OH YES WE DID These barrettes were the perfect accessory for girls to wear to Obama’s rally in Grant Park on election night.
As we, like so many other families, watched our nest eggs all but evaporate this year, we had to get creative in our quest to keep everyone entertained. Luckily, 2008 brought some fresh fun to Chicago that was easy on the wallet. Here are our ten favorite budget-conscious picks of the year.
1. The City of Chicago Office of Tourism introduced a free, downloadable audio tour exclusively for kids that’s just as good when listened to on the living-room sofa as it is hoofing it among the tour’s sites.
2. Victory Gardens Theater expanded its Family Saturday program, offering it once during the run of each of its productions at the Biograph Theater (2433 N Lincoln Ave at Fullerton Pkwy, 773-871-3000). For just $5 each (which is what baby-sitters charged in, like, 1990), kids ages 4 and up can hang out in the upstairs rehearsal room playing theater games and making crafts (often relating in age-appropriate ways to the adult performances) with the education staff while grown-ups catch the show.
3. In the fall, Chicago Architecture Foundation launched the free CAFamily Studio Sunday program—held on the third Sunday of each month to give families a chance to explore real and pretend skylines together. The events include docent-led walking tours and hands-on projects at CAF’s Santa Fe building headquarters (224 S Michigan Ave, 312-922-3432).
4. These adorable barrettes (pictured) from oneplaidaunt were a kitschy-cute way for politically minded little girls to show support for our hometown candidate during what felt like the longest campaign season in history. $10 at etsy.com.
5. The fab, new Gray Children’s Center at the Spertus Museum (610 S Michigan Ave at Harrison St, 312-322-1700) opened in October, giving kids a look at Jewish culture in a universally appealing format. Little visitors climb through tunnels to reach the center of a doughnut-shaped aquarium to watch fish and listen to stories based on water-themed Jewish folktales. Other areas explore tales about how God created the alphabet and let kids experiment with letters in an art studio and at permanent multimedia installations. $7, seniors and students $5, kids under 5 free. (Free for everyone on Tuesdays from 10am–noon and Thursdays from 2–6pm.)
6. Millennium Park’s Family Fun Fest gave us 90 consecutive days of always-changing, always-above-par gratis entertainment this summer, from reading circles and Wiggleworms shows to museum-sponsored crafts and a grand finale Ralph’s World concert.
7. Frasca Pizzeria and Wine Bar (3358 N Paulina St at Roscoe St, 773-248-5222) and Dunlays on the Square (3137 W Logan Blvd at Albany Ave; 773-227-2400) began to offer daily kids-eat-free deals from 4:30–6pm for the 10-and-under set, meaning we can eat well, stay on our budget and come home to a clean kitchen.
8. Wee Hairy Beasties, the kiddie-band alt-ego of some of our favorite local musicians—Kelly Hogan, Sally Timms and Jon Langford—released Holidays Gone Crazy ($11.65), a collection of new songs and classics that allowed us to listen to kid-friendly Christmas music without tearing our hair out.
9. Of all the family runs around town during warmer weather months, our favorite was Fleet Feet’s Pumpkins in the Park 5K, held at the end of October. For a $10 registration fee, kids ran “Spooky Sprint” dashes in official race bibs , received cool medals and snazzy tees, and marched in a Halloween costume parade. Parents got to drink beer and listen to live music after their run, and it all happened in the leafy fall prettiness of Lincoln Park.
10. Hands down, the best free family entertainment of 2008 was election night in Grant Park. Parents all over town hemmed and hawed about whether it was a good idea to take kids to President-elect Obama’s acceptance speech, but the one-love, feel-good vibe (not to mention the wonderful weather) made for a perfect memory-making evening for an all-ages crowd.