Picture Perfect

In a Dallas suburb, right this very minute, a certain man (we call him "Dad") seethes. He walks to the window. He hopes something has changed. No dice: The neighbors' ugly-ass plastic poinsettias are still out there, each one a tacky foot soldier in the War on Christmas Cheer. They seem to multiply every year (can plastic plants do that?); by now the faux flowers number in the dozens. If Dad was in town, we'd take him to the annual Poinsettia Show at the Jewel Box in Forest Park (314-531-0080 or stlouis.missouri.org/citygov/parks/jewelbox), where he could see three varieties of beautiful (real!) poinsettias and feel the season's harmony restored. You, too, can gaze upon these holiday harbingers: The Jewel Box is open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, December 24 (perhaps you can start a new Christmas Eve tradition?), from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday (except on Christmas Day and New Year's Day) and from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday. Admission is free from 9 a.m. to noon every Monday and Tuesday; the rest of the time, it's $1.
Dec. 20-Jan. 31