2014 Holiday Bucket List: Morton Arboretum's Illumination #Giveaway {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 2014 Christmas season. Be sure to scroll down to the end; one of our favorite places is giving away tickets!

Destination One: Morton Arboretum's Illumination

It's back, and it's even better than last year. Definitely worth braving the wind and other winter elements, the Morton Arboretum's Illumination doesn't disappoint. Illumination is a family-friendly walk that spans a mile of the paths at the Arboretum and showcases the astounding beauty of the trees, enhanced and light up with beautiful, glowing lights.

But Illumination, said John, the show's designer, isn't any old light display.

And we couldn't agree more with him. As John the designer lead a tour of Illumination, giving us a behind-the-scenes peak into the making of this holiday must-see, we marveled at the care of design and the intricacies of the show.

This year's Illumination features include some favorite from last year -- hugging a tree to set it aglow and singing to the trees to make them light up and dance with different colors are still mainstays on the Illumination path, much to my youngest's sheer delight. {We could barely pull him away from the microphone!}

New this year, and by far our favorite, was the section of the path displaying a light show that seemingly danced along with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's four musical arrangements, respectively named for each season; we happened to catch a little glimpse of this one, and all eyes were glued to the show.

A few other new surprises are in store at Illumination, too, but I'll save those for when you see them in the person.

A few words of the wise for enjoying Illumination: Don't let the chill in the air keep you away, but do prepare well! While there are warming stations along the path, and hot chocolate is available to warm hands and bellies, a simple jacket and mittens likely won't cut it if the weather keeps trending with temperatures well below seasonal averages. I would recommend warm coats, snow pants, boots, scarves and mittens for the whole family or group attending. Don't try to par it down. You can always unlayer while there.

As far as walking goes, put on your walking boots. Our boys, now five and seven, walked the entire path just fine year and last year as well. If you're bringing a little one, I'd suggest doing what my friend Stephanie did during the behind the scenes tour; she wore her toddler son in a backpack carrier.

Also, don't let a beautiful dusting of snow keep you from Illumination. My husband John and I mused with John the designer about how beautiful it must be to see some of the stops along the path with a cover of snow coating the lights. John the designer said he knew it would be pretty spectacular.

Would you like to take the family to see Illumination? The Morton Arboretum is kindly and generously giving away a set of four tickets to one person here! Fantastic!

All you need to do is simply fill out the easy rafflecopter below, and you'll automatically be entered to win!

Illumination is open now through Saturday, January 3, 2015. Check the arboretum's website for more information on times and ticket prices.

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Destination Two: The Marriott Theatre for Young Audiences Wizard of Oz

Photos courtesy of Mark Campbell Photography

Families looking for a little holiday adventure in their own backyard can follow the yellow brick road to the Marriott Theatre this holiday season and sing along with Dorothy and her friends as they sing and dance their way to the Emerald City.

The Marriott's Theatre for Young Audiences in Lincolnshire is featuring this one-hour musical rendition of the classic movie now through January 4, 2015, and it's a highly entertaining production aimed at the whole family!

The storyline pretty closely follows that of the movie, and features many favorite songs like Somewhere Under the Rainbow and Ding Dong the Witch is Dead. And because this show is geared toward children, signing and clapping along isn't just allowed; it's encouraged!

I'm not sure if it was my boys' having another year under their belts of if it was the high level of engagement in this fast-moving production, but both kiddos, ages five and seven, say through the entire show, happily watching and singing along!

The characters were highly animated and personable, and the costumes, music and scenery were perfectly paired, making this show one of my kids' absolute favorite in recent years!

My oldest thinks readers should know that the Wicked Witch of the West was fantastically scary; however, he also wants readers to know he wasn't scared, but that he thought some younger kids might need a hand to hold or lap to sit on during that time.

My youngest son wants readers to know that the show was a little scary at times, especially the tornado part, in which the lights are turned out and one of the cast members twirls around a "tornado" with a spotlight shining on it. He also wants you to know that Toto, the real, live dog in the show, is an adorable addition to the production.

