Join me for the Infant Welfare Society’s 2025 Holiday Housewalk! ! This really is my favorite time of year. Aside from baking tons of cookies, there are a few other traditions I love to participate in. One of them is the annual Holiday Housewalk hosted by the Oak Park River Forest Infant Welfare Society. There will be 22 vendors at this year’s holiday market, and I’m so excited to be one of them!
Infant Welfare Society
28 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois
Friday, December 5, 2025
3:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Market Hours
Saturday, December 6, 2025
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Market Hours
10:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Demo & Tasting: Mary's Cognac Vanilla Extract (21+)
This event is so much fun—it’s an opportunity to tour four amazing, festively decorated homes in Oak Park and River Forest, enjoy arrangements by local florists, and do some holiday shopping that gives back to a good cause.
Saturday's Demo & Tasting
In this 15-minute demonstration, I’ll teach you how to make your own homemade vanilla extract using cognac and vanilla beans. This is the original recipe that inspired my cognac barrel-aged vanilla extract. Because we’re working with cognac, everyone who participates in the demonstration must be 21 years or older.
Oak Park River Forest Infant Welfare Society
OPRF IWS’s mission is to provide a continuum of integrated, quality, and preventive health care services to children and their families, enabling them to lead healthy and productive lives within safe environments.
OPRF IWS Holiday Housewalk
The Holiday Housewalk has been a local tradition since 1998—and for good reason. Is is the biggest fundraiser for the IWS Children’s Clinic. When you participate, you’re helping provide medical, dental, and behavioral health services to thousands of children across Chicagoland.
