Holiday Fun in Chicago

Here at Madison Mom it’s pretty clear that a lot of us mama’s love the Holidays and doing special events with our family’s. These previous posts on holiday traditions and how to serve during the holiday season are so great! In my family we try with gallant effort to do a lot of those things listed in those posts (try as the operative word) along with an Advent Calendar, but one tradition we really try to make happen is taking a day trip to Chicago and visiting the Christkindlmarket in the Daly Plaza.

Christkindlmarket is an outdoor German Holiday Market Place and I can’t even stress how charming it truly is! There are loads of quaint shops and places to grab food. And I can’t even describe how delicious the roasted nuts smell, it is HEAVEN! Some of the things we always like getting while we are there is a mug of mulled wine (the mug comes with it so it’s a fun keepsake as well). I’m not one who loves the Midwest cold winters, but the warm wine, the smell of the roasted nuts, well for that day I am okay with the cold and that’s saying a lot! We also let the kids pick an ornament out. Once you visit you will see why, they have such a vast variety of ornaments and it’s fun to check them all out. And there’s plenty of German food to fill your belly.

If you have a free weekend I highly recommend you check out it! We have a 10 month old and 3 year old, and in my opinion, kind of scary ages to ride in the car. But it’s such a doable day trip! We left early in the morning so they slept most of the way. There are plenty of parking garages near the Daly Plaza, but just be aware that parking can be a bit pricey. The great thing is Christkindlmarket is free to enter!! The market place does not open until 11, but if you leave early there’s plenty to do around in the area (Millennium Park and Macy’s would be my top picks). Some venders are cash only so make sure to grab some cash beforehand, but there’s an enclosed pub Timber Haus that also has an atm inside if you are in a bind.

I love that Madison is drivable to my favorite city Chicago. Another great perk about living here! Thanks for letting me share one of our Holiday family traditions with all of you!