Winter season brings a wonderful time of year filled with fun activities, traditions and time with family. We asked our staff to share their favorite winter traditions and what they look forward to each year.
Samantha-My favorite holiday activity tradition with my family is what we call “Grinch night”. The Grinch is one of my favorite holiday movies so we play that on the tv while playing board games and drink homemade hot chocolate with extra whipped cream! We also do matching family pajamas for ourselves AND the dog- which is simultaneously incredibly awesome and completely embarrassing!
Lindsay-My favorite winter activity is my family and I drive around and look at Christmas lights with hot chocolate in hand! We also try to make sure we drive by the Home Alone house!
Saima- Our favorite winter activity is going sledding with the boys. This obviously has changed since we moved to Texas, but we try to slip it in when we go back to Chicago! We make hot chocolate and put it in a mug and then go sledding with them and take a break to warm up in between in the car with the hot chocolate.
Kim-My favorite winter activities are going to the Illumination lights at the Arboretum and having movie nights while drinking hot chocolate with the fireplace going. This year, it’s been seeing the Taylor Swift house
Andrew-It used to be an annual tradition, but now it’s biannual that we watch all 3 Lord of the Rings movies during the Christmas season (extended editions of course!) A less nerdy thing is hot chocolate by the fire!
Katie-It is our holiday tradition to do an early dinner at Mon Ami Gabi and then go to Zoo Lights at Lincoln Park Zoo.
Irene– We love baking cookies and making different types of hot chocolate.
Sergio-My favorite winter tradition is that on December 25th the whole family watches Christmas movies at home with hot chocolate and lots of sweet bread.
Aly-My favorite winter activity would be going to see lights. We go to the zoo and also our town puts up a bunch of lights near the village hall so we go there, too. They have Santa and other festivities going on such as crafts for kids and special characters to see.
Sarah-I’m an indoor cat who hates winter. Watching the snow from inside my warm house!
SJ-Growing up in Utah, my family’s favorite winter activities always involved the snow. We loved skiing and cross country skiing.
Julia-I do a homemade advent calendar with my kids every year where we have a Christmas related activity each day. It can be big things like going to a light show or a trip downtown. Or it can be small things like a craft, baking, or receiving a small gift! It is just a way for us to make sure the month doesn’t pass us by and we have at least one fun moment together each day to really enjoy the month.
Kaycee-One of our favorite family winter traditions is going to cut down our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. We go find a different tree farm every year, which also makes it extra exciting! We love to get it right home, turn on some Christmas movies and start the decorating!!
Erin-My favorite winter tradition is seeing the lights! We put on pajamas, fill hot cocoa, string lights in the car, listen to music and drive. This year, we did a drive through event and the Larsen Lights and both were fantastic.
However you spend your days, we hope you find joy in the season, stay warm and cozy and cherish memories made.