Maple Syrup Fest at North Park Village Nature Center

An upcoming fun, free event to take your kids to is the Maple Syrup festival at North Park Village Nature Center (5801 N. Pulaski) on March 23rd and 24th from 10 AM until 3 PM.  At regular intervals a guide takes groups out into the nature preserve for a demonstration on how a tree is tapped to get the sap out and then how the sap is boiled down into maple syrup over a big fire.  It's great for showing kids where maple syrup comes from and also provides a nice scenic hike.  In addition, there are indoor events such as story telling and maple syrup for sale.

We have gone a couple of times over the past few years and how crowded this event gets really depends on the weather.  If you've never been to North Park Village it is kind of an interesting place.  Formerly a tuberculosis sanatorium, it now contains Peterson Park, Peterson Park Gymnastics Center (which offers tons of great gymnastics classes and a really good competitive gymnastics club), the Nature Center, and an assisted living facility for elderly people.  To get to the Nature Center you turn off of Pulaski into what looks like a little village with lots of numbered buildings.  After going through the first stop sign at the entrance you pass the gymnastics facility.  At the next stop sign turn left and follow the bend around to the Nature Center and parking lot.  In addition to the Maple Syrup Festival, the Nature center has great hiking trails totally appropriate for children and lots of great programs especially their summer camps, which families line up for hours before hand to register their children.

Soldier Field Egg-Stravaganza

As our daughters get older it becomes harder to find an Easter egg hunt appropriate for kids their age.  It seems as though most of the park district Easter events are targeted at younger kids.  The enormous candy hunt held every year at Soldier Field, however, is appropriate for kids of all ages. 

When you check into this event, at the entrance into Soldier Field, you are divided into groups based on your child's age and given a specific colored wrist band.  You and your child are also given another wrist band that will be checked on leaving the field after the candy grab to make sure the right parent is with the right child.  Do not lose this!  The candy grabs occur on the hour, I believe, starting at 10 AM (the stadium opens at 9 AM) with the youngest children allowed on the field first based on wrist band color.  In between, there are bounce houses, face painting, and other fun activities for the kids.

As we found out last year, this is an extremely popular event with literally thousands of families attending.  We were there plenty early but because of where we were waiting in the stands we did not get let onto the field for the first candy grab even though it was the appropriate one based on our daughters' ages.  We then had to wait through the first round and then preparation for the second one.  It was a really cold day and there was nothing to do while we waited (we didn't want to give up our position close to the entrance gate)  so the girls' mood was definitely dampened.  Then when we did get on the field we were with all older kids.  It wasn't that big of a deal for my older daughter, who was able to get plenty of candy, but my younger daughter kind of froze amidst all the running and pushing older kids and only got two or three pieces of candy before it was all gone.  Really the only reason she got what she did was because I grabbed it for her when generally I'm against parents participating.  I think if we would have been able to get onto the field in our age appropriate group, we would have had a much better experience.  Despite the craziness, however, the girls have positive memories of the event and have been asking if we will be going again.  

This year the Egg-Stravaganza is on March 23rd.  The event is free.  However, if you drive you will have to pay to park in the Soldier Field parking garage.  I wouldn't recommend a stroller because there are so many people and it is completely impractical if you are going onto the field (you enter through the stands).  Also bring a coat, hat, gloves, whatever is appropriate for the weather because you will be mostly outside.

St. Patrick's Day at the Irish American Heritage Center

Now that we have kids, our St. Patrick's Day tends to be more cutting and decorating shamrocks and less drinking green beer all day.  Last year, however, we wanted to do something to celebrate that everyone would enjoy and decided to check out the family friendly festivities at the Irish American Heritage Center located at 4626 N. Knox.  It seemed like everyone else in the City had the same idea!  The St. Patrick's Day party here is fun but also very crowded.  Parking was a bit of an adventure.  There is a lot next to the Center that you can park in but all the spots were taken when we got there.  That left parking on the street nearby.  After circling the area a few times we were able to find something that was not too far of a walk. 

Inside there were a variety of activities including music for children and adults, kids games, and of course beer.  The biggest hits for our family was a parade of bagpipers and watching the Irish dancing.  We didn't end up staying too long, however, because there were so many people that it was hard for us to get around with the kids. It's definitely a fun way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, though, despite the crowds.  Make sure you wear green because everyone else does or maybe dress your kids in a different color so you will be sure not to lose them!

This years festival will be on Saturday March 16th.  Tickets can be bought ahead of time or at the door.  The website, irish-american.org, provides a schedule of the days events.

Brunch at Bistrot Margot

We recently stopped by the Old Town restaurant Bistrot Margot (1437 N. Wells) for brunch.  When we arrived at the restaurant on a Sunday at 11:30, it was quite busy.  We had made a reservation since we had a fairly large group and it was definitely necessary.  They take reservations through Open Table so it is easy to do and with kids it is always nice to know you won't have to wait.  The brunch menu at Bistrot Margot is very good.  As the name implies, the food is French.  Everyone in our group enjoyed what they ordered.  I had the quiche of the day (sausage, mushroom, and gruyere), which came with a salad of greens.  The quiche was quite enjoyable and the dressing on the greens was very good.  Most people at our table ordered breakfast items but there are quite a few lunch type items on the menu as well.  My husband had a croque monsieur served with frites that he really enjoyed.  The food items all ranged in the $7-$14 range, which seemed completely appropriate since the food portions were large.  The kids menu included pancakes, french toast, chicken fingers, and a few other items that I can't recall.  My favorite item on the kids menu was steak frites, which is what I would love for my kids to order at a french bistro but of course they got pancakes.  The kids portion was two quite generously sized pancakes that came with whipped cream, strawberries, and blueberry sauce and one sausage.  It  was so much food that neither girl came close to finishing her meal and, had I known, I would have only ordered one serving for both of them to share.  Brunch is available on Saturdays and Sundays from 10-3. 

There were a few other kids dining while we were in the restaurant but in that neighborhood you definitely get less families out for brunch on a Sunday.  We didn't feel at all out of place with kids, however.  The hostesses were very nice giving our daughters crayons to color on the white paper on our table and they graciously found a place to store our stroller since it was raining outside. 

Parking can be difficult in this neighborhood but there is meter parking along Wells and I believe free parking along LaSalle if you can find it.  The Sedgwick stop on the Brown Line gets you pretty close to the restaurant and the Clark and Division stop on the Red Line isn't too far away if you don't mind walking a few blocks.

It was really nice to be able to take our kids out to a place that was a little more upscale than our normal brunch spots and still feel completely comfortable being there.

Sky High Sports

Now that the weather is getting cold it is good to be able to go somewhere the kids can run around and burn off some energy.  Sky High Sports, which is basically a giant warehouse full of trampolines, definitely gives your kids an outlet for all of their pent up energy.  The two local locations for this trampoline park are in Naperville and Niles.  We went to the one at 6424 Howard Street in Niles.  The facility has, I believe, four separate trampoline areas, two for kids under 7 years old and two for kids 7 years old and up.  The areas for the different ages are basically the same but the ones for the older kids are larger.  The different zones mainly consist of large trampolines for jumping, foam pits that the kids can jump into, and balls they can throw around (for the older kids I think they have organized games of dodge ball that they can play).  Also, outside of the trampoline areas, there are air hockey and pool tables.  There are a few benches located around the perimeter of the jumping zones but not a whole lot of seating for parents.  Adults can get on the trampolines with their kids but they have to pay the admission price as well. 

Located within the facility is a small eating area.  We didn't eat while we were there and the food didn't look amazing but definitely could be handy for a snack or drink break midway through jumping.  No outside food or drink is allowed inside.

The price is $11 per hour and $8 for the second hour during the week.  Kids are given a color coded wrist band so that the employees know when there time is up and when we were there they were watching very closely.  You can reserve your jumping time on the website www.jumpskyhigh.com and if you are going on the weekend, a holiday, or other busy time I would recommend doing so. 

The idea seems pretty basic, just a bunch of trampolines, but my kids really enjoyed jumping and are always asking to go back.  It's a great place to go if you are taking kids that are a wide range of ages.

 

Hilary's Cookies

As a special treat for the girls over the holidays we stopped at Hilary's Cookies, 4917 N. Lincoln, to sample some of the options available at this small store front.  The interior is very spare with just a counter with cookie jars full of different types of cookies and a couple of tables.  The cookies are available in two sizes.  The large size is so substantial that even my cookie addict daughters were unable to finish it in a single sitting.  The smaller ones are more like bite size.  When we stopped in there were approximately five or six different types of cookies available.  We tried three - chocolate chip, pumpkin, and peanut butter chocolate chip.  The girls absolutely loved them.  The cookies are super soft (and vegan if that is important to you) and my girls thought they tasted more like cookie dough, which I think is about the best compliment a cookie can receive.  The store also sells all types of coffee/tea/hot chocolate/espresso type drinks.

Hilary's Cookies is open Tuesday through Sunday and hours vary depending on the day.  Check their Facebook page for exact hours.  Parking is not super easy right in front of the store but there is plenty of parking available a couple blocks away if you don't mind walking.  The Western stop on the Brown Line is also quite close.  If getting to Hilary's is not that convenient, the cookies are also sold at Whole Foods stores within the City.     

Afternoon Tea at Celtic Knot

When I think of wonderful Christmas activities that I want to do with my daughters I always think about how perfect it would be to have afternoon tea with them.  In my mind we are in a beautiful restaurant with holiday music in the background and the girls look and act like perfect little angels.  Reality, I think would be pretty far from this picture.  At three and six I thought maybe this year they were old enough but wasn't really willing to chance it at the Drake or another downtown hotel where the price for afternoon tea can be $40 per person.  Hopefully in a few years we will be ready for that.  Instead we decided to try the afternoon tea at the Celtic Knot located at 626 Church Street in Evanston. 

Tea is offered at the Celtic Knot on Wednesdays and Saturdays between 2 and 4 PM.  The price is $16.99 for adults and $8.99 for kids.  We were offered either a common pot of tea for the table (I believe it was an blackberry flavored black tea) or a choice of individual tea bags.  We all chose our own since my husband is partial to green tea and we wanted to get something decaffeinated for the girls.  Everyone was able to find something they wanted, however, upon trying it, the girls didn't really like the tea.  Not a big surprise.  I'm not sure if the food is always the same, but we were presented with a three layer tray with sandwiches on the bottom, scones in the middle, and pastries on the top.  There are three sandwiches provided per adult and two per kid and consisted of ham, salmon and dill, and egg salad.  The scones (one per person) were a big hit at our table since they came with whipped cream and really delicious jam.  Of course everyone enjoyed the desserts (two per person), which consisted on mini tarts, chocolate caramel bites, and a raisin cake.  Service was a little slow for the girls.  They kept asking when the food was coming and were having a difficult time waiting because other families were there having lunch off the regular menu.  The pace was definitely better for a relaxing afternoon with adults instead of restless kids. 

The Celtic Knot is an Irish pub but the interior is very cozy and family friendly.   They suggest that you make reservations for tea and it probably is a good idea, however the restaurant was not busy at all when we were there at 2 on a Saturday afternoon.  We were able to find street parking nearby fairly easily and the Davis stop on the Purple line is quite close.   My girls are still maybe a little young for doing something like this since they weren't crazy about all of the food or the tea, however my husband and I enjoyed ourselves. It's definitely a great choice for a lower cost afternoon tea where you don't have to go downtown.