I’ve noticed several trends in the newsletter feedback I receive, and one is this: Folks LOVE info on food/drink specials.

The timing right now is perfect — a variety of Tri-Cities restaurants, cafes, shops and bars have cooked up (or mixed up) special menu items and exclusive deals as part of the holiday season and beyond.

Here’s a list of current specials:

In addition, a variety of local spots (too many to list) are offering bonus gift cards to anyone who purchases a gift card this month. Check with your favorite restaurants and shops for details on those offers.

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Don’t miss the Norris Cultural Arts Center’s fifth annual Baker’s Dozen Holiday Festival, an online celebration of festive musical and dramatic performances. The 13-episode video series is running now and features incredible talent — from the Elgin Symphony String Quartet to vocal stars like Diva Montell & Jeorge Holmes.

✨ Bonus: After each daily episode, answer a fun trivia question for a shot at a holiday ticket giveaway!

The 🔒 symbol indicates a potential paywall.

☑️ Potential preservation: A St. Charles committee will discuss the recommendation to deny a resolution for demolishing 217 Cedar Avenue, which includes the historic Judge Barry House. Several community members and organizations have provided input.

☑️ To do list: Batavia’s 2025 budget features nearly $55M worth of new capital projects. Get the funding breakdown and other details regarding these planned initiatives.

🔒 A gift of sorts: St. Charles’ approved property tax levy means taxes shouldn’t increase for homeowners next year — and they may even go down slightly.

☑️ Safety enforcement: Kane County released the results from its “drive sober or get pulled over” campaign over Thanksgiving week, reporting 22 traffic citations and one arrest.

☑️ Digital IL IDs: With less than a month before Illinois’ new mobile driver’s license law takes effect, state officials haven’t provided details on implementation or when residents can expect to start using digital IDs.

☑️ Snowy forecast: See predictions from NOAA, AccuWeather, The Old Farmer's Almanac and The Farmers' Almanac regarding how much snow we’ll see this winter in Illinois.

The 🔒 symbol indicates a potential paywall.

☑️ Lighting up the night: See more than 150 photos from the recent Holiday Homecoming weekend in St. Charles — and learn which participants won awards for the 2024 Electric Christmas Parade.

☑️ Winter waltz: Vargo’s Dance organized a surprise flash mob that performed a choreographed dance (set to the opening song from “Perfect Couple”) on 3rd Street in freezing temps during the Geneva Christmas Walk. Watch the video.

☑️ Giving spirit: Local nonprofit Big Hearts of Fox Valley recently delivered over 10K holiday gifts to St. Charles children in need through its annual Christmas Gift Sponsorship Program.

🔒 Dream achieved: A leukemia diagnosis nearly destroyed all hopes of parenthood for a Batavia woman and her husband, but after successful treatment, the happy couple recently celebrated their daughter’s first birthday.

☑️ Phase two surveys: Geneva is conducting another round of phone and online community surveys that are based on responses from the original surveys conducted in November.

☑️ Evergreen essentials: Check out this list of local locations selling fresh, real Christmas trees this holiday season.

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Local venues have several live music performances lined up this week, including tributes to Bon Jovi and Whitesnake and a special holiday show at Salerno’s on the Fox.

☑️ Shop local: The St. Charles Business Alliance released a St. Charles Holiday Gift Guide featuring some of the top finds at local shops by category.

☑️ Pickle craze: A new indoor pickleball and recreation center is preparing to open on Randall Road in Batavia this month — featuring 12 pickleball courts, sports simulators, a players’ lounge and more.

☑️ Game on: Batavia officials are discussing the addition of a new video gaming area adjacent to the bar at the East China Inn restaurant downtown.

☑️ Slice of heaven: Batavia’s Sidecar Supper Club turned nine years old this weekend — and in celebration, they shared some memorable photos and videos from the past almost-decade.

☑️ Local home sales: See recent property sales for Kane County — including this eye-opening $1.7M mansion on South Grove Hill Drive in Batavia.

☑️ Local obits: Recent obituaries posted by Tri-Cities funeral homes.

☑️ Best of 2024: Check out the best 100 songs of 2024 (according to Rolling Stone).

☑️ City meetings + police reports:

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🎟️ Jolly jubilee: The Batavia Fine Arts Centre has lined up a variety of holiday-themed music and dance performances for the coming days, from Broadway-styled shows to fresh twists on traditional classics.

🎟️ Calling All Singles | Tues 12/10, 6:30PM | Alley 64, STC | Mingle with fellow singles in their 30s, 40s and 50s.

🎟️ Under the Mistletoe Christmas Concert | Wed 12/11, 9AM | Copper Fox, Geneva | Enjoy a breakfast buffet before a joyful holiday cabaret performance.

☑️ Ugly Sweater Networking | Thurs 12/12, 5PM | Pollyanna Brewing, STC | A fun, free event for anyone looking to make local connections.

🎟️ Merry Mahjong Night | Thurs 12/12, 6PM | Penrose Brewing, Geneva | A charity party with drinks, games, snacks, raffles and more.

🎟️ Flashlight Candy Cane Hike | Fri 12/13, Various Times | Hickory Knolls Discovery Center, STC | A festive evening of activities for the whole family.

🎟️ Holiday High Tea with Santa | Sat 12/14, 11AM | The Graceful Ordinary, STC | Savor holiday sweets and tasty beverages with St. Nick himself.

🔥 Loved it, keep up the good work [this]

😐 Mediocre, could take it or leave it [this]

🛑 3 minutes I’ll never get back [this]

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