My husband and I spent a week in the Chicago area last week, visiting our daughter and son-in-law in their new (to them) home for the Thanksgiving holiday. It was a pleasant blend of visiting a few local attractions; days spent helping “the kids” with projects around their house and yard; and evenings chatting over jigsaw puzzles, wine and homecooked meals.

Sarah and Dan’s home is just a few miles from the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, acres of woodlands and gardens we have visited before. The day was wet and windy when we stopped in this time, but we still enjoyed a leisurely drive over the roads, admiring the shape and structure of the bare limbs of hardwoods and the deep green of pines and firs. I also managed to get a little Christmas shopping done in the arboretum’s gift shop — so many lovely things!

The Sunday after Thanksgiving found us headed into Chicago for a really special treat: a performance of Charles Dickens‘ A Christmas Carolat the Goodman Theatre (playing through Dec. 31). The Goodman has been producing this classic seasonal story for over 30 years, and I’ve always wanted to see a performance at this outstanding venue. We took in a matinee, and, not surprisingly, there were quite a few children in attendance. The play runs just over two hours (including one intermission), but the sets, performances, staging and musical numbers kept everyone rapt and quiet. I’ve seen several productions of A Christmas Carol and can easily state this was the best I’ve seen so far. The special effects were expertly done, and the performances spun one from laughter to fear to tears within moments. (I noted how a little boy of about seven seated in front of us crawled into his dad’s lap when the tall, dark, silent Spirit of Christmas Yet to Come appeared.)

After the play, I really wanted to visit Chicago’s Christkindlmarket at the Daley Plaza (free daily through Dec. 24), just a few blocks down the street from the Goodman. Alas, the rest of my party was cold, tired and hungry and dragged me away. I was left gazing longingly out the car window as we passed the brightly lit booths; definitely something to look forward to on my next visit to Chicago in December!

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor