We went to Chicago when the kids were little right after Christmas back in 2015 and it was actually one of our most fun vacations. Did I mention that I really love Chicago? It has such a special place in my heart. Maybe because I love Chicago style pizza. :-p Something about Chicago. I just really love big cities. They are filled with possibilities, aren’t they?
We ended up buying the CityPass because we wanted to do all the main attractions in the city. And we found a Groupon to stay at a hotel on Michigan Avenue. The hotel was the Hard Rock – which is funny since we have kids, right? Rock on!
The CityPass included entrance to many of the major attractions (Shedd Aquarium, Adler Planetarium, Field Museum, Museum of Science and Industry, and the Sears Tower). We didn’t make it to Adler’s or the Sears Tower because we ran out of time.
You might be thinking – a trip to museums with little kids? Well, this trip was mostly for the adults. We needed some time in a new city and we figured the kids were so young they probably wouldn’t remember it anyway so why not do what we want and drag them along for the ride. And seriously sometimes we were dragging them around. My husband had them riding on his shoulders. We had three piled in a single stroller all at once at times. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
We ended up forgetting my little one’s jacket and that was a bit of a fiasco because she had multiple winter coats at home so we didn’t feel like buying another one on Michigan Avenue of all places. We thought that might cost a tiny fortune. So, my middle child gave up her coat and wore my husband’s coat. That made for more hilarity.
At one point, we were walking around the city with our youngest in the stroller and she wasn’t strapped in. I hit a curb while trying to get back on the sidewalk and she plopped out onto the curb. A stranger was walking by and started laughing, then he spotted my other daughter wearing my husband’s huge coat which made her look like a floating well-dressed man ghost and he busted out laughing even further and so did we. He said, “Holy Cow! That coat will keep you warm!”. That was definitely a moment.
There’s a great transport system of buses and trains so you definitely don’t need a car – just a good phone app to help navigate you around.
Night 1: American Girl Doll Store for dinner
Our first night, we went to the American Girl doll store for dinner which I have another post about called Potty Humor. That was it’s own event. My girls used to be really into American Girl dolls until they started making their own money in the form of allowance and now they would rather get cheaper dolls and doll clothes from Target. Woohooo for learning the value of money!
Day 2: Shedd Aquarium
There was a cool show with dolphins and beluga whales. We also saw the 4D Ice Age movie that shot snot (water) at us anytime any of the characters sneezed – the girls thought that was pretty funny and disgusting. WE loved the jellies exhibit – so cool to watch the jellyfish move and such a variety. The girls got to touch starfish and there were a couple of play areas for the kids to get out their energy.
After Shedd’s, we took the bus to Navy Pier for some Chicago style hot dogs then headed over to Build-A-Bear so the girls could spend some of their Christmas money.
Day 3: Field Museum
The Field Museum had an extensive Native American exhibit which was neat b/c that is what my oldest daughter was learning about at school at the time. We got to meet Sue the T-Rex and saw a movie about her which freaked out the kids. Sue is the most complete T-Rex skeleton ever discovered. Then, we went to the Living Machines exhibit which had many examples of bio-engineering (God’s handiwork on display). After that, to the underground exhibit where they pretend to shrink you and you can act like you are on, Honey, I shrunk the kids.
Afterwards, we took the bus back to the American Girl store so the girls could shop because they didn’t have time to shop on the first night. Then, we walked to Gino’s East for some Chicago style pizza.
Day 4: Museum of Science and Industry
This museum rocked! It was definitely our favorite. It’s the largest science museum in the Western hemisphere. There were so many cool things to see and so much hands on play for the kids. It was 9 degrees outside so we were really happy to be entertained inside.
After this, we drove home. It was New Year’s Eve and we managed to catch sight of some fireworks as we were arriving home.
Some pictures around the city. Around Christmas time there were lots of lights – made it nice.
