click to enlarge NICK SCHNELLE

Get your Christmas on! (These events will help.)

From a Swedish buffet at IKEA to holiday music at Powell Hall, there are as many ways to celebrate the season as there are days before Christmas. Use this roster of activities to fill your calendar and keep your family busy all the way to December 25.‘Tis the season for our 5th Annual Holiday Purr-ty!, Join us at our adoption center on Thursday, December 7th from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. for an evening full of fabulous prizes, appetizers & refreshments provided by Catering St. Louis, exclusive tours of our adoption center, and our beloved Kitten Parade!, Admission is $20 per person. All proceeds from the night will directly benefit the rescued cats and kittens at Animal House. For more information, please visit www.stlcats.org/events.Breakfast with Santa at IKEA St. Louis, Enjoy a tasty breakfast at the IKEA Restaurant, visit with Santa and get a photo!, Sunday, December 10, from 9:30 to 11 a.m. IKEA FAMILY members will receive a FREE frame for their photo with Santa. Tickets are available now in the IKEA Restaurant!Parents, bring your children ages 2-8 for Breakfast with Santa at St. Peters’ Rec-Plex South. Doors open at 8:30 a.m. with the continental breakfast starting at 9 a.m. Santa will be around for crafts and a sing-along of popular Christmas songs until 10:30 a.m. Don’t forget to bring a camera to get some memorable photos with Santa!, Advance registration is required and ends Dec. 4, or when the event is full. To register, call 636-939-2386 ext. 1400 or sign up in person at St. Peters Rec-Plex, 5200 Mexico Road.Celebration of Lights is a holiday light display held at Fort Zumwalt Park from November 24 to December 30, 2017. Each scene is designed and funded by local organizations, churches and businesses. Started in 1991, the event attracts more than 10,000 vehicles each year and more than 10,000 individuals during the Old-Fashioned Holiday Stroll.The weather outside is frightful, but the Christmas Feast at Pere Marquette Lodge is so delightful! Let us do the work while you enjoy our fabulous, mouth-watering spread! You’re bound to go home with full bellies and great memories! Featuring made-to-order omelets, carving stations, traditional & unique selections of side dishes, salads and dessert including a banana’s foster station! Feast Prices: Children 0-3: free, Children 4-11: $9.95, Adults 12 & Up: $28.95. Parties of 6 or more please call 618-786-2331 ext 502 to make your reservations.Immerse yourself in the wonder of the season. Our next five-course dinner features cocktail and food pairings that evoke memories of cozy holidays past intermingled with the iconic flavors of the American Southwest.Visit shops, take a carriage ride, view the nativity walk in front of St. Ambrose, visit Santa and get a short walking tour of the neighborhood before the tree lighting ceremony, followed by a Christmas concert at St. Ambrose Church at 7 p.m.Bring your favorite family-friendly pet for a picture with Santa outside in front of the Lodge. This event is free and registration is not required! Thank you to our sponsor, Three Dog Bakery, for providing dog treats! Bring your own camera. Pets must be on a leash.Come hear the music of Christmas at Powell Hall.Cookies & Carols with Santa will feature classic holiday songs, carriage rides and the most special guest of the evening, Santa! We will host local vendors that will have items available from Santa’s workshop. This is also a Toys for Tots toy drive., The event will be located at Brookdale Farms in Eureka, hosted in their indoor heated party barn. This special event will be held on 1 day only featuring 3 different time slots for your convenience. Each time slot has limited space.Bring the family to the Lodge Des Peres for a special morning with Santa. Santa will accept wish lists and smile for pictures. Please bring your camera. All children will receive a special holiday cookie while they last. This event is free and registration is not required! Free.Once Black Friday rolls around it’s officially the holiday season, and the Missouri Botanical Garden (4344 Shaw Boulevard; www.mobot.org) is prepared. More than one million colored lights have been strung throughout the property in preparation for this year’s Garden Glow, and now all that’s needed is the crowds. This year’s Garden Glow is open from from 5 to 10 p.m. daily from November 18 to January 1 (closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day), and your tickets now include admission to the Gardenland Express Holiday Flower and Train Show. The last entry each day is at 9 p.m., because if you come any later you won’t get to see it all (and you won’t get s’mores, either). Tickets are $3 to $18, and it’s wise to purchase them in advance — they go fast. Through Dec. 23, 5-10 p.m.; Through Jan. 1, 2018, 5-10 p.m., $3-$18.Join us in Strauss Park on December 16th for a Holiday Crafts Bazaar! 20 local artists and craftspersons will be selling a host of original artwork, handmade crafts, gifts and more!The St. Louis Writers' Group presents a End of Year Party and Monologue Competition at 6:30 Monday, December 18th at Big Daddy’s- Soulard. Big Daddy’s is located at 1000 Sydney Street., Bring an original monologue that is 90 seconds to five minutes long. Prepare to read it yourself or have an actor friend read it for you. The only very loose guideline is that your monologue should somehow be related to the winter/holiday season. Admission is free. For more information on this and other events visit www.stlwritersgroup.com.This won't be your average stuffy holiday party — and thank goodness for that. The's Holiday Spirits soiree returns for its fourth year on Thursday, November 30. Enjoy various spirits and cocktails, craft beer, gourmet bites, live music and art demonstrations at the Glass Factory. Celebrate the