Activity: Indoor Snowball Fight

When is it freezing outside and your child (impervious to the cold) asks for a snowball fight, twisting the idea to one that works for all (read: mom) can fix that.

An indoor snowball fight!

All we needed were wadded up paper for the snowballs and a DIY snow fort -- we chose Melissa and Doug bricks. While our youngest prefered to tear down his own fort (and build, and destroy, repeat), the 6 year old and I had a good fight.

Which morphed into bowling for bricks.  And general fort destruction.

All in all, the kids were happy and I was thrilled to stay inside!

Noteworthy:
Can be recreated in a number of ways, based on what you have at your fingertips.

Cost Savings:
Free!

Kid's Jury: 5 stars
Easy! Fun!

Annual Event: Holiday Activities

The holiday's are here and with all that is happening in the city, it can cause a little anxiety determining what to do.

We have narrowed our focus to a "top 8" with reviews of each activity throughout the month. Zoolights and Garfield Park we will hit up after Christmas as they run all month long.

Rating scale: One to Five Snowflakes

The Goals and Ratings (if checked off our list):

• Navy Pier Winter Wonderfest - ❋❋❋❋❋
• Polar Adventure Days - ❋
• Sledding - ❋❋❋❋❋
• 12 Days of Santa - ❋❋❋❋❋
• Holiday Train - ❋❋❋
• Zoolights - ❋❋❋❋
• Garfield Park Holiday Flower Show - post Christmas

Navy Pier Winter Wonderfest: ❋❋❋❋❋
This is the highlight of our year. Every. Year.  The best indoor playground to take the kids with a ton of activities fun for the whole family.  Highlights include:

• Inflatable slides and bounce areas, 
• Ice skating rink (with rental)
• Unique rides: inner tube sledding 
• Ferris wheel and other carnival style rides, 
• Toddler train (best version yet, this year), 
• Multiple photo opportunities (includes Santa with Ms. Clause)

Our kids were split in some of the activities they could do, based both on height an interest, so my husband and I divided and conquered the night.


Note:  Be prepared to wait in lines and plan accordingly (phone games, books, etc).



Polar Adventure Day: ❋
This event was fine. The park had made a great effort - from roasting marshmallows in a fire pit. to arranging a dog sled company and wildlife organizations to bring birds (vulture, barn owl), snakes, and more.



The dog sledding was neat to see, but the mushers didn't speak about the dogs or interact with the kids. My son latched onto a dog (Hawkeye) so we spent a lot of time watching him pet the pup.

The wildlife group brought a wolf, coyote, and porcupine, which couldn't be touched...but we were able to get our hands on a skunk and ground hog!

Two more dates available throughout the winter. There are nice paths for walking or snowshoeing.





Sledding:  ❋❋❋❋❋
With a perfect amount of snow fall, we headed to the Soldier Field sledding hill -- though the link above provides a variety of options which may be closer to you. The boys had a great time and will go back the next time conditions are good.

Notes:

• Free parking next to the hill 
• sled area is wide, allowing for multiple people to go at once.
• Our 6 and 4 year old where both able to go down by themselves.
• No one was injured!

The Santa Experience - 12 Days of Santa: ❋❋❋❋❋
From the moment the Shops at Roosevelt Collection opened, it has been a positive impact on our city living experience. The ICON theater, Nando's, The Container Store, the playground...the list goes on and on...there is so much to love about this small and mighty collection.

While the stores alone are great, they knock it even further out of the park with their events. They are always well done and this was no different.  Nestled into a storefront (INSIDE!! next to the Loft Store), it is adorably decorated to feel like a small winter path, entering Santa's home. There are some small ornament crafts as well.

Santa is great - incredibly friendly, talks with the kids, and takes several (free) photos. A very different experience from the "hustle-in-take-photo-go" standard we have grown accustomed to.

And no lines (when we went)!!



CTA Holiday Train - ❋❋❋
The CTA Holiday Train has been a Chicago staple since having children, but let's set expectations. It is, at it's best, a unique experience.

Our past rides have been harried, jam-packed, and one year the train actually zipped right past us -- leaving confused parents and crying kids in it's wake.

This year was the best year yet, thanks to our new tactic: Ride in the evening. We took the 7pm train and it was the first time we found a seat and actually saw the entire train. Even snuck close enough for a Santa photo.

The city added a second train: Elves Workshop Train, which follows Santa's train and helps with overflow. The only difference is the Santa car has...Santa.  Everything else is the same!




Zoolights - ❋❋❋❋
Another Chicago staple and we love hitting up the Lincoln Park Zoo!  We lucked out with great weather this year, which makes the whole event more enjoyable. There is a new Polar Bear exhibit we were able to see (and the bear) and quite a few of the animals were still out and about. 

We love going to the zoo in general, and this night was the most packed we had seen it (again, due to the nicer weather), so we hit up our highlights, walked down candy cane lane, and headed home.  

Worth the trip!

---- What holiday activities do you have as "not to miss"?

Activity: UFC Gym

In honor of tonight's UFC fights, our testing of the UFC Gym was most appropriate. A friend extended us a last minute invitation and we jumped on it!

The best part: Our location has a kids (Youth Fit Fight) class at the same time as an adult class (Boxing Skills and Techniques).

I have always wanted to hit against a bag, so this was an awesome experience.  And to watch my kids doing the same thing a few feet away was so fun.

