After 10 seconds of counting and then cheering and clapping, Town Square Park lit up Palos Hills on Dec. 3 at 6 p.m. sharp.
The tree glowed first, nearly 25 years after it was planted when the park was built. Lights followed around the gazebo and walkways, and families took in the moment before moving on with the night.
Inside the Community Center, the next step was clear. People made their way toward the cocoa table, picked up cupcakes, and found seats for the performance ahead.
Outside, the Grinch shaped snowballs between photos, Santa kept greeting kids, and Mayor Gerald Bennett reminded people how long the city has been gathering like this.
“We’ve lit up the parks since we built this almost 25 years ago,” he said. “I can’t believe how big that tree has gotten.”
He added that this was only the second year the ceremony returned to being held outdoors. “I am impressed with the turnout tonight. On a cold night, too.”
Once inside, parents helped kids find places to sit. Aldermen Donna O’Connell and Mike LeBarre moved through the crowd offering to take photos for families, pausing whenever someone needed a hand.
When the Stagg Madrigals began singing, the room adjusted in a natural way. People shifted toward the center. Conversations lowered, kids settled without being asked, and adults leaned back in their chairs to listen.
Not strikingly silent, but it was together, the kind of moment where no one needed direction to know what came next.
One mother sitting nearby explained that her daughter, Carolina, is a junior in the group. The Madrigals audition to join and spend the season performing at nursing homes, churches, community events, and neighboring towns. She watched the group closely, her expression doing most of the talking.
Earlier in the night, the park carried the familiar interactions that make events like this feel steady from year to year. Someone asked a stranger to help line up a group photo. Another joked about their phone battery dying before the countdown. Kids compared their pictures with the Grinch and argued about who had made him look almost happy. The evergreen, tall now and unchanged in its role, stood at the edge of it all.
Palos Township officials praised the turnout, too, calling the night “absolutely amazing” and thanking residents for showing appreciation to first responders. They recognized Mayor Bennett, Public Works Commissioner Kristin Violante and her staff, and the city council, including Aldermen Donna O’Connell and Mike LeBarre, for coordinating the event, now in its second year under the First Responders Christmas banner.
O’Connell said the night felt “uplifting and successful,” the kind of event that brings residents and first responders together. “Palos Hills residents are the best,” she added.
After the choir finished, folks and kids carried their decorated ornaments to the indoor tree at the rec center. First responders chatted with families who stopped to thank them.
Nothing about the night asked to be bigger than it was. It worked because everyone added something small to it: a seat offered, a photo taken for someone else, a simple moment shared without needing much direction.
For an evening, Palos Hills felt like a village that knew how to hold space for one another.
The lights outside marked the season, but the way people moved together without much instruction is what carried the night.
