:quality(70):focal(168x1101:178x1111)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/shawmedia/EBWIM5EXJFHPTDGC2YD2MSYSN4.png)
1. The last chance to see Santa in downtown Crystal Lake and Woodstock is Friday.
The Santa House, located at Brink Street Market at the corner of North Williams and Brink streets in Crystal Lake, will be open 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday.
Visits are free but families should bring their own cameras.
For information, go to downtowncl.org/events/santa-house-visits/.
The Rotary Club of Woodstock’s Christmas Hut also wraps up this week. Santa will be available for visitors 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday.
Advance reservation is required and can be made at bit.ly/WoodstockSanta2022. Only a few slots remain.
There is no charge to visit Santa, but donations are appreciated.
2. The Magical Christmas Drive-Thru Experience will light up Santa’s Village, 601 Dundee Ave. in East Dundee, through Dec. 30.
The drive-thru show – with more than 3 million lights synchronized to holiday music – runs 5 to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 5 to 9 p.m. Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursday, except for Christmas Eve and Christmas.
New this year is a 300-foot tube slide, entertainment, hot chocolate, concessions and photo ops at the end of the drive.
Tickets must be reserved online and will not be available at the gate.
The cost is $35 a vehicle and $25 a vehicle for existing season pass holders.
For information, call 847-426-6751 or go to santasvillagedundee.com.
3. The annual Clickmas in Crystal Lake Holiday Display and Food Drive continues through the holiday until Jan. 1.
The display – put on by the couple behind the Fisher Outreach Group and its adopt-a-grand parent program – is viewable 5:30 to 11 p.m. each evening at 401 W. Woodstock St.
The event also collects food for Family Health Partnership Clinic of Crystal Lake, which provides health care to the un- and under-insured.
4. For those looking to celebrate a traditional “Jewish Christmas” in Crystal Lake, the McHenry County Jewish Congregation welcomes anyone from the community to join them Sunday evening at Tasty Bistro.
The dinner will begin at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, Christmas Day, which also marks the seventh day of Hanukkah this year. A Hanukkah event scheduled for Friday was canceled because of inclement weather.
All are welcome, but the McHenry County Jewish Congregation recommends reaching out to Linda Trachsler beforehand so they can make reservations.
Those interested can contact Trachsler at krash0456@yahoo.com or 815-353-5993 or go to www.mcjconline.org/events/mcjc-chinese-dinner.
5. Nothing says Christmas, sometimes, like a blockbuster movie and a box of popcorn.
Movies opening this week included “Puss In Boots: The Last Wish” on Wednesday, as well as “Women Talking,” “Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” “Babylon” and “Living” on Friday.
Of those new releases, AMC Lake In The Hills 12, at 311 N. Randall Road, will have “Puss In Boots: The Last Wish,” “Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody” and “Babylon” showing on its screens.
Regal Crystal Lake Showplace, 5000 Route 14, will have “Babylon” and the “Whitney Houston” and “Puss In Boots” movies, as well as “Cirkus,” a Hindi language film about a doctor, working on a theory based on nature versus nurture, separates two sets of identical twins he finds at the doorstep of the orphanage.
Classic Cinemas Woodstock Theatre, 209 Main St., also will have “Babylon” and the “Whitney Houston” and “Puss In Boots” movies.
The theaters also are offering other shows, including “Avatar: The Way of Water,” “Strange World” and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”
Would you like your event featured in this weekly feature? The first step is submitting your events to the Northwest Herald’s community calendar at shawlocal.com/northwest-herald/local-events/ where they are then considered for inclusion in this feature.