Holiday Bucket List: A Guide for Experiencing the Beauty of the Holidays as a Family in Chicagoland {part one}

Each year, my family aims to experience and enjoy life together during the holidays, placing less emphasis on the gift aspect and more on togetherness. This is part one of a series detailing some of our favorite Chicagoland destinations during the Christmas season. Be sure to scroll down to the end; one of our favorite places is giving one family a set of tickets!

Chicago Botanic Garden Wonderland Express
If you've been around here for awhile, you've gathered we are Chicago Botanic Garden enthusiasts. {What's not to love?! The great outdoors, plenty of space to explore and enjoy, winter exhibits to help relieve the stir craziness that sets in!}

Photo courtesy of the Chicago Botanic Garden

While the Botanic Garden is a hot destination for my kids during the spring, summer and fall, they pretty much ask year round how many days are left until we see the Wonderland Express, the garden's holiday-themed train exhibit that sprawls through the indoor atriums.

Photo courtesy of the Chicago Botanic Garden

My boys, now 4 and 6, are absolutely enamored by the entire set up of trains chugging around the tracks of the mini Windy City. When they were younger, they spent most of their time chasing the trains as they ventured along the tracks. Now that the boys are older, they want to explore every single landmark building and discuss each of the tiny replicas along the tracks. John and I not only enjoy the family time with the boys while here, but we also enjoy marveling over how each and every piece of the mini city is made of natural materials like leaves, bark and other elements found in the great outdoors.

Photo courtesy of the Chicago Botanic Garden

The Wonderland Express is well worth any trek you'd make as well as the cost.

When: November 29, 2013 - January 5, 2014
Time: Open daily from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. with few exceptions
Where: Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe, IL
More Information: Chicago Botanic Garden

Marriott Theatre for Young Audiences: The Nutcracker

Perhaps you're thinking what I first thought when John and I mulled sharing our love of theatre with the kiddos: no way, no how will my kids sit through a live play!

Last December, when the boys were 5 and 3, we decided to give it a whirl anyway, as the Marriott Theatre for Young Audiences specifically aims its shows for, well, young audiences, by making them lively, beautiful and entertaining. And they do it all in one hour!

Our boys, now 6 and 4, have delightfully experienced three productions, and they have really liked each one {says the surprised mom of two really active, light-saber sporting little boys}. We recently attended the opening-day performance of the Nutcracker. I didn't know how it was going to play out because the Nutcracker my husband and I knew centered all around ballet; however, this story was adapted into a wonderful production geared toward young audiences.

Photo courtesy of Peter Coombs and the Marriott Theatre

The boys enjoyed the music, the story, the animated characters and even the dance! Our youngest kept asking, "Mommy, how do they spin like that!?"in response to some of the ballet dances during the show. While this production of the Nutcracker did feature some splendidly talented dancers, the show wasn't dance-centric. In true Marriott fashion, the production was beautifully choreographed, funny, engaging and featured a wonderfully animated cast that was perfect for small children, older children and adults alike.

Photo courtesy of Peter Coombs and the Marriott Theatre

When: November 8, 2013 - December 28, 2013
Time: Click Here for showtimes
Where: Marriott Theatre, Lincolnshire, IL
More Information: Marriott Theatre 

So are you ready to cross a few things off your Holiday Bucket List? How about going to the Wonderland Express this holiday season compliments of the Chicago Botanic Garden?! The lovely people at the Chicago Botanic Garden are giving away a family four pack of tickets for the Wonderland Express as well as a free parking ticket. 

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Stay tuned for part two of the Holiday Bucket List tomorrow. I have another great giveaway planned!

Disclosure: First and foremost, I only work with organizations I really love. I am a Chicago Botanic Garden ambassador who receives a membership in exchange for sharing about the garden on a regular basis. 
The Marriott Theatre invited my family to press day to see the Nutcracker so we could share our experiences with other families. 

Share the Love: Alice in Wonderland {Marriott Theater for Young Audiences}

I've mentioned before that I am blessed to have married a Renaissance man, and as a future mother-in-law {very, very, very future} to two young women, I thought it would earn me bonus points if we succeeded in raising Renaissance young men who could not only go hunt their food but also sautee it lightly in garlic-lemon olive oil while reciting their favorite lines from Shakespeare as well as Star Wars.

I kid about the last part, but in all seriousness John and I have been theatre lovers since our high school days, and we love sharing our passions with our boys, so we're extremely fortunate to have the Marriott Theatre for Young Audiences nearby our home in here in northern Chicagoland.

A few weekends ago we ventured down to the theatre to view Alice in Wonderland -- this time dressed to the nines at my oldest son's insistence after he heard a friend who attended the last performance ask me why weren't dressed for theatre. {What can I say? Kid's got mad style sense.}

And Alice in Wonderland was wonderful!

