15 St. Louis Holiday Traditions You Don't Want to Miss

St. Charles Christmas Traditions

St. Charles (discoverstcharles.com/events/christmas-traditions)

Every year, Main Street in St. Charles transforms into a holiday wonderland with St. Charles Christmas Traditions, a festival that allows visitors to step back in time and experience the season the old-fashioned way. We're talking chestnuts actually roasting on the fire, Santas from all around the world, carolers, carriage rides, beloved holiday characters and more. It’s on offer every Friday, Saturday and Sunday through December 24.

Candy Cane Lane

St. Louis Hills (Donovan and Murdoch avenues)

Every year the good people of St. Louis Hills turn their residential neighborhood into a winter wonderland. It’s that rare Christmas tradition that’s totally uncommercialized — with house after house bedecked in beautiful ways and no one trying to profit a dime from it. If you can, try to enjoy the experience on foot.

Garden Glow

Missouri Botanical Garden (4344 Shaw Boulevard, mobot.org)

This annual favorite is better than ever this year, with elevated s’mores from the S’more Shack and a giant dance floor that lights up and makes noise when you step on it. Rest assured the classics are back, too, with tunnels of candy cane-colored lights and some terrifically lit trees. Rent a s’mores pit to up the fun factor.

The Way of Lights

Our Lady of Snows Shrine (442 South DeMazenod Drive, Belleville, Illinois; snows.org/wayoflights)

If you like your Christmas traditions old school — meaning both charmingly low-key and with a heavy dose of religion — you’ll love the Way of Lights at Our Lady of Snows Shrine in Belleville. The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate offer a driveable loop of lighted displays perfect for younger kids, which culminate in a manger scene. It’s free (though donations are encouraged), as is the petting zoo at the end. Why not splurge for an $8 camel ride or some concession-style eats?

Brewery Lights

Anheuser-Busch Brewery (1200 Lynch Street, budweisertours.com/brewerylights)

For 38 years, Anheuser-Busch has invited St. Louis to its Soulard flagship for a holiday experience that involves twinkling lights and lots of and lots of Budweiser. Whether you drive the grounds for free or walk it ($12 for adults, but includes a free beer), you’ll be taking in 1 million lights and one of St. Louis’ most iconic breweries.

The Nutcracker

The Touhill (1 Touhill Circle, stlouisballet.org/thenutcracker)

The St. Louis Ballet mounts a full roster of performances of The Nutcracker, with numerous options to accommodate the younger ballet lover in your life (think: 2 p.m. matinees, 6 p.m. evening performances). Wisely, the ballet is also a briskly paced two hours including intermission — so even the non-ballet lovers roped into joining you for the Sugar Plum Fairy can manage their annoyance. Not into driving to UMSL? On December 22 only, you can also catch a traveling production making a two-show stop at the Fabulous Fox. Details at nutcracker.com.

Ice Skating in Forest Park

Steinberg Rink (400 Jefferson Drive, steinbergrink.com)

Strangely enough, the “largest outdoor ice skating rink in the Midwest” isn’t located in some godforsaken place that’s always freezing like Milwaukee or Minnesota but rather right here in balmy St. Louis. General admission is just $6 with skates another $10. And if you’re too busy before Christmas, never fear — this tradition runs all the way into early March.

Buying a Christmas Tree at Ted Drewes

Ted Drewes (6726 Chippewa Street, teddrewes.com)

What goes together better than cold weather and frozen custard? That might sound like a joke, but for many south city families, Ted Drewes isn’t just about delicious cold treats, but also about purchasing a Christmas tree — and once you’re in the parking lot, who can resist getting a Cardinal Sin or a Dutchman too? After all, it’s tradition.

O’Fallon Celebration of Lights

Fort Zumwalt Park (1000 Jessup Drive W, O'Fallon; ofallon.mo.us/celebration-of-lights) 

Since 1991, more than 13,000 have driven through O’Fallon, Missouri's celebration of lights every year — and another 10,000 or so walk it. That’s a lot of people, and all those people can’t be wrong, can they? For $15 a car ($40 a bus) you can drive through tunnels and displays positively bedecked with lights. On a few designated nights a year, the park is open to walkers instead for the Holiday Stroll ($6/person), so check the schedule. Tickets must be purchased in advance.

Winterfest

Kiener Plaza (500 Chestnut Street, archpark.org/events/winterfest) 

From mid-November until the end of the year, downtown’s Kiener Plaza is a winter wonderland, with an ice skating rink, heated igloos for sipping and fire pits perfect for marshmallow toasting. You can buy a s’mores kit, get a tasty beverage and rent skates, too.

Menorah Lighting at Winterfest

Kiener Plaza (500 Chestnut Street, archpark.org/events/winterfest) 

This year’s Winterfest celebration also features a 29-foot menorah. The public is invited to view the lighting of the first candle at 6 p.m. on Thursday, December 7, which is the first night of Hanukkah. After the lighting, a holiday celebration will feature music, free ice skating, hot drinks and a selection of traditional Hanukkah foods for sale.

Holiday Lights at Grant’s Farm

Grant’s Farm (7385 Grant Road, grantsfarm.com/holiday-lights-2023) 

The Busch family’s biergarten and other entertainments in south county aren’t just a destination on hot summer days. In the winter, they’re bedecked with zillions of lights, perfect for walking, driving or even renting a horse-drawn carriage to see at a pace that former neighbor President Ulysses S Grant would have approved of. Pricing is variable; see the website for details.

Lafayette Square Holiday Parlor Tour

Lafayette Square (Lafayette and Mississippi, lafayettesquare.org/housetours)

The city is crawling with historic house tours and garden tours and any number of opportunities to peak into your neighbors’ closets, but to our mind, none is more glorious than the Lafayette Square Holiday Parlor Tour, which allows the hoi polloi to walk through nearly a dozen homes in the city’s most magnificent historic district. Nobody did Christmas like the Victorians, and most of these homes will take you right back to the days when St. Louis was actually growing. NOTE: This year’s tour is already sold out, so you may have to scalp your way in.

Menorah Car Parade 

Chesterfield Mall (2028 Chesterfield Center, facebook.com/events/1480495966064441/)

Chabad of Chesterfield’s annual event combines what’s billed as the area’s largest spinning dreidel and tallest gelt drop, as well as a parade of cars all bedecked with festive menorahs. Participation is free — in fact, each participating car is given a car kit — but you have to register in advance. All the fun happens December 10 beginning at 5 p.m.

Wild Lights at the Zoo 

Saint Louis Zoo (1 Government Drive, stlzoo.org/events/u-s-bank-wild-lights)

Throughout December you can visit the Saint Louis Zoo at night to see dazzling light displays. Your ticket includes access to the carousel and a special craft for kids, but note that animal displays other than the Penguin & Puffin Coast and the Insectarium are closed. Tickets are $11-18 depending on your membership status and the night you visit.