Celebrating 20 Years of Jack Frost

Yesterday was one of my favorite days of the year…we drove west to St. Charles, MO, for Christmas Traditions!

This year was extra special, because our favorite Christmas legend, Jack Frost, is celebrating his 20th anniversary at the event. Coincidentally, that’s just about the same number of years we’ve been attending! I was really glad we got to be there for him at this momentous occasion!

Yes, Jack is the star of the festival to us. But there were still plenty of other things going on, starting with the Santa parade:

It was COLD (thanks Jack…I’m guessing the coldest it’s ever been when we’ve attended!), but no matter the temperature, historic Main Street is beautiful and full of Christmas cheer!

We saw plenty of other Christmas Legends while we were there:

And of course we visited with my personal favorite, the first legend I remember encountering at our very first visit all those years ago, the Lord of Misrule and Abbott of Unreason himself, the Master of Revels!

We also encountered a new musical group, The Confectionettes, who represent Edwardian candy makers, and also a new (to us at least…I know we’ve never met him before, but I’m not certain he’s new to the event this year) Santa, Viejito Pascuero from Chile:

This is truly one of my favorite events of the whole year, and I really cherish each time all five of the children are able to attend together!

2025-26 School Year–Christmas School

Buon Natale!

This year’s Christmas School is a lead-in to the 2026 Winter Olympics…we learned all about Christmas in Italy!

We started on Saturday, with a trip to The Hill, St. Louis’ Italian neighborhood. We used to attend Christmas on the Hill fairly regularly, but this is the first time we’ve been in several years (at least!).

We enjoyed the Nativity Walk, where we saw the various nativity scenes, or “presepi,” set up in shop windows, and listened to La Befana tell her tale:

And we got to do the activity Chickadee was most looking forward to…we toured the Herbaria, where we learned a little bit about the history of soap, and how they make their soaps right there in store, visited with the store dog, Bubbles, and made a cut-out soap to take home:

Of course we did a few crafts. This year we made cross-stitch ornaments, which was something very new for us. Chickadee also made an Italian flag ornament as a reminder of this year’s theme. We made a string art in the colors of the Italian flag (this was a true group project, as we had to call Bunny in for help!), and, in keeping with the presepi theme (nativity scenes appear to be the most common Christmas decoration in Italy), we made a lantern version to decorate our home.

We baked some Italian Christmas cookies…the classic Italian ricotta cookies, topped with sprinkles in Christmas colors (which conveniently also happen to be the color of the Italian flag), and Italian Rainbow cookies, which are gorgeous and delicious and a true labor of love!

I decided we should do some cooking beyond baking, so I taught Chickadee how to make risotto…pasta making will have to wait until the Olympics (but we are having an Italian-themed Christmas dinner this year, too)!

We met La Befana again at Christmas Tradition in St. Charles, MO:

While we were at Christmas on the Hill, we also got a small chocolate chip Panettone to share…it was delicious!

We also read lots of Italian Christmas stories, including several versions of the La Befana tale, each of which portrays her in a slightly different light. And to end what is essentially the first semester of the 2025-26 school year, we stopped at our new Dutch Bros. Coffee for a little treat!

This was a fun way to end school before Christmas break…Merry Christmas!

Scenes from the 2025 Greek Festival

Yesterday we went downtown for the annual St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church Greek Festival. It’s always a great opportunity to see lots of people, try some good food, and listen to some fun music.

Chickadee and I looked in on the dancers…I love the gorgeous dresses and the interesting movements!

The real reason we wanted to go to the festival, though, was for the church tour. We’ve probably gone on it at least four times, but I always learn something new, and it’s a beautiful, sacred space!

I love local heritage festivals…they’re such a great opportunity to experience other cultures!

Once Upon a Valentine

Over the weekend, we went to “Once Upon a Valentine,” the newest micro-festival in St. Charles, MO, for the second year. We had a great time collecting valentines and finding the new characters, including the Dating Game Show Host and the “Harlequin Hunk”:

Plus all of our favorites from last year who we were hoping to see again:

I really love this excuse to head west to beautiful and historic St. Charles and do something fun in this otherwise bland time of year!

The 50th Anniversary of Christmas Traditions

What can I say about the 50th anniversary of our favorite Christmas tradition?

We have been looking forward to this day since last year’s event. We knew it would be special to be part of so significant a milestone, and we weren’t disappointed. We were there in time for the parade:

We always enjoy hearing the Lewis & Clark Fife & Drum Corps play:

And then the hunt for the legends of Christmas. Let’s face it, Jack Frost is always our number one priority…(we even brought along our binder of character cards from past years, and had him and some of our other favorite characters sign it).

And the Master of Revels is a close second (he was actually the first character we saw, and the first to sign our binder!).

We found a good number of the other characters…by my count, we saw 25 out of the 33 characters/groups:

I especially enjoyed meeting the Christkind while wearing a dirndl!

The Evergreens are a fun group, and it was especially great to hear them sing “White Christmas” since they look like stepped right out of Wallace and Davis’ act!

There was a special display (hosted by none other than Father Time!) in the Tourism Center looking back at the history of the event, and collecting memories for a time capsule to be opened in another 50 years.

