We've attended Village Lights multiple times and really enjoyed it each time! We really enjoy the atmosphere of the luminaries lighting up the historic area, and even just strolling around with it lit up is fun. The main action usually happens on 3rd Street, which, as a result, gets pretty busy, but several of the other nearby streets are still festive but quieter. A lot of the residents decorate their homes, and we love seeing the fun and creative displays they come up. This year, we especially enjoyed an adorable penguin dance party and another house that decorated a tiny door for their Littles - too fun! In pre-pandemic years, we've even been randomly invited into open houses by residents we've met who had fully decorated the inside too. With the warmer (comparatively speaking) weather this year, it once again had a block party type vibe as a lot of folks were out on their patios.
You can get the event map in advance from the German Village website to check out what's happening. There's usually a StriezelMarkt outside of the meeting haus, where little booths are set up as well as other activities - one year we met the Nutcracker from the ballet there, another there was a really amazing ice sculpture demonstration, and there's frequently live music in the later hours of the event. This year there were free cookies to be enjoyed.
A lot of businesses stay open late, offer special deals, and/or have special activities. This year, we especially enjoyed the make your own s'mores over firepits at RE/MAX, free cocoa at Katzinger's, free photos with Santa and an elf at Cutler Real Estate, Third Street Dental was distributing goodie bags for after all the tasty sweets (toothbrush, toothpaste, etc), and Book Loft is always a favorite stop!
There are also usually several groups caroling, a tree lot, and a lot of little pop-ups to check out - this year, we saw several bakeries, a farm selling gorgeous wreaths and greenery decor, and the pedal wagon was buzzing around. They also made fantastic use of Schiller Park this year - in the past, it's often been pretty dark and where the event kind of just stopped. This year, they lit it up (kudos for that, I'm sure it took a lot of work!), and offered story time with Santa at the amphitheater. It was very pretty to walk around and enjoy! read more