Celebration of Lights Festival  | Batavia

FREE

Experience the magic of the holidays with a visit from Santa, hayrides, caroling and entertainment.

Traditional German winter holiday market features holiday decorations, vendors in stalls and cottages selling German gift items and foods, entertainment and activities for all ages. The annual Children's Lantern Parade on St. Martin's Day is a highlight for children. Check the website for a detailed schedule of hours and events. New in 2012, Kinder Korner, a resource for children, teachers and parents, that includes at-market activities.

Various activities held throughout the holiday season including light parade and lighting ceremony, entertainment, demonstrations and giveaways.

Visit Santa Nov. 25 from 6-8 p.m. and every Friday, Saturday and Sunday only, Nov. 28-Dec. 20 from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Special hours on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 22, and Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Please note Santa takes a break each day from 3-4 p.m.

Weeklong holiday fest features display of holiday trees, wreaths and decorations; numerous special events such as concerts, holiday classic films, performance of the Nutcracker and the Teddy Bear Tea. Visit the website for a complete schedule of events.

Featuring horse-drawn carriage rides, visits with Santa and entertainment. Check website for detailed schedule. Weekends from Nov. 10-Dec. 23, 2012.

Santa visits on Saturday-Sunday and there are special activities each weekend.

The festival kicks off at 6 p.m. on Nov. 15 in Pere Marquette park. Featuring live music, fireworks and the ceremonial lighting of the downtown lights. The light festival features thousands of lights and holiday displays.

Spontaneous, family-friendly experiences around the Loop that include street performances from Goodman Theatre and Joffrey Ballet; giveaways of hot beverages, pastries and prizes from Corner Bakery; free pop-up photo booths, complete with props, from SmileBooth; strolling carolers and bands from local colleges and high schools; and Berghoff Restaurant mascot "Herman the German" giving away custom steins, ornaments and treats. Plus seasonal displays, decorations, and the 10 Wonders of the Loop.

Enjoy indoor and outdoor lighted displays, designer wreaths and trees, a replica English country train platform, and the Model Railroad Garden in seasonal decor.

Historic Holidays at Clarke House Museum  | Chicago

Experience a traditional mid-nineteenth century Christmas at Clarke House Museum this holiday season. Discover the simple joys of homemade decorations, including pine boughs and a tabletop Christmas tree, which adorned the 1850s Chicago home. Learn about gifts exchanged by families like the Clarkes and pick up a period recipe to try.

Drive-through light show includes a mile of Santa, reindeer, candy canes, penguins, Old Man Winter, lighted trees and more.

Search for gnomes in the Children's Garden using your best "I Spy" skills. Checklist provided.

Drop in anytime between 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. at the conservatory's Elizabeth Morse Genius Children's Garden to plant an imaginary garden, build a tropical habitat, help water the plants, or read a book under the tropical canopy. Runs through entire 2012.

Model trains will wind their way through a miniature village set in a field of poinsettias. The village is made entirely of natural materials and features a variety of Chicago-style homes and famous buildings such as the neighborhood bungalow, Chicago Theatre and Chicago Water Tower Place. Nov. 26-Jan. 8.

Visitors can walk inside the two-story silo and turn the crank of a silage machine, watching "corn plants" delivered to the top of the silo. Plus, learn about the history of silos and silage, build miniature silos with building blocks simulating wood, brick and metal and much more.

With small solar lights to guide their way, hikers, skiers and snowshoers can traverse the 1.3-mile fitness trail at Old School Forest Preserve in Libertyville or the 1.65-mile hilly section of the Millennium Trail adjacent to the winter Sports Area at Lakewood Forest Preserve in Wauconda. Starting Sunday, Nov. 4, the trails and adjacent parking lots will remain open until 9 .m. daily until March 9.

20,000 twinkling lights and hand-decorated trees transform Cosley Zoo into a fairy tale winter wonderland.Visit the animals and purchase a cup of hot chocolate, your tree, wreath, and holiday gifts.

Burn off those Thanksgiving calories in the crisp autumn air while meeting the trees in their winter garb. Bark, branches and overall form reveal the species' identity.

A lightly narrated 2-hour tour showcasing the best of Chicago's holiday lights and sights. Passengers see views of the Magnificent Mile, State Street & Macy's Holiday Windows, the John Hancock Plaza tree, Navy Pier's Winter Wonderfest, Buckingham Fountain and have time to hop off at the Zoo Lights at Lincoln Park Zoo and the Christkindlmarket.

See a toy so amazing, so unbelievable, it has the power to transform into anything you want it to be. Enter a world where imagination rules, and ordinary becomes extraordinary.

Build a snow fort, throw snowballs, dress up a snowman and ice skate - all inside.
The brand new "ice" rink has more space to skate in your socks.

A new traveling exhibit created by Children's Museum of Pittsburgh that links familiar childhood objects to a process of manufacturing that combines people, ideas and technology. Inspired by the factory tour segments from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, the exhibit offers hands-on activities using real factory tools and machines to create objects including crayons, a baseball bat and a matchbox car, just to name a few.

Kids enter artist Gino Severini's interpretation of trains by role-playing engineer, passenger or conductor in a child-size train and look for objects in an eight-foot wide "hidden pictures" mural of artist Don Stewart's "Steam Train."  Plus, enjoy specially designed wooden train tables and a huge new interactive crane.

The exhibit features the illustrations of W. W. Denslow, a Chicago resident whose famous illustrations helped to inspire the design of the classic 1939 MGM film starring Judy Garland. The bright and colorful exhibit provides a variety of learning opportunities and hands-on activities within a three-dimensional representation of Denslow's distinctive illustrations.