Simply Having a Magical Christmas Drive!

Simply Having a Magical Christmas Drive!

Christmastime looks very different this year. Like our schools have learned, adaptation is the key.

With that in mind, CLEF presents a new holiday experience: a CLEF Christmas fundraiser. Though it isn’t the fundraiser we had in mind, it is a safe, de-lightful tradition that will provide a festive time with the family, while supporting CLEF students and schools.

We are happy to announce CLEF’s Magical Christmas Drive. Morton Arboretum holds a light festival, Illumination, every year. Due to safety precautions, they have turned this wonderful walking experience into an extended drive through their forests. CLEF purchased tickets for December 27th at timed intervals in the early evening.

Each CLEF ticket is $200. This includes admission for your car to Illumination and a CLEF goodie bag. At your selected time, you will arrive at Peace Lutheran Church (21W500 Butterfield Road, Lombard, IL 60148), grab your CLEF goodie bag from our staff, and drive a short ways to Morton’s entrance.

Details about Illumination
Illumination: Tree Lights at The Morton Arboretum is an exhibition featuring an unparalleled spectacle of color, light, and music to highlight the beauty of trees in winter. This year, it consists of a two-mile driving experience set to a special soundtrack that will be accessed through your vehicle’s radio, 88.5 FM. The driving route lasts approximately 30 to 40 minutes and takes visitors past multiple dazzling winter displays throughout the Arboretum grounds. You will be delighted to see returning favorites reenvisioned, including Symphony Woods, Woodland Wonder, and Crystal Promenade, and five newly designed sights displayed along a two-mile road among the Arboretum’s magnificent trees. Immerse yourself in a captivating tunnel of lights, an awe-inspiring magical woodland filled with dazzling color and starlike light, and a landscape filled with thousands of lights dancing to a musical soundtrack, all from the warmth of your car.

You can find more details about Illumination at Plan Your Experience.

Coronavirus Mitigation Efforts
In response to the evolving COVID-19 situation, the Arboretum will further adjust its operations for Illumination to provide heightened safety precautions. Outdoor concessions that were previously planned for Illumination have been canceled to maximize safety efforts. All Arboretum buildings will be closed during Illumination hours, including the Visitor Center and the services of The Arboretum Store and The Ginkgo Café and Restaurant. Limited portable restroom facilities will be available outdoors only in Parking Lot 1 (P1) prior to entering the exhibition route, and are sanitized frequently.

CLEF Goodie Bag
Each purchase includes the selected timed ticket for Illumination, a waterproof/fleece lined travel blanket, two insulated tumblers to keep your hot cocoa warm, two face masks branded with CLEF to prevent the spread of  germs, a bundle of festive candy canes, and a raffle ticket for our wine and tree raffles. You can purchase additional raffle tickets, too!

Next year, the CLEF Christmas fundraiser will be a Christmas Tree Forest auction. The designer trees will be exclusive for CLEF and the mini 3ft. tree raffled off this year is an introduction to the concept. This year’s tree is a cute addition to display on your work-from-home desk. A winner will be selected and announced on Thursday, December 17th, so purchase your tickets before then to be entered in the drawing!

Our second raffle will be for a trio of exclusive wines generously donated by some “Secret Santas.” You can claim extra raffle tickets when you tag Chicagoland Lutheran Educational Foundation in your Facebook posts! The winner for the wine package will be drawn on the day following the Drive, the 28th, to accomodate for any tagged posts!