Chicago Suburban January Events Worth Going Out For

Winter is here so it often can be difficult to find the inspiration to venture outside! Fortunately, I have a collection of 12 winter events in the Chicago suburbs worth going outside for!

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10 Best Illinois Travel Discoveries in 2017

2017 brought another year full of discoveries! Here is a rundown of our favorites finds in Illinois this year:

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Working with Glass at Patterson Glassworks in Mundelein, Illinois

Patterson Glassworks in Mundelein, Illinois offers hands-on experiences creating glass art. The hot glass studio offers classes, open houses and team building. Of course, the local artists create fabulous glass art as well! The studio provides the community with an incredible opportunity to understand how glass art is made not only by seeing it in action but trying it as well.

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December Degustabox Treasures

Our December Degustabox certainly did not disappoint! Each month has been full of surprises and sometimes old favorites that we savored being reacquainted with.

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Bald Eagle Days and Eagle Watching in the Quad Cities

Eagles at Centennial Bridge image by Stacey Jeffery courtesy of Visit Quad Cities

If you are looking for a winter excursion, January and February provide a prime time to look for bald eagles in the Quad Cities. The number of bald eagles seen in the Quad Cities area has been on the rise, so there definitely is a good chance you will see one!

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Free Winter Break Activities in the Chicago Suburbs

Sometimes keeping the kiddos busy over Winter Break is tough! Here are some free ideas in the Chicago suburbs to help you out:

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Holiday Lights at Lilacia Park in Lombard, Illinois

Overall the weather this December has been pretty mild considering we live in the Chicago area. However, I chose one of the coldest evenings to explore the magnificent light display at Lilacia Park in Lombard, Illinois. We did plan a bit ahead and brought some coffee and cocoa. I am glad we thought ahead because Lilacia Park is not to be missed!

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Dickens Holiday Village in Antioch, Illinois

Last weekend, we visited Antioch, Illinois to see the annual Dickens Holiday Village. The village features Charles Dickens characters throughout downtown. The figures are crafted by volunteers and add extra charm as you shop the quaint downtown.

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Discoveries in French Lick, Indiana

After visiting the French Lick Baden Museum, we spent some time exploring French Lick. While there is quite a bit of shopping available within both French Lick Springs Hotel and West Baden Springs Hotel, there are definitely are a lot of discoveries to be made within quaint French Lick.

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Traveling Through History at French Lick West Baden Museum

The French Lick West Baden Museum is a perfect place to start a trip to French Lick, Indiana. The museum does a fabulous job unfolding area history beginning with when buffalo once migrated through stopping for a lick of minerals left behind by evaporating spring water. French Lick started becoming famous for this mineral water in the 1840's when Dr. Bowles built French Lick Springs Hotel in 1845 as an escape where people could heal from the therapeutic waters. An interesting resident, Dr. Bowles was a physician and a minister, served in Mexican-American War and was a Copperhead during the Civil War. Some of the many interesting things we learned at the museum!

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French Lick Resort's 50 Days of Lights

**Disclosure: Thank you to French Lick Resort for hosting our visit. No other compensation was received. All opinions are 100% my own.

French Lick Resort in Indiana captivated us last weekend with their magical holiday season event: 50 Days of Lights. The spectacular event is full of family merriment and cherished family activities including holiday choirs, story time with Mrs. Claus and cookie making, Santa visits, holiday movies and more. Both French Lick Springs Hotel and West Baden Springs Hotel magically transform into Christmas wonderlands with incredible decorations. French Lick Resort invited us to stay at the West Baden Springs Hotel during the celebration. Immediately upon entering West Baden Springs Hotel, we were caught up in the holiday spirit:

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Rockford Eateries

During our visit to Rockford, we were able to check out a few eateries. During our visit, we enjoyed breakfast at one of our favorites -- Rockford staple Stockholm Inn!

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Midway Village Rockford's History Museum Provides Connection with the Past

During our recent visit to Rockford, we visited Midway Village Rockford's History Museum to learn a bit of the foundations that have created Rockford. The museum presented fascinating facts about Rockford and gave us more appreciation for the place we were visiting.

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Afternoon at Rock Cut State Park in Illinois

During our visit to Rockford, Illinois, we spent a couple hours of our lovely Sunday afternoon exploring Rock Cut State Park. The preserve is quite large and incorporates 40 miles of trails. So, we knew that our visit would only be a taste. We were immediately captivated by the park and I know that we will be back again. Rock Cut does include two lakes and we were able to see both. Views of the lakes were incredible.

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