In Morton Grove, the Holiday Dates to Circle Fall Before the Tree Lighting

Morton Grove's first holiday deadline is November 24, a week and a half before the tree lighting at Harrer Park. The tree lighting is about three weeks away, and nobody needs to register for it. The November date is on the essay contest form.

The village's December has a clear pattern. The opening weekend, Friday, December 4 and Saturday, December 5, is free and needs no sign-up. Most of what follows has a fee, a registration code and a cutoff date. Two of those events are open only to Morton Grove residents. Planning the season mostly means knowing which part of the month you're in.

The November Dates Come First

The Morton Grove Public Library starts the season with two hands-on "Make it with MGPL" programs, both on the library's monthly events calendar:

• Paper Snowflake with Cricut, Wednesday, November 18, with two sessions: 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. and 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.
• Creative Gift Wrapping, Sunday, November 22, from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m.

The evening snowflake session is the only weeknight option of the three, which makes it the easy one for families with daytime commitments.

Two days after the gift-wrapping session comes the date that ties November to the big weekend. Entries for the Light Up the Park Essay Contest are due Tuesday, November 24. Any student who attends a school in Morton Grove, or who is homeschooled, can enter. The Park District announces and presents the winners during the official tree lighting ceremony at Harrer Park. So a student who submits by the 24th has a reason to be standing near the gazebo on December 4.

Friday at Harrer Park, Saturday Along the Parade Route

The free weekend is spread over two days and two parks on Dempster Street.

The Morton Grove Park District's Light Up the Park listing describes a two-hour evening with tractor rides, family photo opportunities and a performance by the Morton Grove Singers. It builds to the essay contest presentation and the park lighting at 6:30 p.m. So 6:30 is the time to plan around if you're only coming for the lights. Arriving at 5:00 gets you the tractor rides and the singers before the crowd gathers at the gazebo.

The Park District gives a weather contingency too. If Friday's weather is inclement, the tree lighting ceremony moves to Saturday, December 5. That Saturday is already the parade and Santa day. A rainy or icy Friday would put the village's three biggest holiday moments on one date, along the same stretch of Dempster Street. Families who are counting on the Friday lighting should check the Park District site that week before deciding which day to hold open.

How Santa's Saturday Works

The Village of Morton Grove's Santa Comes to Town page describes a moving parade rather than one that stays in place. Santa leaves Greenwood and Waukegan at 11:00 a.m. and works his way through town, reaching Main Street and Austin Avenue between 1:15 and 1:30 p.m. The Village runs a Santa Tracker on Glympse so families can follow his location live. It doesn't require a registration or a download.

Specially marked candy handed out along the route is what links the parade to the afternoon. Each piece carries a "preferred redemption time," and kids redeem it for a prize at Prairie View Community Center. Families who want to meet Santa go to the gymnasium first. Children holding marked candy are then sent on to the prize redemption room. Families who only want to redeem candy can skip the Santa line and go straight to the gift redemption area. Every visiting child gets a coloring book and crayons from Santa, one bag per child, and kids can hand a letter to Santa or Mrs. Claus when they go up.

The Village gives the Santa visit and prize redemption as 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. The Park District's listing shows 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. in the Prairie View Community Gym. Arriving closer to 1:00 than to 3:00 works with either schedule. The redemption time printed on your child's candy is the most specific guide.

The weekend is a joint effort. The Park District credits the Morton Grove Days Commission, the Park District and the Village of Morton Grove as presenters. The Morton Grove Days Commission's history page traces the group's roots back "well more than 70 years." It restarted as the Morton Grove Days Commission in 1987, with Santa Comes to Town among its sponsored events, and became an independent 501(c)(3) in 2012.

Prairie View is also where the Park District's bid for Prairie View Park Enhancements was opened in October. The listed work is outdoors: paving, playground equipment, fencing, a shelter, infield mix and landscaping. Every December event at Prairie View is listed for the community center or its gym.

After the Weekend, the Calendar Asks for a Sign-Up

Once Santa leaves Prairie View, the Park District's December calendar changes. Every remaining event has a fee and a registration code, and the last two are for Morton Grove residents only. Here they are in order:

1. Wednesday, December 9: Brunch with the Grinch registration closes. The brunch itself is ten days later, and this cutoff comes before anything else on the second half of the calendar.
2. Saturday, December 12: Gingerbread House Workshop, 2:30 to 3:45 p.m. at Prairie View Community Center. The fee is listed as $24/$30 per family and covers one gingerbread house kit plus supplies. Refreshments are served, children must come with an adult, and families should bring a box to carry the finished house home. Registration code 460106-01, all ages.
3. Saturday, December 19: Brunch with the Grinch, 10:30 a.m. to noon at Prairie View Community Center. The Park District calls it a breakfast experience built around the Grinch tale. The fee is $20 per person, children 3 and under are free, and it's for Morton Grove residents only. Registration code 160117-01.
4. Thursday, December 31: Happy Noon Year, 10:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. in the Prairie View Community Gym. Kids ages 3 to 10 celebrate the new year at noon with music, entertainment, a balloon drop and morning refreshments. Each participant gets a party hat and noisemaker. The fee is $12, parents and children 2 and under are free, and parents must stay for the whole event. The Park District says the event is limited to Morton Grove residents "due to popularity." Registration code 120130-01.

The fees differ in a way that affects planning. The gingerbread workshop is priced per family, so one kit covers a household. The brunch is priced per person, so a family of four with one child over 3 pays for four seats. Happy Noon Year charges only for the children, since parents get in free.

The order of dates matters too. A family that waits until after the December 5 parade to plan the rest of the month has four days left before the brunch cutoff. A student essay has to be in before the free weekend starts. And the events that need the most notice, the brunch and Happy Noon Year, are the two open only to residents, so their places go to Morton Grove households.

Victoria Stein follows Morton Grove's calendar, from the Harrer Park gazebo to the Prairie View gym, as closely as its home sales. If you'd like to know where your home on these Dempster Street blocks stands before the new year, Victoria Stein can prepare a clear, local estimate. Request a Home Valuation.