It was a beautiful day to be in St. Charles…I will never tire of the historic charm of the city!

Our Christmas tradition:

I am so glad we starting attending this event around 20 years ago, and it’s pretty cool knowing we’ve been part of it for almost half of its run…here’s to making more memories for the future!

Greek Fest 2024

It’s hard to believe, but it’s been five years since we went to Greek Fest at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in St. Louis! We decided that was too long, so yesterday we drove into the city to see if anything had changed…and really, it hadn’t! There was Greek music, and several groups of Greek dancers, and lots of volunteers making the event happen.

The food, of course, was delicious. We had spanakopita and gyros:

The highlight of this event for me is always the church tour. There is a beautiful icon in the front entry:

And more beautiful icons and architecture throughout the building:

I really like this stained glass window of the patron saint of the congregation, St. Nicholas:

It’s always a fun, busy festival. I love how many cultural opportunities there are in St. Louis that give us a look at how other people live, play, eat, and worship!

Christmas Traditions 2023

Yesterday was a most-anticipated day…our annual trip to St. Charles, MO, for Christmas Traditions! We were worried about the weather (it was supposed to rain the entire day, but we got lucky, and it was mostly dry while we were there), and the traffic (an accident had I-70 at a standstill for a bit on our way there), but we made it in time (and even found a decent parking space!) for the Santa Parade:

After that, we headed down Main Street to look for all of our favorite characters, and we did a pretty good job of it!

As I did last year, I had to take a picture with the Mistletoe Misses…I love their costumes, and they seemed to like my outfit, too!

I also had to get a picture with the Lord of Misrule himself…I don’t know who thought it was a good idea to give him a sword!

But the main attraction is always a visit with Jack Frost. We love listening to his banter and seeing what kind of antics he’s added to his routine from year to year, and of course Bunny always has to take a picture with him. I was surprised to discover that he had been waiting for us this year, though. Usually, we attend the festival earlier in the season, which I guess he knows, and he had been carrying around a special gift for us since (I assume) opening day, which he was excited to present to us, complete with some of his original artwork on the bag. Jack may have a cold exterior, but he truly has a heart of gold! I was exceptionally touched (ok, I started crying right there on Main Street), because I had never considered that our presence there is valued. It was quite a moment, and made this our best trip to Christmas Traditions yet, and I know we won’t forget it.

Even on a damp, gloomy day, historic St. Charles is a beautiful place! And since it was so gloomy, we could really see the Christmas lights, which was very nice!

Our last order of business was getting our yearly photo at the gazebo. We had to wait for a madrigal performance on the steps to wrap up, but we got it in the end. So many years we’ve done this now!

Next year is the 50th anniversary of Christmas Traditions, and we’re already looking forward to being a part of that celebration!

Christmas Traditions

Last year, we made a somewhat tentative return to St. Charles, MO, for Christmas Traditions; this year, we returned in full force!

We made sure that we were there for the Santa Parade. Actually, we were there way earlier than we needed to be, but at least we got a good parking spot!

I truly believe Main Street in St. Charles in one of the prettiest streets in the entire St. Louis metro, and never more so than at Christmas!

We did a pretty good job of finding characters…I think we ended up with 26 of 33 cards. The important thing, though, is that we found both Jack Frost and the Master of Revels, our two favorites! We were impressed by how many characters they have added representing different world cultures…it gave us an opportunity to learn something new!

Jack Frost even gave Bunny a “Blue Crew” pin, which made her day!

I had to stop and take a picture with the Mistletoe Misses, because I looked like I could join their lovely, mid-century group in the outfit I was wearing!

And, as always, I took a photo of the Fab Five by the gazebo. Not in quite the same location as usual, because one of the singing groups was performing in it, but close enough:

Sometimes, I can’t believe just how long this has been a part of our Christmas traditions…it’s definitely one of the things I look forward to the most in December!

A Return to Christmas Traditions

After a hiatus last year due to COVID-19, yesterday we made a return to Christmas Traditions in historic St. Charles, MO!

The parade was a little different this year, including the fact that it ran the opposite direction down Main Street from what we were used to. This actually made it easier to photograph because I wasn’t pointing my camera into the sun, so that was really nice. And Santa liked my Christmas skirt!

Seeing the characters is always the best part, and we saw all of our favorites…in the end, we collected 21 of 35 cards, which is only ok, but the point is, we were there.

The very best moment for me was seeing Bunny see Jack Frost again. If we had accomplished nothing else yesterday, that would have made the trip worth it. And I think he was equally glad to see her!

My annual gazebo picture was a little different this year, but again, the point is, I took it:

Of all the things COVID took away from us last year, missing our favorite family Christmas event was one of the ones that hurt the most. Even if things weren’t exactly the same as they used to be, I was so glad to be back!

Christmas on the Hill 2019

Last Saturday, we got to go to Christmas on the Hill for the first time in several years!

It’s become a much bigger event since the last time we were there. There was a nativity petting zoo, with animals like sheep, llamas, and an adorable donkey who actually wanted everyone to pet him!