The kids have been warned that the adults will barely be able to move tomorrow.  I am lucky my fingers are even able to type this much.

Noteworthy:

• The Adult class is a series of jumping rope, punches, push-ups, burpies, and sit ups. 
• At the end you put on gloves and hit against the bags.  It was awesome.
• Kids had a great time - even our 3 year old!  Class age was mostly K-3 grade kids.

Cost Savings:

• Promotion running: 5 days free
• Visit the site for details on membership fees

Location/Transportation:
Various locations throughout Chicago: River North, South Loop, Wrigleyville

Kid's Jury: 5 stars
This was great!  I love being able to work out at the same time as the kids.

Annual Event: Open House Chicago

Embarrassed to admit, after living in Chicago for over 1.5 decades, this is the first year I learned of the Chicago Architectural Foundation's ("CAF") Open House Chicago.

It is an annual event in the city, taking place over 2 days with 200 buildings participating.  No matter what neighborhood you are in, or if you want to see a new one - there are options for you:  The buildings this year were as far North as Northwestern University (Evanston), West for Frank Lloyd Wright Homes (Oak Park), and South for WGN Flag & Decorating (South Shore).

The CAF event website is spectacular, giving a map of all the locations and the neighboring Divvy stations if you prefer to bike around in order to squeeze in more sites.

With the kids in tow, we focused on locations more with their attention span in mind:

• Jay Pritzker Pavilion - cool photo op
• Chicago Architectural Foundation - mini Chicago replica in the main lobby 
• LondonHouse - rooftop with views of the river and lake
• Marquee at Block 37 - nice rooftop views 
• Chicago Cultural Museum and Chic-fil-A - both not on the official tour, but hey, we love em. 

Tomorrow we are targeting McCormick Place Rooftop Farm, GEMS World Academy, and Zap Props

Noteworthy:

• A few locations are incredibly popular, so the long lines were a deterrent (AON is an example). Though we skipped those, you can purchase a CAF membership to gain priority access and skip the lines.  Most locations were no issue.
• Some locations have docents or activities
• The kids loved the rooftops and the mini city replication

Cost Savings:
FREE!

Location/Transportation:
Something in essentially every neighborhood!  Get out there!!

Kid's Jury: 5 stars
The kids' attention span is a little short, so we have to pace ourselves.  I am already counting the days until this comes around again next year!

Playground: Horner Park

Horner Park has been recently renovated and it is gorgeous.

The climbing options are great, and ones we had never seen before.  As the park was (literally) crawling with families, it was hard to get photos.  Just know you need to find your way to this park if your kids like climbing, tunnels, twists, bridges, slides, merry-go-rounds, or small zip lines!

Noteworthy:

• The fieldhouse is next to the playground, so bathrooms are only a few steps away.
• Playground has a sitting zipline feature - kids were lined up to ride
• Small toddler area available (see below)
• Other amenities: tennis, running path, baseball fields, fieldhouse

Cost Savings: Free!

Location/Transportation:
Albany Park at Montrose & California
We drove as parking is plentiful along the street and there is a parking lot (free).

Kid's Jury: 5 stars
SO Great.  Although it isn't too close, we will definitely be coming back!

Activity: Home Depot Kids Workshop

This adventure day is most likely an option for you, no matter where you live!

The Home Depot Kids Workshop is offered at each* of their stores and has continued to impress this family!

On the first Saturday of the month, Home Depot provides a DIY kit for each child with the instructions and tools - typically involves wood glue, hammer, stickers, and paint. You take home the project, Home Depot apron, pin memento, and probably a little paint on your hands (please note the photo above where the table and hammer appear to have seen better, cleaner days).

Noteworthy:

• No registration or sign up required - the workshop is available anytime between 9 am - noon.
• Workshop is located in the store (at the Chicago South Loop, it is in the lumber aisle)
• Depending on your child's skill level, man-on-man may work best to ensure no one is hammering their finger (or most likely their sibling's finger)
• Speaking of hammers - recommend using the floor to hammer the nails instead of the provided tables (our family is not a handy people, so this may be obvious to most).  The ground is concrete, so hammering works a lot better on the floor.

Cost Savings:
FREE!
And you receive a Home Depot apron on your first visit, and it doesn't stop there - little project specific memento pins are given for each project completed!

Location:
Any Home Depot*

Kid's Jury: 5 stars
We love it!  Will definitely become regulars over the winter months ahead!

*Please call your local Home Depot to confirm they host this workshop, as well as the dates and times.

Activity: Skate Park

Thanks to some friends, we learned about this great idea.  With our kids feeling confident on their scooters and getting pretty solid at their bikes, we thought it would be fun (well, husband thought fun, mom figured terrifying) to take them to a skate park.

The boys loved it.

They quickly settled into their own routes with ramps and inclines - the older one even trying out a little wall climbing action.

While I was indeed terrified, I did my best to hide it and no one walked away injured.  Our oldest fell a few times (one while attempting to take his bike straight up a wall), but no blood was spilled.

Noteworthy:
Go early in the morning, before the park is packed with legit skateboarders.

Cost Savings:
Free!  ...unless you experience injuries ;)

Location/Transportation:
There is probably a skate park near you!  We used the one at Roosevelt & Michigan, and early morning parking was easy.

Kid's Jury: 5 stars
Great time!