Toddler Holiday Activities in Chicago

This post includes toddler holiday activities in Chicago. I’m sharing five activities we enjoyed with our 2-year-old this year.

For the past two years since C joined our family, we haven’t had the chance to do very many Christmas activities. Last winter C had a new virus practically every week since it was his first exposure to other small children in childcare. For that reason, we spent a lot of time resting and playing indoors. This year, things are significantly different. C is healthier and as a newly minted 2-year-old, he’s very interested in Christmas things like lights, decorations, and Santa.

You can find holiday activities taking place every weekend across the Chicago area. When I was thinking of the activities we would try to squeeze in before Christmas, I tried to avoid anything with too large of a crowd. Even though I live in a big city I am not a huge fan of tight crowds, and C gets clingy and nervous if there are too many people around when he’s experiencing a new place. Because of that, you will not find Lincoln Park’s Zoo Lights on this list or the Daley Plaza Christkindlmarket. These are both holiday activities that I LOVE but are way too crowded for my toddler.

Holiday Train, Chicago Transit Authority

Chicago’s CTA trains route a Holiday Train and Elves’ Workshop Train on each train line between Thanksgiving and Christmas. You can find the schedule here. We rode the Holiday Train for a few stops several weeks ago and waved to Santa Claus.

I think the CTA Holiday Train is really fun for a small child to see, but you only need to ride a few stops to get the full experience. We rode two stops and that was plenty. We also chose a train stop further north, close to the end of one of the El lines so we could have a less crowded trip. When writing this post, I realized there is also a CTA Holiday Bus! C loves buses so I think he would really enjoy seeing/riding on it, but I doubt we will find it this year with only a week left before Christmas. Maybe next year.

Christmas Around the World, Museum of Science and Industry

Christmas Around the World at the Museum of Science and Industry my favorite holiday event in Chicago. The Museum of Science and Industry goes all out with holiday decor, including over fifty Christmas trees decorated in the theme of different countries, and a huge Christmas tree in the middle of the museum. We visited the event a few weeks ago with C’s grandparents and everyone loved the lights and decorations.

We went on a Saturday morning, right when the museum opened at 9:30 am and it was still very busy with people. If you have a chance, I recommend visiting on a weekday instead.

Wonderland Express, Chicago Botanic Garden

Last weekend we visited the Wonderland Express at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glen Ellyn. I love the Chicago Botanic Garden, with close to 400 acres of landscaped gardens and beautiful scenery. This was our first time visiting the Wonderland Express event, which requires special tickets.

There were many model trains running on tracks through beautifully decorated Gingerbread and cookie houses. This year’s event featured many Chicago landmarks in miniature {Merchandise Mark, Wrigley Field, The John Hancock Center}. They also have artificial snow gently falling from the ceiling and many lit Christmas trees. I thought it was beautifully designed and C seemed to enjoy it, but the tickets are pretty expensive for an event you can walk through in under 10 minutes {this is with a short attention span toddler, but still}. C really enjoyed walking around outdoors and I wish we had spent more time doing that – we found a gigantic outdoor tree decorated with red and green lights that he LOVED. If we have any warm winter days left we hope to go back to the Botanic Garden to walk around the grounds again.

Illumination: The Morton Arboretum

The Morton Arboretum has a fantastic holiday tree lights event every year – Illumination. Tree Lights takes place every day except Mondays, from mid-November to January 1. There is a one-mile path with seasonal music and interactive lighting. We are planning our first family visit this year, closer to Christmas. I’m crossing my fingers for reasonable weather! Note – tickets are required for this event.

{Image via Morton Arboretum website}

Breakfast with Santa

We weren’t planning on taking C to visit Santa or sit on his lap, since he’s not the biggest fan of getting close to strangers. But I couldn’t resist buying tickets to Carbon Arc’s pancake breakfast event, with Santa appearing on the Davis Theater stage. Carbon Arc was very festive and the breakfast was tasty {for a buffet}. Shockingly C agreed to talk to Santa for a few minutes. He gave Santa a high five and accepted holiday stickers. I had no desire for a screaming photo with Santa holding on for dear life, so we said goodbye and kept a good 2-foot distance from the man in red.

If we have time before the holiday season is over, we are also going to try a pizza dinner at Homeslice in Lincoln Park to check out their amazing Christmas lights. Happy holidays!

Are you looking for more Chicago holiday posts? Check out:

25 Holiday Activities in Chicago

Chicago Holiday Favorites

Holiday Flower Show at Garfield Park Conservatory