In the mood to kick off the holiday season?

There are plenty of Villages sponsoring tree lighting ceremonies this weekend. I am heading to the one in Libertyville tonight. Here is a link with a list of local festivities...

Tis the season for tree lightings!

Although the outside temperatures more closely resemble Chicago in January, Thanksgiving is really less than a week away.  The arrival of Thanksgiving brings a ton of crazy shoppers, but more importantly, it traditionally marks the start of the holiday season.  Lake County is home to fabulous communities - to Villages and Cities who make a remarkable effort to provide an abundance of fabulously fun events for residents.  Many of the communities structure several hours of activities around their tree lighting ceremonies, with quite a few including parades, Santa's arrival, and performances by student bands and choirs.  And, these events help stretch your holiday budget farther - they are all FREE!

Lake County Community Lighting Festivals begin this weekend, and continue on into December. Here are some dates to mark on your calendar (for more details, visit the Lake County blog by clicking here):

November 22
Highland Park 3-5

November 28
Antioch 6-8
Fox Lake 6:30
Grayslake 5:30-8
Lake Forest 3:30-7
Libertyville 7
Round Lake Beach 6

November 29
Fox Lake Parade 11am
Lake Villa 5-7
Lake Zurich 4-6
Vernon Hills 4:30

December 5
Hawthorn Woods 6
Mundelein 6:30-8
Wauconda 6

December 6
Barrington 1-6:30
Island Lake 6
Lindenhurst 4:30-6
Round Lake 2-6
Waukegan 10-6
Winthrop Harbor 4:30

December 7
Lincolnshire 5:30-6:30