On the Friday after Thanksgiving, the Round Lake High School Choir starts singing outside the Round Lake Beach Cultural and Civic Center at 6 p.m. About fifteen minutes later, Santa and Mrs. Claus pull up with an escort from the RLA Fire Department and the Round Lake Beach Police. Then the Civic Center doors open and everyone heads inside to say hello.
That's one host's opening night. A week later the Village of Round Lake holds its own tree lighting, and the Round Lake Area Park District puts on more events around both of them. Each group keeps its own calendar. Put them side by side, though, and you get a season that's easy to string together. Almost every holiday event is free and drop-in, the busiest stretch is three events in three days, and only one of the holiday events needs a sign-up ahead of time.
Here's how it lines up for 2026.
The combined calendar
| Date | Event | Host | Where | Cost and sign-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri., Nov. 13 | Jigsaw Jam - In Jammies | Round Lake Area Park District | Robert W. Rolek Community Center, 814 Hart Road | $25 or $30 per team, program #19232 or #19233 |
| Fri., Nov. 27 | Holiday Tree Lighting | Village of Round Lake Beach | Cultural and Civic Center, 2007 Civic Center Way | Free |
| Thu., Dec. 3 | The Great Gingerbread Build | Round Lake Area Park District | Rolek Community Center | $15 or $17 per family, registration required |
| Fri., Dec. 4 | Tree Lighting/Cookie Crawl | Village of Round Lake | See Village calendar | See Village calendar |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Santa in the Park & Puppy Grinchmas | Round Lake Area Park District | Sports Center Park | Free, no registration |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | Holiday in the Hart | Round Lake Area Park District | Rolek Community Center and Pavilion | Free, no registration |
The Park District hosts four of the six events. That makes 814 Hart Road the closest thing the area has to a holiday home base, and it's worth keeping the Park District's district calendar bookmarked through December.
Friday, Nov. 13: a warm-up at the Rolek Center
The Park District's Jigsaw Jam - In Jammies is Friday, Nov. 13, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Robert W. Rolek Community Center. Teams show up in their favorite pajamas and race to finish a 300-piece or 500-piece puzzle, and the first team in each group to finish wins a grand prize. It's open to all ages, children must be with an adult, and the fee is $25 for a team of one or two or $30 for a team of three or four, through program #19232 or #19233. It isn't a holiday event, but it's the first evening on this list, and it's at the same building where most of December happens.
Nov. 27: Round Lake Beach goes first, the day after Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving falls on Nov. 26 this year, so the Round Lake Beach Holiday Tree Lighting lands on the following night, Friday, Nov. 27. The Village describes it as free and open to the whole community. Things start at 6 p.m. at the RLB Cultural and Civic Center, 2007 Civic Center Way, with the high school choir, hot chocolate, and cookies. Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive around 6:15 p.m., and then the crowd moves inside to meet them.
The timing matters for anyone with guests in town. For a lot of visiting relatives, the Friday after Thanksgiving is the last full evening before they drive home. A free 6 p.m. event with a fixed start, a choir, and Santa arriving on schedule fits that kind of night well. The Village pays for the event through local sponsors and donors, who cover things like the hot chocolate, cookies, and candy canes.
Round Lake Beach also hosts Supper with Santa & Craft Fair at the same Civic Center. In its usual form, that's a spaghetti supper with live reindeer, visits with Santa and Mrs. Claus, elves, a children's craft table, a holiday craft fair, and Christmas music hosted by WRLR 98.3FM. Families go home with a printed photo of their kids with Santa and the reindeer. For this year's date and time, check the Civic Center's Supper with Santa page.
Dec. 3 to 5: three hosts, three days
This is the part of the season that comes from three different organizations each choosing a date on its own. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of the first week in December each have something on, and only one of the three needs any planning ahead.
