Santa Claus arrives in Lakeview

Santa Claus is never late, everyone else is just early. A Texas family was told to remove their decorations this year after displaying a snowman, a reindeer and a Santa helicopter on Nov. 1. Is this too early?

Retail stores started sales the first of November to get the jump on shoppers, which may have backfired when people become exhausted by the time Black Friday rolls around.

Wrigleyville Wonderland opened with bright lights and movie pop-ups around Clark Street and the surrounding areas. Some of the holiday movies featured were National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and Elf. A few of the hot spots were still cramming in last minute decorations and hanging lights at the time of the kickoff.

Look for drink specials, impressive displays and plenty of photo ops during this festive season.

We know things are heating up for the holidays when the Santa Speedo Run returns to Sidetrack the Video Bar on Halsted. The place was packed on Dec. 14 with locals shedding their clothes for charity all day to run a mile around the block.

Center on Halsted benefits from the money raised that day. Every year, this event continues to titillate and create a fun atmosphere for a good cause.

Speaking of putting the fun back in fundraisers, AIDS Foundation of Chicago presented its annual World of Chocolate event on Dec. 5 at Revel Fulton Market. The space seems to have worked out well for the organization after moving around a bit over the years.

This year many of the chocolatiers were hotel based such as The Gwen Chicago, Hilton Chicago and The Drake Hotel. Walgreens featured a delicious shake and Starbucks, of course, brought coffee.

DJ Marc "Moose" Moder played the tunes and judges decided on categories such as Best Sculpture and Best Sweet.

The punch board is always a hit with big prizes and a raffle was offered by volunteers.

Nearly 1,000 people attended the gala that night, raising around $200,000. Donations can still be accepted at AIDSChicago.org.