Free holiday activities all around Chicagoland are spreading cheer this Christmas season. Maybe you want to plan a few special outings with your family, or perhaps you plan to fit in as many as your merry little heart can handle. Our Christmas bucket list full of free activities to keep your season jolly without extra expense! We’ve got ideas for free fun every day of the Advent season.
It’s still early, so we’ll be adding more opportunities for free fun as the season draws closer. In particular, be sure to watch out for our Best Christmas Lights in Chicagoland article, which will come out near the end of November with tons of destinations to see spectacular holiday lights displays.
Free Christmas Bucket List for December 2024
Sunday, December 1: Go See Santa
Start the Christmas season off with a visit to Santa. Kids can give their wish lists right to St. Nick himself, as Downtown Downers Grove hosts Complimentary Visits with Santa in a little gingerbread house on select Saturdays and Sundays at the corner of Main Street and Curtiss Street, while Downtown St. Charles plans to open Santa’s House on select weekends as well.
Looking for more dates? Our Free Photos with Santa list has the full scoop on where to take snapshots of the kids together with Santa all throughout the season.
Monday, December 2: Judge the Holiday Windows
Downtown Downers Grove hosts a holiday window contest every Christmas season. Last year, visitors found colorfully crafted gingerbread houses are displayed in 40+ windows. We can’t wait to see what the theme is this year. Take a stroll through downtown and pick your favorites together!
Tuesday, December 3: Explore Your Local Downtown
Chicago’s suburban downtowns lean into their historic roots during the Christmas season, decorating with lights and cheer to put visitors in a festive mood. Go window shopping together and see how your town is celebrating the season this year! Or, check out a nearby town you haven’t explored.
Wednesday, December 4: Head to a Winter Festival
Winterfest in North Riverside or Westchester’s Winter Wonderland Walk are lighting up the night with live music, a tree lighting, refreshments, and, of course, Santa Claus.
Thursday, December 5: Attend a Tree Lighting
Elmhurst’s annual Tree Lighting in Wilder Park includes a visit with Santa or the Grinch, holiday music and games, and other family-friendly activities.
Friday, December 6: Enjoy a Horse-Drawn Carriage Ride
While many places charge a fee for holiday carriage rides, the Holly Days festivities in Warrenville will offer free rides, along with Santa visits, entertainment, and a tree lighting ceremony.
Saturday, December 7: Go Homer for the Holidays in Homer Glen
Homer For The Holidays in Homer Glen will kick off with holiday crafts, hot cocoa, a Santa meet and greet, costumed characters, a Letters to Santa box for wish lists, and more. The lights display will also turn on in Heritage Park. If you can’t make the lighting, this is still a great free lights display to visit throughout the season.
Sunday, December 8: Give Back at the Toys for Tots Toy Drive with Characters
Visit all your favorite superheroes and princesses for photo opportunities at the Glen Ellyn’s Toys for Tots Toy Drive with Characters. The cost: new and unwrapped toys to donate. This is just one of the many great Toy Drives and Donation Opportunities that help spread joy this holiday season.
Monday, December 9: Head to the city for Lincoln Park Zoo’s ZooLights
Celebrate the 30th anniversary of Lincoln Park Zoo’s holiday display. Regular admission to see ZooLights is $7-10 depending on the day, but on Mondays, it’s free! Tickets must be reserved in advance, and become available at 11:00am one week ahead of time.
Tuesday, December 10: Sip Hot Cocoa
The Holiday Tree Lighting in La Grange, hosted at Waiola Park, is an annual event filled with live entertainment, cookies and hot cocoa.
Wednesday, December 11: Tour the Lights in Your Neighborhood
Take a walking tour of Christmas lights in your neighborhood! While driving to see the most spectacular lights displays is oh-so-much fun, just walking down the street to see the creativity of your neighbors is a different kind of special.
Thursday, December 12: Volunteer with your Family
It is easy to get lost in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. Volunteering with your kids is a win-win, you spend quality time together while helping your community. St. Cletus Food Pantry accepts help on Thursday evenings, Feed My Starving Children locations have daily packing sessions, and our volunteering guide has additional ideas for giving back, too.
Friday, December 13: Sing along to Christmas Carols
Head to the city for a night of singing at the Millennium Park Holiday Sing-Alongs. Bundle up as you sing with local choral groups from around the Chicago area.
