The first La Grange Sweets Stroll, on Saturday, December 12, is priced by a formula. The La Grange Business Association has set the guest ticket at $5 for each participating "Sweet Spot," so the price depends on how many locations agreed to hand out treats that morning.
The formula also shapes the rest of the season. The guest ticket deadline is December 1, four days before the Holiday Walk, so anyone who wants a Sweets Stroll box has to buy it before the season's biggest evening happens. Most of what's new this year runs the same way, through local storefronts.
How the ticket price adds up
The LGBA's vendor sign-up page explains the math in a single line:
"The ticket price for guests will be based on the number of participating locations. For every location, the ticket price will increase by $5.00. (So, if 8 locations participate, the ticket price will be $40 + Square Processing Fees)."
That makes it a per-stop price. The LGBA's example of eight stops comes to $40 per ticket before processing fees, and a ten-stop stroll would come to $50. A household buying several tickets multiplies that. Each ticket gets a branded La Grange Sweet Stroll box and a punchcard. At every stop, the business punches the card as it hands over a treat.
The event runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and the LGBA expects guests to take most of their treats home. Its Sweets Stroll page describes collecting "a tasty baked treat, decadent dessert, or other scrumptious surprise at every stop" and enjoying them through the season. Guests can only buy tickets in advance, through that same page.
What each shop agreed to
The guest price follows from the vendor terms, which the LGBA published in plain numbers:
- $50 to take part as a vendor
- One $5 "sweet treat" for each ticketed guest, which can be a baked good, candy or "anything"
- $5 paid back to the vendor for each ticket sold
- Treats that won't melt on the way home, a rule the LGBA put in capital letters
- A Village of La Grange license to serve food products, required for every participant
- Businesses based outside downtown get a spot to serve from, which they still have to staff
Under these terms, each $5 a guest pays goes back to the shop that hands over the matching $5 treat. Each vendor's own cost is its $50 entry fee plus staffing the stop for three hours. The no-melt rule rules out ice cream and anything else that needs a freezer, which pushes the event toward bakeries, candy and packaged sweets.
Because the stroll covers the treats at cost, the ticket price tracks one thing: how many locations end up on the punchcard.
The dates that decide the price
The Sweets Stroll comes last in a run of three Saturdays, but its deadlines start weeks earlier. Here is the whole sequence for the 2026 Hometown Holidays, which Dubak Electrical Group presents:
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| Friday, Nov. 6 | Deadline for businesses to sign up for the Sweets Stroll |
| Friday, Nov. 13 | Deadline for vendors to submit their treat details |
| Saturday, Nov. 28 | La Grange Flash Sale on Small Business Saturday |
| Tuesday, Dec. 1 | Deadline to buy Sweets Stroll guest tickets |
| Saturday, Dec. 5 | La Grange Holiday Walk, 4 to 9 p.m. |
| Saturday, Dec. 12 | First La Grange Sweets Stroll, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. |
By this Thursday, the November 6 vendor sign-up deadline has passed, and treat details are due Friday. The December 1 deadline lands the Tuesday after the Flash Sale, so the Saturday spent shopping downtown is the last weekend before tickets close.
Holiday Walk, Dec. 5: what's new and what's back
A few pieces of the Holiday Walk change this year. The LGBA's 2026 schedule, which it marks "subject to change without notice," runs like this:
- 4 to 8 p.m. Kiddie Train and carousel rides on Calendar Avenue
- 5 p.m. The Lyons Township High School Madrigals sing on the steps of Village Hall
- 5:30 p.m. The Village Tree Lighting Ceremony starts
- 5:35 p.m. Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive, approximately
- 5:40 p.m. All Village Sing
- 6 to 7:45 p.m. Santa and Mrs. Claus meet-and-greet in Santa's Village inside Village Hall, with the Salt Creek Orchestra playing for people waiting in line
- 6 to 8 p.m. Letters to Santa drop-off at Stone Avenue Station, with a clearly written return address so Santa can write back
The Santa line closes at 7:45 p.m. sharp, according to the Holiday Walk page, which explains the cutoff as getting the Clauses back to the North Pole.
Compared with last year, the clearest additions are the carousel on Calendar Avenue and the live ice carving near Stone Avenue Station. Neither appeared in the LGBA's 2025 Hometown Holidays release for the Holiday Walk, which took place on Saturday, December 6. That release named a petting zoo, kiddie train rides, Letters to Santa, character meet-and-greets, business open houses and Santa arriving by firetruck. Those staples are back on the 2026 overview. Last year's release mentioned "holiday choirs" in general terms. This year the schedule names the LTHS Madrigals and the Salt Creek Orchestra.
The sleigh photo spot builds on something already there. The 2026 page promises "a new sleigh" for photos. In 2025, the Village Hall grounds already had a ride-on sleigh that seated four, along with 12-foot nutcrackers and 10-foot candy canes. The giant light display is back as well, and the LGBA's only hint about it is that "this year's display will definitely be sweet." That fits the dessert theme running through the whole season.
Cossy the Elf and the shops behind him
The season-long promotion has changed hands. In 2025, the LGBA ran "12 Days of Timeless Traditions," in which Santa and Mrs. Claus visited 12 retail shops starting in December. This year the character is Cossy the Elf, described on the Hometown Holidays page as a visitor with "a BIG sweet tooth and a love for surprises," spotted around the Village and planning surprises with local businesses. Like the Sweets Stroll, the elf's surprises are tied to participating local businesses.
The Flash Sale on November 28 kicks off that run. Last year's sale on Small Business Saturday lasted five hours, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and JAYNE Boutique was its presenting sponsor. The LGBA's 2025 Flash Sale announcement listed JAYNE, AM Direct Appliances, Balkan Bakery, Club Pilates, Den10 Studio, Horton's, Jack's West End, MION Artisan Soap, La Grange Art League, La Grange Upholstery, Linnea Jewelers, Little Green Apple Hallmark, Uni Uni Bubble Tea, Vagabond Botanical, Vault Innovation, Vibes Cafe and Wonderful Matcha. The 2026 deal page is posted as "coming soon" on the LGBA site.
One name on that 2025 list has changed. Vibes Café is now Vibes Body & Soul Wellness Club. It offers BioCharger sessions, red-light, vibroacoustic and halotherapy services, and booking now requires a membership, according to an LGBA item dated October 21, 2026.
For a household planning December, the dates line up in a row: shop the Flash Sale on November 28, buy Sweets Stroll tickets by December 1, go to the Holiday Walk on December 5, and pick up the treats on December 12.
At Sullivan Property Group, Tim follows La Grange down to which storefronts sign up for events like the Sweets Stroll. If you'd like to talk about the village beyond the Holiday Walk, from what's opening downtown to how this season looks for owners on these streets, schedule a consultation.
