Visit Santa in Evanston

Children can bring their wishes to Santa December 6th, 7th, 13th and 25th from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm downtown Evanston at the Sherman Plaza (1620 Sherman Ave). Parents can take their own pictures of their children with Santa. After the kids visit the North Pole, you can explore Evanston by collecting trinkets and candy from coupons in Santa's goodie bag. Click here for more information.

Swim Lessons

OK, so swim lessons aren't free, but after checking the prices of everyplace in Evanston that I could think of that would offer swim lessons (YMCA, YWCA, EAC, etc) I discovered that Evanston Township High school offers lessons (both parent/tot classes, and just the child classes) year round in the evenings Monday-Thursday, and Saturday mornings. Their website, which shows dates, times, and prices is pretty sparse on other information, but if you have any questions, contact Joe Springer at lts@wildkitaquatics.com, and he can help.

Note: Northwestern offers pretty cheap classes too, but unless your child is 4 years old or older, classes are only offered on Sundays.