ALGONQUIN AND LAKE IN THE HILLS, IL — Halloween is behind us and so is the presidential election. As we start leaning into the holiday season it’s a good time to start looking ahead to this festive time of year and start marking your calendar for all the fun events, parades, craft fairs that will be happening in and around Algonquin and Lake in the Hills.
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Santa will soon make his grand entrance at various stores and malls across the Chicagoland — if he hasn’t already — and some places require reservations. We’ve included a roundup below of ongoing holiday events that have opened, or will be opening soon, across the Chicago area:
Ongoing Events/Santa Visits
Where |
Date(s) |
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Bass Pro Shop/Cabela’s Santa Wonderland, Hoffman Estates and Gurnee |
Daily Through Dec. 24 |
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Macy’s State Street Santaland and Santa Visits, 111 N. State Street, fifth floor, Chicago |
Open daily through Dec. 24. Reservations are required for visits and photos with Santa and available to make online seven days prior to your visit date. |
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Woodfield Mall Santa, 5 Woodfield Mall, Schaumburg |
Nov. 7-Dec. 24: Woodfield Mall’s Santa will be available for photos and visits. You can get more information and make your reservation here. |
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Santa’s Photo Experience at Gurnee Mills, 6170 W. Grand Avenue |
Starting on Nov. 22: Visit with Santa at Gurnee Mills. More info is available here. |
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Festival of Trees in McHenry |
Nov. 22 through Dec. 29: Beautifully decorated trees will be on display at the McHenry Recreation Center, 3636 Municipal Drive, McHenry. |
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Downtown Crystal Lake Santa House |
Starting on Nov. 29: Thursdays through SundaysThursday and Friday: 5 to 8 p.m., Saturday: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; 12 to 3 p.m. on Sunday. |
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Jaycee Hoilday Tree Walk in Cary |
Starting on Dec. 7: The tree Walk will be open through the holiday season. |
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We’ve also got a roundup of major holiday events happening in the Algonquin and Lake in the Hills area and beyond, which are sorted by date below. Mark your calendar, and if you snap a great picture, send it along to editor Amie at [email protected] to be considered for our photo roundups on Patch.com site in the weeks to come.
Date/Time |
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Nov. 7, 6 p.m. |
Santa’s Grand Arrival at Woodfield Mall, 5 Woodfield Mall, Schaumburg: Santa will make his grand entrance and be lead around the mall by students at Conant High School. More information here. |
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Nov. 16, 9 a.m. |
Bass Pro Shop/Cabela’s Yuletide Breakfast, registration required seven days in advance: Hoffman Estates, Gurnee |
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Nov. 16, 6 p.m. |
Santa’s Arrival and Fireworks at Deer Park Town Center, 20530 N. Rand Road, Deer Park. Santa arrives on a fire truck, photos with Santa, fireworks and more. |
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Nov. 16, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. |
Holiday Craft Fair at the Community Center, 225 Briargate Road, Cary. More info. |
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Nov. 17, 5 p.m. |
Bass Pro Shop/Cabela’s XMas Tales With Santa and Mrs. Claus (registration required seven days in advance here): Hoffman Estates, Gurnee |
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Nov. 21, 6 to 7 p.m. |
Santa will make his grand arrival at Gurnee Mills, entrance A, and parade through the mall to the dining pavilion south area/Macy’s wing where he will read “Twas the Night Before Christmas.” More info is available here. |
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Nov. 22, 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. |
Downtown McHenry Holiday Walk: Living Windows and Cocoa Crawl. McHenry’s downtown stores come to life with magical scenes of the season. Purchase a mug for the Cocoa Crawl to receive samples of a variety of hot cocoa and holiday treats at participating businesses. Festival of trees opens for the season. |
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Nov. 23, 12 to 11 p.m. |
