Celebrate the holidays with the Lincoln Presidential Library
Music, decorations, family fun, children’s activities
 

[December 10, 2019]    SPRINGFIELD – The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum invites everyone to join us in celebrating the holidays with children’s activities, music, decorations and a chance to help the needy.

The season gets underway in earnest on the day after Thanksgiving with Fun Frosty Friday, our family-friendly alternative to Black Friday shopping.

From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. we’ll offer an amazing array of activities for children: sending a coded message to Santa, creating thumbprint art, exploring a life-sized Candy Land Adventure and enjoying balloon animals and face-painting. They’ll also get to meet Santa, the Grinch and an ice princess.

This free event takes place in the ALPLM’s library building, 112 N. Sixth Street, Springfield.

We’ll also offer pop-up craft tables in the museum throughout December. On any given day, kids could get the chance to make a yarn snowflake, decorate a postcard to Santa or learn how to make a paper ornament known as a Froebel star.

Christmas music will fill the museum plaza several times during December – most notably on Dec. 14 with “Tuba Christmas.” From 1-2 p.m., dozens of musicians will gather to share the jolly sound of tubas and sousaphones as part of a nationwide event.

Other musical events include:

Dec. 7:
Bluegrass duo Last Acre,
11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Dec. 13:
Last Acre,
11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Dec. 21:
singers Diane Dietz and Becky Kemp, 10:30-11 a.m.

folk artist Ben Bedford,
1-2:30 p.m.

Dec. 31:
dulcimer virtuoso Mike Anderson,
11 a.m.-2 p.m.

Museum guests will get to interact with historic interpreters portraying figures like Abraham and Mary Lincoln on several occasions. And Civil War Santa (portrayed by Lee Shafer) will visit the museum on Dec. 27 and 28.

The ALPLM volunteers always do a wonderful job of decorating our huge Christmas tree in the museum plaza, and this year our lighting team has added some high-tech twists that make the tree even more impressive. The public is welcome to take family pictures with the decorations. We will admit people free of charge from 4-5 p.m. now through the end of the year for brief photo sessions.

Another Christmas tree gives visitors a chance to help the needy. The museum’s entryway features an “angel tree” decorated with tags representing local children and their needs – from clothing and shoes to toys. Anyone can stop by, pluck a tag off the tree, buy items for that child and then return the unwrapped gifts to the museum. The Salvation Army will distribute them to local children.

Finally, folks can shop at the museum store, which offers holiday gifts from Lincoln socks to plush toys to fascinating books. Gift certificates and memberships in the presidential library’s foundation are also great options. And the store carries the official city of Springfield Christmas ornament, which depicts the front of the museum and the giant Lincoln sculpture “Return Visit” by Seward Johnson.

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum uses a combination of rigorous scholarship and high-tech showmanship to immerse visitors in Lincoln’s life and times. The library holds an unparalleled collection of Lincoln books, documents, photographs, artifacts and art, as well as some 12 million items pertaining to all aspects of Illinois history.

For more information, visit www.PresidentLincoln.illinois.gov. 

[Christopher Wills]