Woodridge School District 68 Students Give Back During Holiday Season

The Student Council at Thomas Jefferson Junior High sponsored a Giving Tree to help local families in need this holiday season.

PHOTOS: Chestnut Court Businesses Celebrate the Holidays

It was an afternoon of festivities at Chestnut Court with carolers, free snacks, store discounts, face painting and a visit from Santa! Many stores hosted specials and showed their holiday spirit. Check out the pictures from today's events.

The businesses of Darien's Chestnut Court shopping center brought holiday cheer to residents Saturday. Santa paid a visit to the businesses during Saturday's event, which also featured carolers, face-painting and more. Participating merchants got into the giving spirit as well and offered discounts and deals.  Did you go to the event? Share your photos by adding them to our gallery!

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'Slight' Chance for a White Christmas in Darien, Woodridge

The National Weather Service plays Santa Claus with a forecast that looks good for snow on Dec. 25.

If you love a white Christmas and you live in Darien or Woodridge, you just might be in luck in 2012. The National Weather Service-Chicago forecast for our neck of the woods calls for a slight chance of snow showers on Christmas eve (Monday, Dec. 24) and Christmas day (Tuesday, Dec. 25.) That, coupled with the small amount of snow that fell on Geneva Thursday and Friday, might translate to at least a little of the white stuff covering the ground and making the season a little more bright. The forecast indicates the snow could melt off, however, over the weekend. The high temperature for Saturday is 40 degrees, and it's supposed to get up to 38 degreees on Sunday. But after that: Merry Christmas to all in Darien and Woodridge!

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Enter Patch's “Deck the House” Contest For a Chance to Win $100,000

Did you decorate your house for the holidays this year? Enter our "Deck the House" contest and you could win $100,000 for your local school district and $500 to pay your electric bills!

We’re launching our annual Deck the House Contest to find the most over-the-top holiday decorations in America—the best “decked” house in the country—the one home so spectacularly decorated that everyone in town jokes your holiday decorations could rival Rockefeller Center’s. If this sounds like your house, upload a photo or video of your home to our contest page from Nov. 26 to Dec. 16. CLICK HERE FOR THE CONTEST PAGE Only residents of Patch towns are eligible to enter. We’ll select 24 regional finalists, and from them, pick one grand prize winner. Patch will pay up to $500 of the utility bill for each finalist, while our national winner will have $100,000 donated to his or her local school district. Our contest is right around the corner…

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‘Shop N Drop’ at Seven Bridges in Woodridge Sunday

Salon Strand and Adagio Nail Spa are sponsoring a holiday shopping extravaganza from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., featuring nearly 20 vendors selling beauty products, jewelry, totes, home fragrances and more.

Salon Strand and Adagio Nail Spa invite you to their Holiday Shop N Drop–a holiday shopping extravaganza–from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at The Studios at Seven Bridges at 3520 Seven Bridges Drive in Woodridge. Shop locally and get your holiday shopping done all in one spot by choosing unique gifts from nearly 20 vendors – including Salon Strand, Adagio Nails, Stella and Dot (jewelry), Thirty-One (bags and totes), Scentsy (home fragrances), Little Lady Bowtique (hair accessories), Starbucks and more. Shoppers who bring an unwrapped toy (no stuffed animals, please) will be entered into a raffle for a chance to win prizes from participating vendors. The toys will be donated to Toys for Tots to make Christmas special for children in need. …

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Park on Patch's Dime to Shop on Saturday

Bolingbrook Patch is paying it forward by paying for metered parking all day Saturday at the Bolingbrook Promenade. Stop by and see us for a chance to spin our prize wheel and win some free goodies.

Woodridge Grocery Stores Open on Thanksgiving Day

Some Woodridge grocery stores and convenience stores will be open on Thanksgiving Day for all your last-minute needs.

Pass the cranberry sauce … oops! Even if you plan ahead for Thanksgiving, there always seems to be something you forgot. Just in case … here's a list of Thanksgiving Day hours for grocery and convenience stores in Woodridge. OPEN 24 HOURS OPEN PART OF DAY CLOSED    

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Black Friday 2012: What You Need to Know Before You Leave the House

Patch has all the information you need to form a strategic plan this Black Friday, including links to local ads.

As if you needed an introduction, Nov. 23 marks one of the busiest shopping days of the year—Black Friday. The event often brings out the best and sometimes, the worst, in shoppers. Some have been known to wait in line for hours before the doors open—and blistering cold, biting winds or driving rain has proved no match for the avid Black Friday deal-hunter. So far this year, the National Weather Service is predicting mild weather. Thanksgiving night, there’s a chance of showers and mostly cloudy skies, with a low around 42. On Black Friday it should be mostly sunny with a high near 46-  and Friday night, partly cloudy, with a low around 28. And now—what you've all been waiting for—the Black Friday ads. Here's your Black Friday Cheat Sheet…

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Aurelio's Pizza Helping Feed the Hungry for the Holidays

Four area Aurelio's locations in Naperville, Villa Park and Woodridge are helping collect food and monetary donations to help the Loaves & Fishes pantry overcome a budget shortfall.

During its busiest time of the year, the Loaves & Fishes food pantry in Naperville is facing a $15,000 shortfall. So Aurelio's Pizza locations in the area are stepping up to help do what they do best: feed people. Now through Dec. 31, four Aurelio's restaurants will be the sites of food and money collections that will go to Loaves & Fishes. Celeste and Steve Wagner, owners of the four Aurelio’s Pizza franchise locations, said in a news release that it’s about "helping neighbors help neighbors." The four locations are: Visit the links above to review the Aurelio's locations. In October, the food pantry served 11,145 people, 4,803 of whom were children for a total of 2,725 households.  "When the Wagner’s found out that the pantry suddenly …

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Early Black Friday Deals in Darien, Lemont and Woodridge Area

Best Buy and Super Target begin matching prices of online retailers beginning Nov. 1. Find the nearest locations to you in Patch's business directory.

So, you just can't wait to get your Christmas 2012 gift-shopping groove on? You don't have to wait until Black Friday to get some great online deals. Best Buy's announcement that it will allow in-store customers to price-match online retailers by showing the price on their smartphones has been matched by Target and Super Target, according to BFAds.net, a website devoted to Black Friday and gift-shopping alerts. Among other online retailers, the stores will match prices of Amazon.com, Walmart.com,Toysrus.com and Babiesrus.com. Best Buy's price-matching begins Sunday, Nov. 4, while Target's begins Thursday, Nov. 1. You can catch those deals locally at these nearby stores. Visit our business directory for more information.

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