Both boys really enjoyed the question and answer session with the cast afterward, and my youngest liked that someone asked how the tornado worked and the cast member explained it. {It then became less scary for my tender-hearted boy!}

For a schedule and tickets, please visit The Marriott Theatre's website.

Stay tuned for the next destinations, complete with a giveaway later this week! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Share the Love: Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum

Michigan, to me, is like a treasure chest filled with hidden jewels.

We typically spend a few weekends at John's grandparents’ cottage in southwest Michigan each summer along with an entire week when we can swing it.

Each time we venture into this beautiful state, we always find new places to explore during days of rain.

And it seems like each year we find a place to which we just cannot wait to pay another visit. This time, we found several, as there were a number of rainy days that were better spent exploring than looking longingly at the beach from the windows of the tiny cabin.

We decided to venture into Ann Arbor to visit friends with whom we don’t often get to spend time, and while we were there we paid a visit to a wonderful kid-centric destination.

The Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum, though, is not a typical indoor children’s mecca of fun that leaves parents harrowed and chasing after myriad children who just cannot find anything age appropriate to sink their hands into and wrap their minds around within the same space.

This museum lives up to its name; it is the epitome of hands on – and not just for one age group. The activities located on the main floor appeal to myriad age ranges and offer different levels of engagement for toddlers all the way to older children. I appreciated that my almost three year old could play happily in the same room with the same activities that my five year old enjoyed; even Alita’s seven year old engaged in the same activities albeit in a different way.

Picture by Alita of Alita Jewel's Treasures.

While my toddler enjoyed doing things like flushing the model toilet, the older children liked figuring out how all the pipes were attached; I could almost see little engineers in the making, though, they were definitely in different seasons of exploration

We spent about an hour on the main floor exploring the building blocks rooms, the water table and an indoor activity house, but we spent more of our time in the amazing preschooler room, as three of our four littles ones fell most comfortably into that category.

While they explored gravity and mass and the like by engaging in hands-on play with an elaborate ball and tunnel/forced system, the adults actually had a chance to {gasp!} sit down and share in adult conversation.

This wasn't made possibly simply because of the awesome activities in the room, but also because most every crevice of the room is easily visible from the center. And it's in a bright and airy but enclosed space on its own floor of the museum, so there was no need to contemplate little escape artists making a break for it.


One feature I especially appreciated at the museum was break room where families can go and eat food they've brought from home instead of being bound to purchasing from an on-site cafe.

The only down part of the day was leaving, as all of the boys really wanted to stay and continue playing. Even after an entire afternoon spent exploring, more activities still lured them in. We could have closed the place down had we not had dinner plans.

All pictures by the fabulously talented Alita of Alita Jewel's Treasures

I have to be honest; we have some really fabulous museums close to our house in Chicago, so we're a bit spoiled, but my children so very much enjoyed the AAHOM that we would return despite it being two hours away from our cabin --

especially if we were privileged enough to have the same fabulous company we had this time around; it's truly a wonderful destination for imaginative play and discovery and perfect for meeting up with friends!

Disclosure: One of my favorite parts of blogging happens when I'm able to share life in a meaningful way -- and that includes divulging about places we've visited and thoroughly enjoyed. Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum welcomed both mine and Alita's families for an afternoon of fun in exchange for us sharing our experiences at the museum. 

Connect with Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum on Facebook, if you're planning a trip. 

Share the Love: All Seasons Orchard in Woodstock, IL

An apple-picking newbie, the thought crossed my mind that I might be crazy for taking knee-and-thigh high children to an apple orchard for an afternoon of gleaning a few bags of ripe Galas; after all, I'd thought apples grew way up high, sprouting off of branches that necessitated a ladder for picking.

As we stepped foot onto the orchard at All Seasons Orchard, I was pleasantly surprised by just how many beautifully formed and ripened apples were low enough for my preschooler to pick.

In fact, there were so many {even the day immediately following Labor Day -- a high-traffic picking time}, he gathered enough apples to fill his entire bag.

And two more.

As we walked through the well-maintained orchard aisles, my four year old beamed as we talked about how apples grow and he carefully inspected each apple before gently pulling it away from the branch.

To read the rest, head over to Little Lake County.