If you are longing for a nostalgic holiday experience devoid of blow-up Santas, crammed retail stores and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” played endlessly on the radio, look no further than St. Charles, Missouri. The historic city’s Christmas Traditions festival runs from Nov. 28 through Dec. 24.
Visitors will find unique holiday characters strolling streets festooned with greenery, chestnuts roasting over open fires, international gift-givers joining old-fashioned carolers and a touch of Charles Dickens’ imagination.
Most of the festivities happen on weekends with afternoon parades as a highlight, but Wednesday evenings bring “A Christmas Carol” stroll. It is complete with actors portraying Jacob Marley, Scrooge, the ghosts of various Christmases and a Victorian toy vendor, transforming Main Street into 1840s London.
“You feel like you are in a storybook,” says Ryan Cooper, the signature events producer for Greater Saint Charles. “These unique characters set us apart from other Christmas events.”
The full cast is 100 people with 30 different Santa characters, including a new Chilean Santa joining those representing other countries and time periods. Nine acapella groups offer a variety of music from the 1930s and 1940s, Civil War-era Christmas songs, Victorian carols and barbershop favorites.
Parades on Saturday and Sunday afternoons are highlights of the Christmas Traditions festival in St. Charles, Missouri. Snow fell on one of the parades last year, the 50th year for the festival. This year’s event is Nov. 28 through Dec. 24.
Also new this year is “The Toy Chest,” an exhibit of the most popular toys from 1900-2000.
Old favorites such as collectible character trading cards popular with children, a gingerbread village and exhibits on Christmas trees and holiday food are back.
It costs nothing to participate in general activities but you can pay extra for Santa photos, special concerts and performances, purchases from unique shops and lots of enticing fare from restaurants, bars and food vendors.
The folks in charge have plenty of experience putting on the month-long celebration. It draws 250,000 visitors from throughout the U.S. and other countries each holiday season, according to Cooper.
“It’s gotten a national reputation,” says Cooper. Last year, NBC’s “Today Show” gave Saint Charles and its tradition a shoutout as the “Merriest Main Street in America.”
Cooper says the longevity of Christmas Traditions is a tribute to local citizens and the emphasis on getting in touch with the simple roots of St. Charles’ history stretching to 1769. The city was Missouri’s first state capital and hosted Meriwether Lewis and William Clark as they began their Corps of Discovery Expedition of the West.
“We’ve idealized it a bit,” Cooper acknowledges, “with an emphasis on a simpler, rustic, nostalgic Christmas that you don’t see every day. People connect with the pure joy of the holiday.”
Christmas Traditions opens from noon to 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 28 with a tree lighting at 5 p.m. It ends with a Santa send-off on Christmas Eve, when it is open 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Regular hours are Wednesdays and Fridays from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Saturdays noon to 8:30 p.m. and Sundays noon to 5 p.m. Parades kick off at noon Saturdays and Sundays, and candlelight processions end each day a half hour before closing.
Carolers offer songs from the 1940s to the crowds attending the Christmas Traditions festival in St. Charles, Missouri.
Cooper says coming early on Sunday afternoon might be the best time to avoid the largest crowds. Parking usually can be found in the many lots in town. Wheelchair users may want to stick to accessible sidewalks rather than negotiate cobblestone and brick streets.
Some visitors might be overwhelmed by all the sights, smells and sounds so the festival also offers a free, sensory-friendly experience. For information on that and other Christmas Traditions activities, go to discoverstcharles.com or call the Greater Saint Charles Convention and Visitors Bureau at 636-946-7776.
Mary Bohlen, a Springfield resident and former journalism professor at UIS, first reported on the St. Charles Christmas Traditions in 2013, around the time she started writing regular travel articles for IT.
This article appears in November 27-December 3, 2025.
