If staying in on cold days is more your style, explore new cozy spots with your kids this winter. These inviting winter hideaways provide plenty of opportunities to unwind, connect and celebrate all the coziness this season has to offer.
Play at a board game cafe
Play all your favorite board games or try out new ones at Stay and Play Game Cafe. Come for the dedicated kids game section and stay for the amazing Puerto Rican food. The cafe on Chicago’s northwest side will soon celebrate its first anniversary!
If you’re in the southwest suburbs, check out Critical Grind Board Game Cafe for an equally impressive amount of games and an epic selection of sweet and savory specialty toasts – be sure to try “Baby Dragon’s Favorite,” made with chocolate hazelnut spread, peanut butter, banana and cinnamon.
Cozy up next to a fire
Your kids will want to snuggle in close on your lap with a book at one of the many reading spots with a fireplace around Chicagoland. Warm up next to the fire at Wilmette Public Library, head to the third-floor fireplace at Niles-Maine District Library, or find a spot near one of the two fireplaces on the second floor of the River Forest Public Library. If you’re looking to bring a book home with you forever, find a new book to read by the fireplace at Harvey’s Tales, a charming bookstore in Geneva.
Play with furry friends
If hanging out with a purring, furry friend is your family’s idea of heaven, make a reservation at the Tree House Humane Society Cat Cafe. For $10 a person, your family can spend 30 minutes with all the kitties in the Cafe Lounge while sipping on a cozy beverage included with your reservation. Children under 15 need a parent or guardian with them at all times during the reservation and each reservation accommodates up to four people.
Have a hibernation feast
Tweens and teens will love the throwback cellar vibe and amazing fondue at Geja’s Cafe. You’ll all make cozy winter memories while dipping your dinner in delicious oil, cheese and chocolate fondue varieties at this Lincoln Park institution. Reservations are highly recommended and children under 10 are not admitted for safety reasons.
Build a fort
There isn’t a cozier spot on a cold winter day than inside the immersive FORTS! Build your Own Adventure experience at Filament Theatre. Admission grants attendees of all ages a chance to work together for one hour to build forts out of cardboard boxes, couch cushions, blankets and clotheslines in a black box theater with changing lights and sounds. The experience runs Dec. 2-31 and tickets are $10-$15. Performances are Saturdays at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. and Sundays at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
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