The Museum of Science & Industry’s awesome annual celebration highlights Chicago’s diversity in its various ethnic communities and their respective holiday traditions. There is the wonderful 45-foot Grand Tree, surrounded by a forest of 50 other beautifully decorated trees, displays, and decorations – there’s even falling “snow” in the rotunda! There are live holiday performances on the weekends, and pictures with Santa available for an extra cost throughout the month, so bring your little ones out to learn all about Christmas around the world.
Here’s a sample of the schedule of upcoming weekend performances:
Saturday, December 2
11:00 a.m. Thistle and Highland Dancers (Scotland)
12:15 p.m. Norwegian National League of Chicago
1:30 p.m. Tambura and Dance Group “Croatian Vines” and Croatian School
2:45 p.m. Mangalorean Konkan Christian Association (India)
4:00 p.m. Aloha Center of Chicago (South Pacific Islands)
Sunday, December 3
11:00 a.m. Bonnie Lindholm School of Dance (USA)
12:15 p.m. Austrian Mixed Chorus
1:30 p.m. UNWLA Iskra Dance (Ukraine)
2:45 p.m. Filipino American Historical Society of Chicago (Philippines)
4 p.m. Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago
Get out there and have a blast with your family!
