Weekend Windup {Family Fun in the Chicago Suburbs October 27-29, 2023}

 

Halloween Family Fun in the Chicago Suburbs October 27-29, 2023

What could be better than a fall AND Halloween weekend??? There is plenty of family fun in the Chicago suburbs. These are my picks:

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Weekend Windup {Family Fun in the Chicago Suburbs October 19-22, 2023}

 

Family Fun in the Chicago Suburbs October 19-22, 2023

Another spooky fall weekend is here! Here are my picks for family fun in the Chicago suburbs this weekend:

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Wednesday Weekend Windup: {Halloween Fun, Glass Pumpkins, Frankenfest and More}

A spooky weekend is ahead! Here are my picks for Halloween family fun in the Chicago suburbs this weekend. Please be sure to get in your pumpkin and corn maze fun in as well!

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Night of 1,000 Jack-O'-Lanterns Recap {Chicago Botanic Gardens}

Last night we walked an eerie and creepy trail at the Chicago Botanic Gardens surrounded by the glow of 1,000 Jack-O'-Lanterns! The adventure was a truly fantastic way to spend a fall night!

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Halloween Decoration Contest Carol Stream, Illinois

Last night we enjoyed spooky fun by checking out chilling scenes created by Carol Stream, Illinois residents for this year's Halloween Decoration Contest! There are still a couple of more nights to check out the homes. Take a peek at our frightening discoveries if you dare!

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A Bootiful Time at Boo! At The Zoo at Brookfield Zoo!

Yesterday, we enjoyed Halloween spirit at Boo! At The Zoo at Brookfield Zoo. The spooktacularly festive event is sponsored by Ferrara Candy, so you know there are plenty of opportunities to satiate your sweet tooth. However, the event is more than an opportunity to trick-or-treat. I mean, how often are you able to get views like this while having fun in your costume:

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Halloween House in Arlington Heights, Illinois

The last few years we have enjoyed visiting a local home that really gets into the Halloween spirit here in Arlington Heights. The family assembles a number of Halloween scenes and has a walk through path beckoning visitors through the graveyard. Each year we find old favorites and new assemblages.

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11 Tips for Celebrating Halloween on the Road

My daughter always gives us a hard time when we are on the road during a holiday. Sometimes, though, you cannot avoid it. Sometimes it is part of the adventure! I always try to bring the holiday with us, so that we still get to celebrate. Here are a few tips to help you if you are celebrating Halloween on the road:

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Halloween the Made in USA Way at Norton's U.S.A!

Every year, Norton's U.S.A. has an incredible selection of made in U.S.A. items for Halloween and this year is no exception! Items range from an adorable Halloween village to spooky changing portraits to cute paper plates and napkins to spooky and sweet ponchos to nostalgic cutouts to creepy ornaments for your Halloween tree to frightful Halloween cards and much, much more!

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Brookfield Zoo's Boo! at the Zoo for Special Halloween Fun

The last two weekends of October feature Brookfield Zoo's Boo! at the Zoo event sponsored by Ferrara Candy Company and Meijer. The festive family event combines a fun outing visiting the animals at the zoo with a special Halloween celebration. For two weekends this October, children will delight in visiting their favorite animals while trick-or-treating in costume. Talk about heaven!

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Amazing Arlington Heights, IL Halloween Display

In Arlington Heights, we are lucky to have a pretty elaborate and cool Halloween display on the 600 block of North Drury Lane. If you visit, you will truly appreciate the ability to walk through the display and admire all of the spooky surprises! Light and motion really enhance the experience.

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Fall Family Mini Sessions and FREE Halloween Photo Event with Just Peachy Photography!

**Disclosure: No compensation was received for this post. All opinions are 100% my own.

Fall has begun and it is time to take advantage of fall light and scenery! Why not use the beauty of the season as a backdrop for some lovely family photos? Local photographer, Erika Williams of Just Peachy Photography will be having Fall Family Mini Sessions on October 18. She only has a few sessions left for that date so hurry! She also has an October 10th date that is already full but you can get on a cancellation list in case there is an opening. Erika has a way of capturing children as they really are. She chooses comfortable settings that allow kids to be themselves resulting in great pictures! Here are some more details:

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Happy Halloween!!!!

Image via myhoneysplace.com

Have a Happy and Safe Halloween!!!!

(Oh, and stay warm Chicago!!!!)

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Halloween and Thanksgiving Family Fun at Pinstripes

**Disclosure: No compensation was received for this post. All opinions are 100% my own.

I really love Pinstripes for families because it serves up plenty of fun for the kiddos but has an atmosphere and food that parents will love. It is not often that you get the best of both worlds. I mean, a clean bowling alley where parents can sip wine from a large selection--perfect! Besides bowling, Pinstripes has bocce, so plenty of opportunity for families to bond while engaging in friendly competition!