Thursday, Dec. 3: The Great Gingerbread Build. From 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Rolek Community Center, families who register get a pre-packed basket with everything they need to decorate a gingerbread house. The evening also has holiday music and a hot cocoa bar. It's open to all ages, children must come with an adult, and the price is $15 or $17 per family. Only one person per household needs to register, through program #19231 on the Park District's event page. It's the one holiday event on this calendar with a sign-up and a fee, so it's the one to book now. Everything else this week you can decide on that morning.
Friday, Dec. 4: Village of Round Lake Tree Lighting/Cookie Crawl. The Village of Round Lake has its tree lighting and cookie crawl on Friday, Dec. 4. Its official calendar lists it as an all-day event. The Village calendar is where to look for the start time and stops. This is the second tree lighting of the season, a week after Round Lake Beach's, so a family can go to both without having to choose.
Saturday, Dec. 5: Santa in the Park & Puppy Grinchmas. From 10 to 11:30 a.m. at Sports Center Park, the Park District sets up photo spots with Santa, the Grinch, or both. It's free, there's no registration, and it's open to all ages, though children must be with an adult. The morning time slot fits after a Friday night out. With "Puppy" in the name, plenty of families will be thinking about bringing the dog, so check the event listing for any pet details before you load everyone into the car.
Put those three days together and a household could build a gingerbread house Thursday night, go to the Village tree lighting Friday, and take a Santa photo Saturday morning. Thursday is the only one of the three with a set fee.
Dec. 12: Holiday in the Hart is the biggest event of the season
The rest of the calendar leads up to Holiday in the Hart. It runs Saturday, Dec. 12, from 3 to 5 p.m., inside and outside the Rolek Community Center and its Pavilion at 814 Hart Road.
The Park District's list is longer than for any other event on this calendar:
- Visits with Santa
- Hot cocoa and holiday music
- Sleigh rides
- Winter-themed crafts and activities
- Sled dogs taking their handlers for a ride
- An ice sculptor carving a piece on site
It's free, with no registration, and children must be with an adult. The Park District also invites guests to bring nonperishable food to donate to the Avon Township Food Pantry. If you're doing a pantry cleanout before holiday baking, this is a good place to drop off the extras.
The 3 p.m. start means the sled dogs and ice carving happen while it's still light out, and the event wraps up around dusk. Dress for standing around outside, since a good part of the program happens there.
Between events: the parks the Park District rebuilt this year
The same Park District behind most of December spent 2026 rebuilding parks around the area. If you want somewhere to walk off the cocoa between events, some of the new work is ready to use.
- Meadowview Park. The walking trail was completely redone this fall and widened from six feet to eight. The extra two feet make a real difference when a stroller, a dog, and a second walker share the path.
- Whitewood Park. Also finished this fall, with a new playground, resurfaced walking trails, a new parking lot, and the pickleball court resurfaced with a tile system.
- Shag Bark Park. Over the summer, the old tennis area was replaced with two new tennis courts and two new pickleball courts. The basketball court was resurfaced, the playground got new safety surfacing, and new benches went in.
- Fairview Park. New accessible playground equipment and safety surfacing went in this summer.
The Park District keeps a running list on its Park & Facility Updates page, which is worth checking for what's next.
A short planning list
- Book now: The Great Gingerbread Build, Dec. 3, program #19231. It's the only holiday event here with registration and a fee.
- Sign up a team: Jigsaw Jam, Nov. 13, program #19232 or #19233.
- Bookmark: The Village of Round Lake calendar, for the Dec. 4 start time and cookie crawl stops.
- Check: The Civic Center's Supper with Santa page, for this year's date.
- Pack for Dec. 12: Warm layers and a bag of nonperishables for the Avon Township Food Pantry.
- Remember: At every Park District event on this list, children must be with an adult.
All of us at Team Pimentel live and work around Lake County, and the first week of December is on our calendars too. If you're hosting family this season and want suggestions for where to take them, or you're a neighbor who'd like to know what's going on around town, we'd love to hear from you. Maybe we'll see you at the Rolek Center on Dec. 12.
