Christmas 2015

2015 Holiday Lights at the Brewery

Last night, we stopped at the Anheuser-Busch brewery to see their holiday lights display. I think they may have the largest wreath in St. Louis!

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Much of the display was the same as last year, and it was beautiful!

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There were some new things, too…I really loved this skyline display:

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And this mid-century advertisement was amazing!

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There were decorations inside, as well…I especially love that they decorated the Clydesdale stable!

And one last glimpse of the main entrance before we left:

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I’m so glad the brewery started this new tradition a few years ago, because it’s become one of our family’s favorite Christmas events!

Gingerbread Walk 2015

It was raining too hard last night for us to enjoy the Belleville Gingerbread Walk the day after Thanksgiving like we usually do. The weather cleared up today, though, so we headed back downtown to walk Main Street, and admire all of the creations.

There were familiar landmarks:

And favorite characters:

Not to mention an iconic spaceship!

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I was amused by the gingerbread taco (which happened to be housed in the local sushi restaurant!):

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I also enjoyed the nod to a coming Belleville attraction. I personally can’t wait for the Hofbräuhaus to open next year!

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It’s always interesting to see the more unusual gingerbread creations:

As well as the more standard houses:

These three were my absolute favorites!

This is definitely one of our favorite Belleville activities every year!

A Wet Tree Lighting

Every year on the day after Thanksgiving, we head to Belleville’s town square after dinner for the annual tree lighting and community sing. This year, we weren’t sure if we were going to go, because it rained all day…Belleville even had to cancel the morning’s Christmas parade. We heard that the tree lighting was going to be held in a tent at the Christmas market, so we decided to go, even if we wouldn’t be able to watch the lights come on.

It turned out to be a really good decision! It was a nice small crowd, the singing was led by an accordion, and we got a look at the new tent, which is well-decorated.

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After the sing, we went for our annual trolley ride, and saw the lights in all their soggy glory:

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We even briefly walked around the market:

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It wasn’t the night we were hoping for, but in the end, I think it was something better than we expected!

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The Lego Winter Toy Shop

One of my favorite things about the day after Thanksgiving is sitting down to build our new Christmas Lego set. This year, Lego re-released a set we had previously missed out on…the toy shop. I was very glad to have a second chance to add this to our village!

Each member of the family had a job to do, although Chickadee’s was largely supervisory:

In addition to the shop itself (which has some great details, including a highly prized light brick), the set came with a village Christmas tree, another bench, and some fun minifigs (including a pair of carolers). We also got to build the two free-with-purchase sets from this year…a Christmas train and a gingerbread house:

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Next year, we’ll have to relocate our village…there is officially no more room on this shelf!

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This tradition is a fun way to kick off our family’s Christmas celebrations every year!

Garden Glow

I realize we haven’t even made it to Thanksgiving yet, and here I am posting pictures of Christmas lights. But the Missouri Botanical Garden had a members’ preview night of the Garden Glow last Friday, and of course we were there!

It’s just as beautiful as you might expect, and then some!

It was fun seeing the homes on the property, from the gatekeeper’s cottage to Henry Shaw’s town house, to Tower Grove House, all decked out in white lights:

The tunnel of lights was a huge hit…we went through it twice!

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I really loved seeing the gazebo lit up…and the upside-down tree hanging in the middle looked like an over-the-top Victorian kissing ball!

Of course, the crown jewel of the event is the Climatron. You can’t even imagine how it sparkles!

I’m so glad we finally got to see the Garden Glow for ourselves…I hope you get a chance to see it, too!

A Victorian Christmas at Tower Grove House

While we were at the Missouri Botanical Garden “Garden Glow” last night, we had the chance to tour Tower Grove House. We’ve been through the house several times, but never at night, and definitely not when it’s decorated for Christmas. It was done up in grand, Victorian-era style, and it was quite a sight to behold. I love that there were elaborate decorations everywhere! According to one of the guides, they really would have decorated that much, because that’s how it was done at that time. After seeing it, I think we may need more Christmas decorations in our house!

The Climatron–November

Tonight was the members’ preview night of the Garden Glow at the Missouri Botanical Garden. It’s so beautiful, and I’ll share more pictures later, but for now, here is the Climatron, lit up in spectacular fashion!

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It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

I spent part of yesterday “chasing the wreath truck” (according to my children), just so I could get this picture. I always love this time of year, because it means watching the Christmas decorations go up in Belleville. Our town never looks prettier than it does at Christmastime!

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