season with spirited good times! Buy your tickets in advance at rftholidayspirits.com/ to avoid missing out.Experience the wonder of the holiday season by touring historic Lafayette Square on Sunday, Dec. 10. The self-guided Holiday Parlor tour begins at the charming Park House, 2023 Lafayette, where tour-goers pick up their tickets. This year’s tour features eleven unique homes, including Victorian-era “painted ladies” and a 9,000 square-foot Romanesque Revival home full of turn of the century splendor. Tour-goers can ride in a horse-drawn carriage through beautiful Lafayette Park. Learn about the exciting 1876 Bandstand Project.Magic of Lights is a dazzling 1.5-mile drive-through holiday lights show featuring more than 300, spectacular displays using the latest LED technology and digital animations. Experience Magic of Lights from the comfort of your own car as you wind through the sparkling path of St. Louis’s newest, favorite holiday tradition. One carload, one price. Magic of Lights is a great family entertainment, value, and every ticket to Magic of Lights benefits Cardinals Care.The Alexandra Ballet of Chesterfield returns to Logan University for its annual production of. This one-hour, narrated performance is designed with children in mind and features a 20-minute intermission where families can meet characters and visit the Land of Sweets for refreshments. Reserved and general seating is available. For tickets and more information, visit www.logan.edu/Nutcracker.Walk-through night at Celebration of Lights, Monday, December 11, and Tuesday, December 12, 6–8:30 p.m., Admission: $3 per person; Ages 2 and under are free, Parking with free shuttle service to the Holiday Stroll: First Baptist Church of O’Fallon, 8750 Veterans Memorial Parkway; O’Fallon Christian Church, 9380 Veterans Memorial Parkway. Pedestrians are welcome to bring strollers, wagons, walkers and wheelchairs, but no pets or dogs (except service dogs), motorized hoverboards, kids’ scooters, bikes or skateboards will be allowed., Rides will not be available this night. The event is held rain or shine!Holiday misfits, Noel the Grolar Bear, Ruby the Reindeer, Tom the Toy Soldier and Elberta the Elf all come together to throw a raucous holiday party with favorite sing-a-longs inl. Frosty, Jingle Bells, Rudolph and some fun original numbers reminding us “its not what you have but who you are” that makes this a special time of year. Presented by Edie’s Fairytale Theatre.Hot Glue Crafts & Cocktails is holding a social crafting party where participants will be making one DIY Christmas themed wreath. Ticket price covers all materials, equipment and instructions. Hosted by our friends at Parrot’s Bar & Grill.Join jolly Old St. Nick at the Clubhouse this Christmas season for food and fun! Guests can enjoy: Buffet of your brunch favorites, Pictures with Santa, Sugar cookie decorating, Games and activities for the family, $2.50 drink specials including mimosas, poinsettias and Prosecco with fresh berries, $8 Bloody Mary station, Reservations required. Make your reservations easily online!Santa’s Wonderland returns to Bass Pro Shops and St. Charles-area families are invited to enjoy this magical Christmas village offering free photos with Santa and free family holiday activities including fun crafts and games. Features include rustic Christmas cabins, holiday characters and live elves set amongst a dazzling backdrop of snow-covered hills and illuminated Christmas trees. Kids can also spend time at one of the activity tables where they can write a letter to Santa, color and do fun crafts, all for free.Soulard is the oldest surviving, active and walkable neighborhood west of the Mississippi river. It’s full of beautifully restored 19th century red brick Victorian homes and Federal-style townhouses, dating from the mid to late 1800s. During the tour, guests will travel between featured homes on a heated shuttle as local guides regale attendees with facts and stories about Soulard’s architecture, history and tight knit resident community. Guests will also get to meet with homeowners and hear first-hand accounts of restoration efforts, as well as what it’s like to live in a historic Soulard home today.Sounds of Christmas is a unique community production that shares the Christmas story through a fusion of lyrics, melodies, voices, dance and art. This production features professional actors, singers, dancers & drum-line performers. There are only five performances opening on November 29th. For more information and to get your tickets go to stjstl.net/sounds.The E. Desmond Lee Holiday Train Exhibit includes the former Famous-Barr/Macy’s window train display from downtown St. Louis. See our website calendar at museumstlouis.org for all our holiday events.Celebrate the Holiday Season with IKEA Swedish Julbord Buffet, As the holidays approach, IKEA invites you to celebrate the season during its annual Swedish Julbord smorgasbord on Friday, December 15, 2017 from 7pm to 8:30pm., A traditional Julbord is a highlight of Swedish cuisine, consisting of local and family specialties enjoyed with family and friends. Join this classic Scandinavian holiday celebration with an all-you-can-eat buffet featuring traditional Swedish dishes. Seating is limited, get your tickets today at the restaurant.U.S. Bank Wild Lights offers light displays, campfire s’mores, ice carving demonstrations on weekends and special nighttime viewings of Penguin & Puffin Coast, the Monsanto Insectarium and the Sea Lion Sound exhibition. Fridays-Sundays, 5:30-8:30 p.m.; Wednesdays, Thursdays, 5-8:30 p.m.; Dec. 18-21, 5-8:30 p.m.; Dec. 26-30, 5-8:30 p.m. Continues through Dec. 14, $7-$10.Kahlua Presents the World’s Largest Ugly Christmas Sweater Pub Crawl on Saturday, Dec 16th from 8 p.m. to midnight benefiting five local charities. $25 tickets and $5 goes directly back to the charity of your choice and much more!