On Saturday, December 13, 2025, Fox Lake held its December to Remember without the part most people picture first. The forecast called for below-zero temperatures, so the Fox Lake Chamber of Commerce canceled the parade of lights. Every other planned activity stayed on the schedule.
This year the parade is back on the schedule for Saturday, December 12. How last year turned out is the best guide to how Fox Lake's December is put together. The parade is the one outdoor hour in a season built around four indoor rooms, and those rooms carry the holidays even when the weather won't cooperate.
What the cold took in 2025, and what it left
The Chamber made the call in a short press release. In it, the parade is the one cancellation, and everything else stays on:
"All planned activities for the event will continue as scheduled, with one exception. Due to the forecasted low temperatures on the day of the event, the December to Remember Parade has been canceled."
The Chamber's release gave the safety of participants, volunteers and spectators as the reason. It also said the holiday activities and community gatherings would go on as planned. Daily Dodge reported the news on December 10, 2025, inside a story about overnight snow across the area. It said the Fox Lake parade was off because temperatures were forecast to stay below zero all day, and that all other December to Remember events were still on.
That was the 20th year of the event. According to the 2025 flyer, kids' activities ran from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m., parade lineup was set for 4:45 at Mill and State, and a free hotdog supper was planned after the parade. The cancellation took out roughly one hour of a day that ran from 12:30 into the evening. The rest happened under a roof.
The 2026 Saturday, from lunch to the parade
The Chamber's December to Remember page sets this year's event for Saturday, December 12, at the Fox Lake Community Center. It's sponsored by the Chamber, free and open to the public. The Chamber calendar lists it from 12:30 to 6 p.m.
Here's the afternoon as the Chamber describes it:
- 12:30 p.m. start at the Community Center. Salon pampering, cupcake decorating, ornament painting, a coloring contest and other activities for kids. Santa and his Christmas friends are there to visit.
- For adults. Shopping, raffles, silent auctions and a bake sale. Lunch is available for purchase.
- 5 p.m. parade of lights. Lineup is at the corner of Mill and State streets, and the route ends at the Community Center.
- After the parade. Santa meets with the children, the school band plays, and local carolers perform.
- Dinner. The City of Fox Lake provides a free dinner to the community. The Chamber asks guests to bring a non-perishable food item for the food pantry.
The paperwork is done. At the city's October 20 Committee of the Whole meeting, Police Chief Duane Olbinski reported that the December to Remember parade permit had been approved, according to Citizen Portal's meeting coverage. The same meeting heard that city crews were picking up leaves and getting the snow equipment ready. As of publication, the plan has the parade lining up at Mill and State for a 5 p.m. start on December 12. Whether they roll will depend on the forecast that week, as it did last year.
Santa has two more Fox Lake addresses after the parade
The Community Center isn't Santa's only stop. The Chamber calendar shows him at two more hosts over the next week, and a church breakfast starts the parade-day Saturday. All three are indoors:
- Saturday, December 12, 8:30 to 11 a.m. Breakfast with Jesus at St. John's, 110 Edgelawn Dr. This comes before December to Remember on the same day, so families can go from breakfast to the Community Center's 12:30 start. For details, the Chamber lists (920) 928-3296.
- Sunday, December 13, 8 a.m. to noon. Breakfast at the Legion, 220 W State St. The American Legion hosts a free breakfast for all city residents, and Santa and Mrs. Claus are scheduled to attend.
- Saturday, December 19, 11 a.m. Buffet Brunch with Santa at the Boat House Pub and Eatery, N10575 Chief Kuno Trl. The Chamber calendar promises "a bit of the North Pole" when Santa visits the Boat House, with festivities starting at 11. The Chamber listing sends questions to the venue, which the calendar lists at (920) 928-3470.
That puts three Santa appearances in eight days, at the Community Center, the Legion and a supper club, with St. John's breakfast opening the busiest Saturday. Cold like the weather that canceled the 2025 parade wouldn't touch any of these indoor events.
The rooms are the same ones Fox Lake uses all winter
The Chamber calendar lists these same buildings for other events from now through December, and two of them hold a weekly slot.
| Venue | Other calendar listing | Holiday role |
|---|---|---|
| American Legion | Polka band every Friday, 7:30 to 10:30 p.m., open to the public | Free residents' breakfast with Santa and Mrs. Claus, Dec. 13 |
| Boat House Pub and Eatery | Live music every Saturday | Buffet Brunch with Santa, Dec. 19 |
| Fox Lake Lounge | Free drink for veterans on Nov. 11 | Widows Weekend Shopping Event, Nov. 28 |
The overlap is closest on the parade weekend. The Legion's polka band is on the calendar for Friday, December 11, the night before December to Remember. The Boat House has live music listed for Saturday, December 12, the same day as the parade. The Legion hall that hosts polka on Friday night hosts the Santa breakfast on Sunday morning.
The season starts before December. On Saturday, November 28, Fox Lake Lounge hosts a Widows Weekend Shopping Event from noon to 4 p.m. The Chamber's listing invites ladies to "enjoy a day out, do some shopping and Support Local for Small Business." It's the first local shopping afternoon on the holiday calendar, two weeks ahead of the raffles, silent auctions and bake sale at the Community Center.
Letters, phone numbers and the forecast
Kids can start on December now. The Chamber posts a printable Letter to Santa on its December to Remember page, and finished letters go in the mailbox outside Ergo Bank in Fox Lake.
Groups that want to be in the parade can check the Chamber's page. It still links last year's participation form and donation letter alongside the 2026 schedule. The calendar's contact number for December to Remember is (920) 928-3777. In 2025 the Chamber announced the parade cancellation with a press release linked from that same page, and Daily Dodge carried the news three days ahead. If the week of December 7 brings a below-zero forecast again, the Chamber page is the place to check before heading to Mill and State.
At Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Special Properties, we live and work in the towns around Green Lake and follow their calendars all year. If you have a question about Fox Lake, whether it's about the lake, a street near the parade route, or a home you're thinking about, get the Special Advantage and talk with our team today.
