Christmas Walk & House Tour in Geneva this week

The Christmas Walk & House Tour in Geneva, Illinois this weekend is a fun way to get into the holiday spirit and check some gift shopping off your list at the same time.

The Christmas Walk officially begins at the Courthouse on Third Street this Friday, December 3 at 6:00 pm when Santa Lucia, the Swedish symbol of the season, and her attendants arrive by horse-drawn carriage to offer Swedish cookies to visitors.  Then Santa makes his appearance, lights the Great Tree on the Courthouse lawn, and officially opens his Gingerbread House at 6:30 pm (open un 9:30pm).  Plan to arrive early, because for about ½ hour prior to the official start, carolers or trumpeters perform from the second floor balcony of the building across the street from the Courthouse on Third Street.
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Stores and restaurants stay open late on Friday for an evening of holiday shopping and dining.  Outside on Third Street, visitors can enjoy chestnuts roasting on an open fire (it’s not just a line from a song), strolling carolers, freshly-made candy canes, marshmallow toasting, hot cider, and hot chocolate (with or without schnapps).  There’s also a live nativity at Geneva Lutheran Church on Third Street.

If you have Friday afternoon free and prefer to bypass the shopping crowds, go in the afternoon to do your Christmas shopping, then enjoy a leisurely dinner in one of the restaurants while the crowds fill the stores after the tree lighting ceremony.  If you’re interested in the House Tour, the pace for the tour and tea is also more relaxed on Friday afternoon.

Some recommendations:

For shopping:  Cocoon and Persimmon Tree

For dining:  Gratto Italian Tapas (make reservations, or you’ll have a long wait in the evening)

The House Tour & Tea takes place on Friday, December 3 from 11:00 am to 8:00 pm and Saturday, December 4 from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm.  Five homes decorated for the holidays open their doors to visitors for self-guided tours.  Included in the tour is a traditional tea (with cookies) at the Congregational Church in Geneva and a keepsake booklet filled with decorating and entertaining ideas.

House Tour tickets are $28 per person ($30 if purchased on the day of the tour).  Click here for locations to buy tickets.

If you want to have a supply of homemade Christmas cookies on hand without having to actually make them, head over to the Unitarian Universalist Church at Second and James Streets from 4:30-6:30pm on Friday where, for $13, you can get an empty pastry box and fill it with a wide assortment of homemade cookies.

For those who have enjoyed the Christmas Walk for years and missed the Kris Kringle Haus that closed a few years ago, good news:  The store has reopened in Orland Park on a seasonal basis with the same owners who ran the store in Geneva for 16 years.  It is now open at 15210 LaGrange Road (in Ravinia Plaza) until January 11.