The Rockford area has 5 Christmas events for kids we could confirm for the 2026 season, from Stroll on State in Rockford on November 28 to Illuminated at Anderson Japanese Gardens in Rockford, which runs through January 3. 2 of them are free, and every listing links straight to the host. It is one stop on our guide to Christmas events for kids in Illinois, part of our guide for every state.
Free for families
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A children’s book and the perfect Christmas gift
Rally Takes the Train
Eight pages from the book
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See who’s waiting at the station
Grandmommy and Papa are at the last stop. Get the full hand-painted book.
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This guide is free for every family. Buying a copy of Rally Takes the Train is what keeps it that way.
Rally wakes up early, packs his suitcase, finds his seat by the window, makes a friend of the conductor, sheds a little “corgi glitter” down the aisle, and gets to the grand-paw-rents at the end of the line. It is a happy book, and many families reading it are remembering someone too.
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Kelsey Lizee Cecil, author
My mom, Debra Kay Lizee, passed away in 2021, in the middle of the pandemic, before she ever wrote a word of it. So I did. I wrote it so her idea would not end with her.
I wrote Rally Takes the Train, but it was my mom’s idea first. For as long as I can remember, she talked about a little corgi who packs his toys, rides the train along the coast with his family, and finds his grand-paw-rents waiting on the platform at the very last stop. Rally is our real corgi, and she adored him.
I wrote the story in rhyme, the way she always described it, short enough to read at bedtime in about five minutes. It is a happy book. Her idea was a happy one, and the book had to be too.
Leslie Dunn painted every page by hand in real watercolor on paper. Nothing was generated or retouched with AI, because it had to be made by people who cared about it.
Mom, thank you for the perfect idea that let me channel my grief into something bigger. Dad, thank you for supporting my goal of making this book a reality in her honor. I’m sorry you never got to see it completed, but this book is now for you too.
You’re all set. We’ll email you when new Christmas events are announced, and every event link in the guide is unlocked on this device.
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