Fun alternatives to shopping on Black Friday in Chicago

If shopping isn’t your thing, and you avoid malls and North Michigan Avenue on Black Friday, here’s good news:  there are a lot of holiday-themed activities going on in Chicago on Friday and throughout the weekend that don’t involve shopping.  Here are several options, all of which are a lot of fun for both adults and children:

1.         19^th Annual Wreathing of the Lions at the Art Institute of Chicago and more “Home for the Holidays” activities.  Friday, November 26.  This year’s wreaths contain wishes for the world in 2011 written by Chicago-area children incorporate into each of the 2,011 clear and red plastic spheres that make up the wreaths.  Aided by solar power, the wreaths will glow at night.  The wreathing takes place at 10:30am, followed by a performance of “Favorite Things” by Hubbard Street 2 in

Griffin Court

at 11:00am.  Afterward, children can create a wreath of their own at a drop-in workshop.  The Art Institute has extended hours on Fridays until 8:00pm.    

2.         Caroling at Cloud Gate in Millennium Park.  Friday evenings, November 26 through December 17.  You can enjoy the beautiful voices of a variety of choral groups, and then join in during the sing-along.  Caroling begins this Friday with the Apollo Chorus of Chicago, followed by Chicago Children’s Choir, Old Town School of Folk Music, and Wicker Park Choral Singers on successive Fridays.  Caroling occurs from 6-6:50pm at Chase Promenade Central in front of Cloud Gate.

3.         Ice skating at Millennium Park.  Daily through March 13, 2011.  The ice rink will be open from noon until 10:00 pm on Friday, 10:00am-10:00pm on Saturday, and 10:00am-9:00pm on Sunday.  The rink is also open Thanksgiving Day from 10:00am-4:00pm.  Free admission; $10 skate rental.

3.         The Field Museum has extended hours on Friday and Saturday, November 26-27.  Open 9am-6pm (last admission 5pm). 

4.         Christkindlmarket.  Wednesday, November 24 – December 24.  O.K., this one does include shopping, but it’s more fun than shopping in a mall.  This German open-air Christmas market is based on one in Nuremberg, Germany.  Here you’ll find beautiful, handcrafted Christmas ornaments and other items made by German artisans as well as authentic German food.  Most of the companies represented and the people working at the market are from Germany, and their products are authentically German.  Christkindlmarket is at Daley Plaza (between Washington/Randolph and Dearborn/Clark).

5.         Zoo Lights at Lincoln Park Zoo.  Friday, November 26 – 28, December 3-5, 10-12, then open nightly Dec. 17-Jan. 2 (closed Dec. 24-25), 5-9pm.  The night sky is lights up with tens of thousands of colorful lights at Lincoln Park Zoo for this annual event.  See amazing ice sculptures (which you can also watch in-progress), and visit the animals after dark.

6.                  It’s a Wonderful Life: the radio play at American Theater Co.  Friday, November 26 – December 26.  American Theater Co. performs this classic story as a “live” radio show, complete with audiograms and commercial breaks to replicate the live radio shows of the 1940s.  It’s an unusual and entertaining way to revisit this familiar story.

7.         Wonderland Express at Chicago Botanic Garden.  Friday, November 26 – January 2.  Outside, 750,000 lights sparkle in the Garden.  Inside the Regenstein Center, a 10,000-square-foot exhibition of miniature trains winds over bridges, under trestles, past waterfalls, and through more than 80 mini-replicas of Chicago's favorite landmarks.

8.         Chicago Park District ice skating rinks open on Friday, November 26 (including Bicentennial Park downtown).  Free admission; $5 skates ($6 at Bicentennial Park).