McHenry Holiday Walk at Veteran’s Park, 3400 Pearl Street: Horse drawn sleigh rides, pictures with Santa, caroling with tree lighting, free trolley rides from 3 to 11 p.m. |
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Nov. 23, 6 to 10:30 p.m. |
Polar Express Pub Crawl in McHenry: In full Polar Express theme, get ready to party in your pajamas. Fun holiday drink specials are at each location and you can jump on the free trolley to get to all of the stops. Tickets go on sale Nov. 1 and are $20 per person. |
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Nov. 23 |
Registration deadline to decorate a tree at Jaycee Park in Cary. Jaycee Holiday Tree Walk is Dec. 7. $25 per tree. |
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Nov. 23, 9 a.m. |
Bass Pro Shop/Cabela’s Yuletide Breakfast, registration required seven days in advance: Hoffman Estates, Gurnee |
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Nov. 29, 7 to 9 p.m. |
Festival of Lights Parade, Crystal Lake: This year’s theme is “Wish You Were Here: An Island Christmas.” Downtown Santa House opens at 9 p.m. |
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Nov. 30, 9 to 11 a.m. |
Cary Park District PJs and Pancakes with Santa at the community center in Cary. More info and to register. $22 residents/$32 non-residents. |
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Nov. 30, 12 to 2 p.m. |
Cary Park District PJs and Pizza With Santa at the community center in Cary. More info and to register.$22 residents/$32 non-residents. |
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Dec. 1, 2 to 3 p.m. |
The Woodstock Christmas Parade starts at the Woodstock Water Works parking lot and will travel down Jackson Street through the Square and out Cass Street. If your vehicle needs to return to the Woodstock Water Works. Free cookies and churros with Santa immediately following the Christmas Parade. |
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Dec. 1, 9 to 10:30 a.m. |
McHenry County Santa Run For the Kids in downtown Crystal Lake: 5K, 1 mile walk/run and a 50 yard dash kids race. Some runners get Santa suits. |
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Dec. 4, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. |
Visit with Santa at Foxford Hills Golf Club, 6800 S. Rawson Bridge Road. Free. More info. |
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Dec. 5, 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. |
Merry Cary Holiday Parade and Festival: Petting zoo, pony rides, horse-drawn sleigh rides, hot chocolate bar and coffee, cookie decorating, visits with Santa, visits with “Holiday Grouch,” and more. The parade steps off at 3 p.m. |
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Dec. 4-7 |
Luminaria Walk at Vetaran Acres Park, 431 N. Walkup Avenue in Crystal Lake. Trail lit up through Veteran Acres Park. Dec. 7: Campfires, Hot Cocoa, Cookies, Candy Cane Forest and Mrs. Claus. Donations appreciated. More info. |
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Dec. 7, 9 a.m. |
Bass Pro Shop/Cabela’s Yuletide Breakfast, registration required seven days in advance: Hoffman Estates, Gurnee |
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Dec. 7, 4 to 7 p.m. |
Miracle on Main, Algonquin: Holiday Magic begins with live music and holiday performances followed by the arrival of Santa Claus and the lighting of the tree. There will be live reindeer, annual tree lighting with Santa, trackless train rides, ice sculptures, live musical performances, and more. |
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Dec. 7 |
Jaycee Hoilday Tree Walk opens for the holiday season at Jaycee Park in Cary. |
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Dec. 8 |
Deadline to drop off/mail letters to Santa at the Crystal Lake Park District, 1 E. Crystal Lake Avenue, Crystal Lake, IL 60014 |
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Dec. 14, 2 to 4 p.m. |
The Christmas Tree Ship Holiday Tea at Colonel Palmer House, 660 Terra Cotta Ave., Crystal Lake: Registration required. More information here. |
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Dec. 17, 5 p.m. |
Bass Pro Shop/Cabela’s Yuletide Breakfast, registration required seven days in advance: Hoffman Estates, Gurnee |
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This list is a work in progress. Please add your favorite holiday events and places to visits to the Google Form below and we will update this article with more info through the holiday season!
