Schaumburg celebrates Christmas, 1880s-style
Families took advantage of a warm start to December with horse-drawn wagon rides and more activities Sunday during Christmas in the Valley at the Merkle Cabin and Volkening Heritage Farm in Schaumburg.
The Schaumburg Park District event offered visitors a chance to experience the holidays as they were celebrated in the late 1800s, before the modern-day hustle and bustle.
"We have everything up here from what it was like to live in the 1880s during Christmastime, all the way to the cabin where they have Father Christmas visiting," said Patricia Kennedy, program coordinator for the farm.
More than 1,000 people came out to decorate cookies, make wooden ornaments, play with historic 1880s-style toys and visit with Father Christmas.
"This is a nice family activity on a nice day. Our kid loved it," Krystle Ansay of Hoffman Estates said as she watched her 6-year-old daughter, Serenity, play, "It was very cute seeing her with Father Christmas. She was very excited."