The holidays are upon us, and Capital Area District Libraries (CADL) has planned a bountiful month of events. When you’re not curled up in a comfy chair reading a good book, consider heading to one of CADL’s 13 branches for holiday festivities, special storytimes and creative crafting events that can help you get into the spirit of the season.
Holiday Celebrations
The start of November signals the beginning of the holiday season, and with that, the start of CADL’s festive programs. Don’t worry, holiday activities are also scheduled in December!
- Alpaca & Chickens for the Holidays – Special guests from Great Valley Longnecks Farm will be visiting select branches to celebrate the season. These events are designed to provide an engaging learning experience for attendees of all ages, fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation of these wonderful animals.
- Holiday Open House (Holt/Delhi) – Join us for crafts, live music and snacks in the library as we celebrate the holiday season.
- Holiday Hootenanny (Webberville) – Celebrate the kickoff of the holiday season with a celebration, featuring crafts, cookies and a special guest: a unicorn!
Storytimes
In addition to weekly storytime events, CADL’s branches host storytimes with special themes. From Cookie Monster to musical instruments, there’s a theme that everyone can enjoy. Storytimes engage children through talking, signing and playing and are designed to help children develop important early literacy skills so they are ready to read.
- Giving Thanks Storytime (Stockbridge) – Join us for stories, songs, crafts and activities with a thankful theme.
- Cookie Monster Storytime (Webberville) – Join us for a special storytime to celebrate Cookie Monster and, of course, cookies!
- A Musical Alphabet Storytime (Holt/Delhi) – For every letter of the alphabet, learn about a musical instrument! Join us for stories and instrument demonstrations and discover musical concepts.
- Donuts & Storytime (Dansville) – Bring the kids to the library for stories and activities and the whole family can enjoy donuts and juice! This month’s themes include Thanksgiving, hibernation and imagination.
Visit cadl.org/events for a full list of storytime programs.
Little cute girl and young beautiful woman cut snowflakes from white paper. Gingerbread and cocoa with marshmallows. The concept of preparation for the New Year and Christmas.
Crafting Events
We provide the supplies, and you bring the creativity! Members of all ages can get crafty at the library with our wide range of events.
- Decorate Lunch Bags – Stop in the CADL Williamston from Nov. 1-14 to decorate paper lunch bags with uplifting messages for the at-risk and homeless in Ingham County. Punks with Lunch Lansing will use the bags at their food distribution events.
- Family Night: Stickers – Join us at CADL Aurelius for fun with stickers. Plus, use our sticker maker to design your own sticker creation!
- Greeting Card Decorating – Visit CADL Holt/Delhi to decorate a card for someone special.
- Day of Giving: No-sew Blankets – Join us at CADL Haslett this Day of Giving as we make no-sew fleece blankets to donate to a local community organization. All supplies, including apple cider and donuts, will be provided (while supplies last).
- Beaded Ornament – Join us at CADL Okemos to create an easy, sparkly holiday craft! Make your own beaded ornaments to hang wherever you like.
- Origami with Ming – Learn how to make origami with Ming the Magnificent at CADL Foster
Colorful many origami paper cranes on wooden background
Capital Area District Libraries (CADL) card, Ingham County Park Passes, Halloween fun and more - October 2023
Put on your walking shoes, pack a picnic basket and dust off your fishing poles and enjoy more than 1,200 acres of parklands throughout Ingham County with your Capital Area District Libraries (CADL) card. We’re talking about Ingham County Park Passes, which are now available in CADL’s Library of Things (LOT) collection.
Visit any of CADL’s 13 branches to check out a pass for one week with adult or youth library cards. Your household can enter and park at any Ingham County Park with a pass. Also, their passes come with exclusive access to experience additional recreational activities at select parks.
With your pass, visit Hawk Island Park and Burchfield Park, where you and three others can enjoy leisurely exploration with a one-hour paddle boat rental*. You can also use a pass to rent equipment for up to four people and play one round of disc golf at Burchfield Park and Lake Lansing North.
But the fun doesn’t end with paddle boats and disc golf! There are plenty of things to do at Ingham County Parks, including playing volleyball, walking trails, canoeing and more. Most Ingham County Parks are open year-round, and some parks offer winter activities, including sledding, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.
If you’re ready to have a play day at an Ingham County Park, check out a pass. You can view a list of park locations and recreational activities offered at each Ingham County Park at pk.ingham.org.
*Paddle boats are available between Memorial Day and Labor Day (when staff are available).
More Passes to Check Out
In addition to Ingham County Park Passes, Potter Park Zoo and Lansing Makers Network passes are available to CADL members. They also offer two types of CATA bus passes: a rural service 10-ride pass and a 31-day bus pass. Explore our passes and the entire LOT collection at cadl.org/things.
The Fun Continues at CADL
If the weather isn’t cooperating, head to the library and try one of CADL’s storytimes. They offer storytimes for children of all ages, including babies, toddlers and preschoolers. Storytimes are a great way for children to develop important literacy and pre-reading skills as well as imagination, comprehension and attention skills.
Several of their branches offer storytimes with different themes, and with the spooky season fast approaching, select branches are hosting Halloween storytimes. Keep reading to learn about CADL’s special storytime events:
- A Musical Alphabet Storytime – Learn about a musical instrument for every letter of the alphabet. Enjoy stories and instrument demonstrations and discover musical concepts.
- Storytime at Rayner Park – Join us at Rayner Park in Mason to enjoy songs, rhymes and stories with Miss Lindsay.
- Donuts & Storytime – Bring the kids to the library for stories and activities and the whole family can enjoy donuts and juice! Each week we’ll celebrate a different theme.
- Pumpkin Painting Storytime – Join us for a special pumpkin storytime followed by painting your very own little pumpkin.
- Little Boo Bash – Grab your Halloween costume and come to the library for a non-too-scary- Halloween party with stories, activities and games.
- Halloween Storytime – Wear your Halloween costume and join us for themed stories, crafts and activities to build early literacy skills.
Browse CADL’s events calendar for a full list of storytime events. And make sure to browse their Halloween Digital Guide to learn about our other frightfully fun activities taking place this month.
