Features | Nov. 2026
A HOUSE FOR THE HOLIDAYS
By Contributor
WORDS BY ANDY VISCONI, SEWER & DRAIN SPECIALIST
Technicians restoring the original sewer of a 1920s North Shore home with trenchless lining.
At Cantigny, Christmas begins in the gardens and continues inside the McCormick House.
There’s a moment on a winter evening when even familiar places look entirely new. At Cantigny, it happens somewhere along a half-mile path through the gardens, as the lights come on, the music begins, and the 28-foot Christmas tree comes into view.
Christmas at Cantigny returns to Wheaton this season with illuminated garden paths, displays set to music, outdoor skating, and plenty of reasons to linger over a cup of cocoa. But the most distinctive part of the evening may be waiting indoors.
The former home of Colonel Robert R. McCormick is dressed for Christmas, its first floor filled with seasonal décor and hundreds of poinsettias grown in Cantigny’s own greenhouse. Visitors can wander through the historic rooms, then find their way to the hidden bar in Freedom Hall for hot cocoa or a festive cocktail. For a closer look, McCormick House Director Will Buhlig leads The Colonel’s Christmas Tour, an hour-long visit before the house opens to the evening’s guests.
Those inclined to make a night of it can reserve a table at the Noël Lounge for cocktails and holiday bites inside the house. Outside, the ice rink offers another excuse to stay, with fireside s’mores and rink-side Cocoa Cabanas for groups who prefer their winter sports with heated seating. Le Jardin serves drinks and small bites, while the Noël Shop in McCormick House offers gifts and holiday finds. Before heading home, visitors can pick up one of Cantigny’s greenhouse-grown poinsettias.
It all makes for an outing with a pleasingly flexible itinerary: take a walk beneath the lights, step inside the house, skate if the mood strikes, and leave time for one more warm drink. The holidays have a way of filling every available hour. Cantigny offers a lovely reason to slow one down.
Christmas at Cantigny is at 1S151 Winfield Road in Wheaton. Dates, admission, and reservations for special experiences are available at cantigny.org/christmas-at-cantigny.
