Chicago Botanic Garden

I always find that the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas goes by extremely fast. It’s probably because of the holiday parties, shopping and plus my wife and I like to get out and enjoy the communities’ holiday festivities. Lake County is a great place for festive holiday fun, with so many great events the entire family will enjoy; another reason why Lake County is perfect all year round!

The dazzling Vernon Hills Winter Wonderland Holiday Light Show is open daily from 6pm – 10pm. It is a great tradition for my wife and I, as well as many families, as you drive through an amazing collection of animated lights and decorations on the ground of the Cuneo Mansion & Gardens. When you go through the Light Show, you will receive a raffle ticket at the ticket booth that you take to any participating Vernon Hills store for a chance to win a $50 gift card in their holiday raffle. I have included my “behind the scenes” look at this year’s Light Show at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubZr8BpUetQ.

My wife and I enjoy Long Grove Historic Village anytime of the year, but this is the perfect time to rediscover Long Grove. The events in Long Grove this holiday season include weekend carolers, a visit with Santa, horse-drawn carriage rides, plenty of live holiday entertainment and much more. Overall, it’s a great place to spend an afternoon walking the cobblestone paths, shopping and enjoying a meal at Seasons of Long Grove or The Village Tavern.

Downtown Antioch is another great place to enjoy the holidays. Horse drawn carriage rides are free every Saturday with a $25 sales receipt from a downtown merchant or $5 per person. Santa’s Enchanted Castle is open daily through December 23rd and visits with Santa are free. If you head to Downtown Antioch to do some shopping or enjoy their holiday festivities, I highly recommend having lunch or dinner at David’s Bistro. The food is absolutely amazing! I enjoyed lunch there the other day and had the Stuffed Bistro Chicken, which was very good. The food presentation was great, as well as the atmosphere, and I will definitely be eating there again.

Another favorite attraction of mine is the Chicago Botanic Garden. This is an absolutely stunning place all year round. During the holiday season, there are 750,000 white sparkling lights that create a magical sight throughout the Garden. Inside, a 10,000 square foot Winter Wonderland Express exhibit is in full effect as miniature trains wind over bridges, under trestles, past waterfalls and through more than 80 miniature replicas of Chicago’s favorite landmarks. This amazing exhibit was created exclusively for the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Gurnee Mills Mall in Gurnee and Westfield Hawthorn in Vernon Hills have extended hours for your last minute holiday shopping, so be sure to check out our website http://www.lakecounty.org and “Like” us on http://www.facebook.com/visitlakecounty for daily specials and events. I would like to wish everyone a happy holiday season and we will see you out exploring Lake County!

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