Photo courtesy of Peter Coombs and The Marriott Theatre

The boys very much enjoyed the lively singing and dancing and the heavy audience participation, all of which was executed brilliantly by the actors and actresses in the show.

Unlike Cinderella, which was the last show we saw at the Marriott Theatre for Young Audiences, this performance really appealed to my boys, ages 3.5 and 5.5 because of the plot's deep roots in silliness rather than whimsical romance.

The Mad Hatter and the White Rabbit were two stand-out characters that our boys exclaimed about long after the proverbial curtain was drawn; I think we've stolen imaginary sugar tarts in play more times than I can count, and we've had a few silly tea parties since the show that have sent them into fits of laughter all over again at the ridiculousness of that silly Hatter.

Photo courtesy of Peter Coombs and The Marriott Theatre

John and I very much enjoyed the show, too. It was very quick-moving and entertaining for the youngsters as well as the parents! We laughed along at the silliness and "nonsense" of the nonsensical Wonderland so wonderfully brought to life by the cast members and decorated well with fitting, vibrant music, costume and scenery.

Only one thing disappointed my oldest thespian in the making and that was that the story line for the musical differed quite a bit from the movie, which is completely and totally normal for movies turned stage productions; however, if you have an Alice and Wonderland aficionado perhaps prepare him or her for such so he or she can sit back and enjoy the show without wondering what happened to certain scenes.

Overall, Alice in Wonderland is a spectacular performance, and we'd excitedly see it again. The show runs now through May 18, 2013. Tickets are available for purchase by visiting The Marriott Theatre's site.

Disclosure: My family was invited to preview Alice in Wonderland at The Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire and I agreed that I would like to share a review of the show here on my blog with you, my friends. Hope you enjoy the show as much as we did!

Share the Love: Cinderella {The Marriott Theatre for Young Audiences}

I married a Renaissance man.

Not only does my talented husband hunt all types of game, play tennis with gusto and fix our cars/house/computers, but he's also an inspired chef, talented babywearer, writer of poetry and thespian. As his wife, I very much enjoy his vast array of skills and talents.

So, naturally, I want to inspire the well-rounded growth of our little men for their good {and for the sake of our future daughters in law!}.

Enter an invitation to see Cinderella at The Marriott Theatre for Young Audiences.

As my boys, ages 3 and 5, light wielded their light sabers in the living room, I typed an emphatic acceptance email saying we'd very much like to attend the show; John and I have attended several performances for the adult crowd in the past, but Cinderella was to be our first experience with the young audiences theater and a theatrical production with the boys in general.

Overall, we enjoyed our morning watching the bright, beautiful production.

There's not a bad seat in the house at The Marriott Theatre, as the stage in planted in the center of all the seats. We easily navigated the theater; with the help of friendly ushers found our seats and got comfortable before the show began.

From the first moment the show began with cheery music bursting forth from the vibrantly costumed cast, my 3-year-old son, E, was mesmerized by the song and dance. I peeked over to catch a glimpse of my 5-year-old son's face, and he was also intently watching the production.

Aside from the talented cast, one of the first things I noticed was the carefully crafted props and scenery; everything looked very lovely and elegant -- perfect for the Cinderella fairy tale.

Consistent giggling erupted from the audience and my boys during a scene where the king, clad in long underwear and unable to button his pants, and queen were discussing the ball they were going host for their son, the Prince Christopher, to find true love.

Both boys really enjoyed the show the first half of the hour-long production.

My youngest became antsy when the story line turned from lively song and dance to a more romance-based, elegant storyline, detailing the prince and Cinderella's love affair; I had an inkling that the story line could go this way seeing as I knew full well that Cinderella is a fairy tale with a love story interwoven. But the love story element remained center stage for several scenes -- the bulk of the last part of the production and even my oldest who is a sucker for a good love story {Anniken and Padme Amidala in Star Wars, anyone?} found it drawn out.

I enjoy a good love story, too, but as a mother attending a young audience production with little people in tow, I would have preferred less romance-driven scenes as those parts seemed to actually slow the show's momentum.

That said, the adults very much enjoyed the other continuous theme of impossible dreams becoming possible if one believes in the dream.

We also were tickled by a small break in the show toward the end when one of the characters began asking audience members to try on Cinderella's glass slipper. The boys thought that was hysterical, and we loved the character's banter with audience members.

All in all, our first theater experience with the boys was enjoyable and easy and we're looking forward to the upcoming performances at The Marriott Theatre as we try to instill a love of the creative in our little guys.
Gifting Cinderella tickets for a holiday present and then seeing the show during school break would likely be a lovely and enjoyable way to spend a morning with your favorite small people, especially if those little ones are smitten with the story already.

Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella runs through December 31, 2012. Tickets are available for purchase by calling the box office at (847) 634 - 0200.

I received four tickets to Cinderella so that I could review the production for my blog. As always, all opinions are my own. I was not compensated in any other way for this review.  Photos are courtesy of Brett Beiner and The Marriott Theatre