Holidays In Tinley: What The Village Did, What's Still Going On

TINLEY PARK, IL — As December comes to an end and the holiday season unwinds, Tinley Park seasonal festivities looked a bit different this year. While the coronavirus effected the lives of many this holiday season, the village attempted to hold its annual events in a social distanced fashion, as well as created new ones that could help create positive memories for residents.

"Bring in the holiday spirit by visiting nearly 40 homes that entered into the Village's Holiday House Decorating Contest," the village said, announcing its first ever Holiday House Decorating contest.

Tinley made an interactive map with addresses and lists of winners for residents to navigate through. Winning categories include best animation, best overall theme and best use of music. The village also listed six honorable mentions.

Here are the winners by category:

• Best Animations: 16423 Parliament Ave.
• Best Overall Theme: 7805 Nottingham Drive
• Best Use of Music: 18033 Bettenhausen Drive

The village shared a video highlighting the three winners, the video can be seen below.

Honorable mentions include:

• 17049 Ozark Avenue
• 17321 Avon Lane
• 18300 Cottonwood Drive
• 6240 167th Street
• 7414 161st Street
• 7414 162nd Place

Despite restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic this holiday season, the village managed to pull off a few other interactive holiday activities.

An Evening with Santa Claus

On Dec. 17, Santa Claus took over the village's Facebook page, opening letters children sent to him and reading holiday stories. Santa's livestream can be seen here.

Kindness at Christmas Charity Drives

The Village partnered with local nonprofit organizations for multiple Kindness at Christmas charity drives. There were multiple visitors from the North Pole each night an event was held for families to take pictures. The charity drives held included:

• Dec. 13: Supply drive to benefit the Crisis Center for South Suburbia
• Dec. 15: Food drive to benefit the Tinley Park Food Pantry
• Dec. 17: Supply drive to benefit P.A.W.S.
• Dec. 20: Fundraiser for Tinley Wish; $10 donation gets you an elf hat.

Elf in the Window

The village held its first Elf in the Window Scavenger Hunt along Oak Park Avenue this year. Some downtown Tinley businesses placed personalized elves in their window fronts for participants to find them. To play, residents have to download the entry form and answer questions about the elves they found. After find all elves and submitting forms to the Village Hall or emailed to mktg@TinleyPark.org, residents could win prizes from the village. The contest ends Dec.30 and a winner is chosen on Jan.8.

Holiday Walk

Residents can visit the Holiday Walk in the north commuter lot of the Oak Park Avenue train station to see festive decorations and lights, or walk around and take photos. The Holiday Walk will begin disassembly by the middle of January, according to the village.

For more information, visit TinleyPark.org/Holidays.

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