I love Christmas in Chicago. Some people would argue that New York is better for the holiday season among big cities in the U.S. but I have a warm spot in my heart to the Windy City on the banks of Lake Michigan. It may be cold by nature but not personality. It is not surprising that many beloved Christmas movies take place in Chicagoland: Home Alone
, Christmas with the Kranks
, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
– just to name a few. Chicago is festive, bright and very welcoming during the holidays and I challenge you to explore it and I would not be surprised if you, like me, fall in love with it.
Christmas in Chicago stop #1 – Magnificent Mile Lights Festival
Christmas season starts in Chicago earlier than in most other places – middle of November to be exact. It starts with the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival (dates change year to year but it usually takes place Fri-Sun in the middle of November) that encompasses many activities: a big parade, visit from Santa, music performances, vendor/activities booths, the lighting of the biggest city’s Christmas Tree and fireworks. And if one big parade is not enough for 1 month, Chicago downtown hosts an annual Thanksgiving Day Parade (on State street from Congress to Randolph). German Christmas Market also opens in November, right after Thanksgiving.
Christmas in Chicago stop #2 – Museum of Science and Industry
Museum of Science and Industry celebrates Christmas season in Chicago with Christmas Around the World and Holidays of Light, almost two-months’ long festival presenting beautifully decorated Christmas trees from various countries. There are several dozens of big elaborately decorated trees for you to enjoy. I also love their themed gift store where you can buy cute Christmas decorations from around the world.
Christmas in Chicago stop #3 – Chicago Botanical Garden
Chicago Botanic Gardens presents Wonderland Express , miniature railroad going around a miniature version of Chicago with all its famous landmarks plus Christmas decorations throughout the garden. My personal favorite – red colored decorations in the desert garden.
Christmas in Chicago stop #4 = Morton Armoretum
Lots of Christmas attractions in Chicago involve millions of holiday lights. If you want to see trees come to life then Morton Arboretum is definitely worth a track out of town for its beautiful Illumination.
Christmas in Chicago stop #5 – Ice Rinks
Millennium Park – a traditional holiday ice rink will open for your enjoyment. And don’t forget the newest Chicago’s Christmas installment – Maggie Daley Skating Ribbon in Maggie Daley Park, right next to Millennium Park. There are more ice rinks throughout the city but these two is right in the middle of the tourist district where you most likely will be staying. In addition to that, FREE carolers performances are conducted next to the Bean sculpture (or Cloud Gate as they officially call it) on select evenings during the holiday season (check the Millenium Park website highlighted above for events schedule)
Christmas in Chicago stop #6 – Lincoln Park Zoo
Lincoln Park Zoo is famous for its Zoo Lights – dates are announced closer to the holiday season. Please, note that Zoo Lights is not just about the lights, there will be photos with Santa, holiday snacks, spiced wine and much for for a perfect Christmas celebration in Chicago.
Brookfield Zoo is doing its own Holiday Magic. It is similar to Zoo Lights in Lincoln Park but on a much bigger scale. Unfortunately, it is far outside of downtown Chicago (where most festivities are), while Lincoln Park is much closer to the epicenter of events and it is easy to get to by bus from downtown. So you can make a choice of the zoo to visit depending on where you are staying and which place is closer to you.
Christmas in Chicago stop #7 – German Christmas Market
German Christmas Market (as mentioned above) – Christkindlemarket – on Daley Plaza in downtown (Loop) district, is the best and biggest Christmas market I have been too serving hot mulled wine, variety of German foods, deserts, Christmas gifts vendors, kids activities and much more. It is a wonderful and festive place to be during the holiday season in Chicago.
Christmas in Chicago stop #8 – The Nutcracker
Joffrey Ballet, as a yearly beloved tradition, presents the Nutcracker.
(photo courtesy seelingout.com)
Christmas in Chicago stop #9 – The Christmas Carol
Another Christmas theatrical tradition of Chicago is The Christmas Carol production at the Goodman Theater. If I were to choose between the Nutcracker and the Christmas Carol, it would be a very hard choice because both of the performances are fantastic.
Christmas in Chicago stop #10 – Macy’s
Macy’s (former Marshall Fields) holiday window displays in downtown (Loop) at 111 N State St (1 block East from the German Christmas Market) are always amazing (and FREE to enjoy). Each year they choose a different theme, often a fairy tale, presented from beginning to end in a dozen dazzling displays. See more information at Macy’s. Here is just a 2 minutes video from YouTube of what you can expect to see:
In addition to the holiday windows displays Macy’s hosts a bunch of other holiday festivities which you can check out on their website (link provided above).
Christmas in Chicago stop #11 – Navy Pier
Every Year Navy Pier hosts a big and bold indoor event – Winter Wonderfest, which should definitely be on your list of things to do in Chicago at Christmas. Expect carnival rides, holiday themed activities and an indoor ice rink.
(photo courtesy choosechicago.com)
More Christmas attractions in Chicago
One important thing I would like to mention about Chicago is public transportation, which is quite good, which makes visiting many of these Christmas in Chicago events and attractions easy. And the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) has prepared a surprise for you for the holiday season: there will be 2 holiday trains in circulation in the city (CTA Holiday Train and Elves’ Workshop Train) and a holiday bus (the information about routes for each year will typically appear late November on the website I highlighted above). The Elves’ Train is a new thing so I don’t really know how it is going to work but the main CTA Holiday Train is a long living tradition. It is an ‘L’ train where 6 passenger cars are all adorned inside and outside with holiday lights and decorations. Santa Claus rides on an open-air flatcar and waves to the passengers coming aboard from his sleigh. The schedule for the trains and bus will appear close to the start of circulation.
Another Christmas novelty recently introduced in Chicago is Virtual Santa Sleigh Ride at water Tower Place. We have not tried it ourselves as it was not available when we used to live in Illinois but it looks like something worth a try. If you do try it out, please, share with us your feedback in the comments to this post – we would love to hear how it went!
Finally, if you would like to celebrate the season on the water, Odissey Cruises offers holiday brunches and dinners on Lake Michigan.
There are so many great things to do in Chicago at Christmas time that your only concern may be that you won’t have enough time to see all the of these holiday attractions.
If you are planning a Christmas family vacation you may also find these articles useful:
Christmas in San Francisco Bay Area
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