Saturday, December 14: Enjoy Holiday Fun at a Winter Frostival
Arlington Heights Historical Museum’s Winter Frostival is home to strolling carolers, live animals, cookies, cocoa, Ice Princess and Ice Queen, and of course, visits with Santa.
Sunday, December 15: Visit the Christmas in the Commons
New Lenox’s Christmas in the Commons is an annual lights display filled with additional family-friendly activities on Saturdays and Sundays throughout the holiday season. Guests will find horse-drawn wagon rides, visits with Santa, and much more. Even though it’s not in the western suburbs, we couldn’t resist giving a shoutout to this popular spot.
Monday, December 16: Watch a Christmas Movie
While not technically free, the Paramount Theater in Aurora offers $1 Movie Mondays, and is hosting Christmas movies in December. Family-favorites include Home Alone on December 16, and Polar Express on the morning of December 23.
Tuesday, December 17: See the Holiday Lights in Lombard’s Lilacia Park
The Holiday Lights in Lilacia Park are a local favorite annual holiday lights display with light shows, tree decorations, gingerbread houses, and more. If you’d like to make the outing extra special, you could make it a train trip on the Metra UP-West Line. The Lombard Metra Station is right across the tracks from Lilacia Park, and there are plenty of downtown restaurants nearby, too.
Wednesday, December 18: Free Holiday Crafts for Kids
Feeling like staying inside? Try one of Annie’s favorite Christmas crafts: paper snowflakes made from coffee filters. Fold the filters in half, and then in half again. Have fun cutting all sorts of shapes, then open to see your unique creation. If you want to take it a step further, color your coffee filter snowflakes with markers and spray with a water bottle. The end result looks tie-dyed!
Thursday, December 19: Take a Tour of Neighborhood Lights Displays
Go on your own personal lights tour to see the amazing displays that our neighbors create. We make it easy in our list of the Best Christmas Lights Displays in Chicagoland with photographs, descriptions, and a map so you can plan your route. Bringing some Christmas cookies or warm cider in the car can help make the trip extra-special, too!
Residential lights displays usually start the day after Thanksgiving; our updated guide comes out around the same time.
Friday, December 20: Visit a Live Nativity
Live Nativity and Christmas Story, hosted by Elmhurst Christian Reformed Church, brings the Christmas story to life with live actors and family-friendly elements. For more information on other live nativities throughout the area this season, check out our complete guide to live nativities hosted by Chicagoland churches.
Saturday, December 21: Find Santa for Last-Minute Wish List Updates
Santa and Mrs. Claus will be at Wheaton’s “W Tent” (located at South Main Street and West Liberty Drive in Wheaton) to take photos and visit with children. If your kids have a last-minute wish list update, this is a great spot to find Santa right before Christmas!
While you’re downtown, you can stroll over to the library, which Kidlist readers picked as one of the Top 10 Libraries in Chicago’s West Suburbs for 2023.
Sunday, December 22: Have a Gift-Wrapping Party Together
Round up your crew, play some carols, and break out the gift wrap to get this chore done together. Wrapping presents is often fun for kids. Small children especially love getting to use tools like scissors, tape, ribbon, and bows. Writing tags, tying ribbons, affixing bows: it’s basically a giant crafting session!
You can talk about who the gifts are for and why you chose them to help encourage thoughtfulness. Kids might want to wrap in their rooms and sneak presents for family members down beneath the tree, too.
Monday, December 23: See the Winter Lights at Central Park in Oak Brook
Stroll through scenic pathways with holiday lights and see dancing trees, inspirational signs, rainbow arches, and more at Winter Lights at Central Park.
Tuesday, December 24 : Skate in the Park
Each winter, Parkway Bank Park in Rosemont is home to Skating in the Park. Guests will receive free admission to skate. Ice skate rentals are available for $8.
Wednesday, December 25: Take a Christmas Day Hike Through The Morton Arboretum
The Morton Arboretum is free to visit every Christmas Day! (The buildings and Children’s Garden are closed, so plan accordingly.) Go after all of the present-opening hubbub. It’s a glorious counterbalance to all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.
Printable Christmas Bucket List
We made a printable too! Click the image below to open the holiday bucket list in a new window and print the high quality version so you can mark off the ones you have done.
We love when you tag us on social! Be a Kidlist friend and tag @kidlist #sharekidlist when you try something you see on the site. And for more holiday inspiration, bookmark the Kidlist Holiday Guide for Winter 2022.
1 Comment. Leave new
Brookfield zoo is open Christmas Day.