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Taking it Easy in New Orleans

Last week, we hit the road heading for some warmer weather {thank goodness} and a little time to relax and take in some new scenery. We found New Orleans to be the perfect city for a little rejuvenation after surviving the first few months of school. Staring down a Chicago winter, we truly appreciated the ability to walk around this vibrant city in short sleeves. I will be writing a little more about New Orleans and Louisiana over the next couple of weeks. However, I wanted to give you a little snapshot of our discoveries.

We did not have a huge agenda for this trip. Our main goal was to walk around the French Quarter and just soak in the ambiance. Living life a bit unscripted is such a release. New Orleans truly invites exploration, so you can really enjoy weaving around the French Quarter without a true agenda.

Our New Orleans journey began at Hotel Bienville, on the outskirts of the Quarter. The entrance welcomes you with the magic that is New Orleans!

Halloween is such a day full of magic, whimsy and mystery. So, how fitting that we celebrated in New Orleans! Walking along the streets admiring the decorated balconies is an experience we will not forget. {Unfortunately, my pictures do not give these creations justice!}

 

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Getting Funky for Halloween at Paper Crown Gallery with Yapa Events

Halloween is the perfect time to get a little funky and do something outside of the box! Picture your favorite little ghosts, monsters, witches and goblins doing the Monster Mash surrounded by vibrant pieces of street art. Last weekend, we attended a spirited Halloween party at Paper Crown Gallery in Arlington Heights. The party was full of costumed guests getting into the atmosphere of the venue through art of their own. Fun games and Halloween themed music helped round out a "spirited" Halloween party.

We had a wonderful time at Halloween in the Gallery and wanted to give you a little peek:

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Halloween Bingo {Easy to Make}

My daughter loves scavenger hunts and I-Spy. When I can, I love to give her little games to make holidays, events or trips more special. Cooking up a special Bingo is one of my favorite things to do because it is easy and always puts a smile on my daughter's face. All you have to do to whip one of these up is to compile a bunch of images for the hunt, make a Bingo card and supply a sheet of festive stickers for your child to mark his or her discoveries. Then, have a little treat at the end and your child will be thrilled! Kids can work on Bingo while trick-or-treating or during a Halloween event. You can even make a card for a fall walk in October but not necessarily on Halloween.

Below, you can see a card that I made. I arranged my pictures in Paint. Pretty simple! I chose a mix of easy to find objects as well as more challenging items. {The claw, magic ball and bubbles may be a little more difficult.} The beauty of making your own game is that you can really personalize it and add your own flare, family jokes and challenges. Sometimes, the simplest of things put the biggest smile on a child's face!

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Make Your Own Mask for a Masquerade

My daughter is dressing up as Marie Antoinette for Halloween this year. She spied a beautiful gold mask at a store that I shall not name for $40. She was pretty insistent that she needed the mask for her costume. The mask was on sale for $20 so I considered it for a moment. However, I had already purchased her the ever-so-famous bouffant wig. So, I thought maybe we could do better than $20. I decided to make her one on my own and was able to do so for $6. Not bad!

This craft is so easy that I will be doing it in the future, no doubt!

What you need:

satin mask
gold acrylic paint
assortment of feathers
glue gun
paintbrush

Crafting:

First, I painted the mask gold. It took about three good coats to get the gold color even. Make sure the paint dries between coats. You may want to view the mask under a couple different lights to check for evenness. Once the mask is dry, heat up the glue gun. Then, glue the feathers in desired assemblage. Easy!

Options:

To make your mask different, you can add other adornments like flowers or jewels. Also, you can use a dowel rod to make the mask handheld.  

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Melted Crayon Halloween Vase

Like most of you, we have brightly colored mounds of crayon pieces. I hate to waste, so I am always trying to think of a new way to use them. This week, I melted some to make a vase using a glass jar. Since Halloween is around the corner, I used greys, whites and blacks for my vase.
 

To start the project, I had my daughter sort threw her crayons and pick out her white, black and grey remnants. I then broke them up and placed them in oven-safe glass bowls. Next, I preheated the oven to 350 and placed the bowls on a baking sheet covered with foil.

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Happy Halloween!--and an Attempt to Make Lunch Festive

My daughter is coming home for lunch to change into her costume before her Halloween parade and party. We are going to be nutty here for a little bit because we need to eat lunch and get her ready in less than an hour. Here is my attempt to add a little more Halloween in her day while preparing her lunch before she arrives. Some nutrition (kiwi, raisins, and apple), some noodles, and a little chocolate. Hope she is surprised!

Happy Halloween!

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