Christmas in Saint Louis

There are so many fun things to do in the Saint Louis area to celebrate the Christmas holiday! Here are some of our favorites and things we'd like to try.

Christmas Traditions in Historic Saint Charles

Last year was our first year visiting Christmas Traditions in Historic Saint Charles. We had so much fun we've already gone again this year. Christmas characters roam the streets and pass out cards for children to collect on Wednesday and Friday evenings, and Saturday and Sundays. You can find more details about our visit last year here. (This picture is also from last year since I have suddenly hit my blogger photo storage limit. Oddly, a whole lot of other blogs hit their limit at the same time, so I'm going to hope it's a fluke and they fix the problem before I have to get too creative to post pictures.)

Bass Pro Shop

While you're in St. Charles you can also stop by Bass Pro Shop for Santa's Wonderland. Most of you will actually pass Bass Pro Shop to get to Historic Saint Charles. Bass Pro Shop has free crafts, activities and a  photo with Santa. We've done several activities at Bass Pro Shop, and the kids always have fun.

Missouri Botanical Gardens

The Missouri Botanical Garden hosts several holiday events, including the Gardenland Express holiday flower and train show. I've never been, but since I'm a member this year, I feel like I should go check it out.

The Butterfly House also brings in special butterflies and holiday foliage for Winter Jewels. On weekends, kids can enjoy making holiday crafts. This is definitely on my list this year...I like to think I'm using my membership benefits to the fullest ;).

Light Displays

Last year we checked out The Way of Lights at Our Lady of the Snows. The drive through display is free. You can also stop for free crafts and displays, or enjoy other activities, such as camel rides, for a small fee.

My favorite light display though is Tilles Park's Winter Wonderland. It's $10 a car, but I've never felt bad paying for it. This display is closed to vehicles on Saturday night, so plan accordingly.

We've also done Santa's Magical Kingdom years ago, but we thought it was overpriced and haven't been back.

Forest Park

The Zoo does a light display called Wild Lights. It does require paid admission, and since I'm so use to the zoo being free, I've never thought about checking it out. I bet it'd be pretty cool though, and now I'm feeling kinda bad I've been so cheap.

The Jewel Box has a Poinsettia display over the holidays. It's an okay extra to another activity at the park. We had fun though when we visited last year.

A couple of the museums in Forest Park host extra activities during the Christmas break. This year it looks like the Missouri History Museum will have extra kid friendly activities starting on the 27th.

New Year's

We've never actually been to First Night, but I've thought about it before and it might happen this year.

Happy Holidays! I'd love to hear about your favorite things to do in St. Louis to celebrate, especially if it's something I've missed.