Winter Wonderland: Ladue's Tilles Park Shines With the Spirit of the Season

Open until New Year’s Day, visitors can enjoy an entire mile of holiday magic.

Now in its 26th year, the Winter Wonderland in Tilles Park boasts more than one million twinkling lights, making it a magnet for families from around metro St. Louis.  “It’s a family tradition,” said Justin Hirsch, Special Events Coordinator for St. Louis County Parks. Whether this is your first year to visit the Winter Wonderland or you have visited many times, you will find holiday scenes new and old. “The display changes every year,” said Hirsch. New and traditional sights New this year is a series of Christmas trees with lights that are synchronized to music. Also new are portions of the lighted tunnel and a snowflake effect that hangs over the roadway. Some of the previous years designs are in different locations this year. Look for …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (16)

Myra Lopez

9:48 am on Monday, December 26, 2011

Visited the Winter Wonderland in Tilles Park for the first time. Spectacular! Wonder how long in advance they start putting up the lights and displays.   more ›

Beefing Up the Holiday Menu

Bring on the beef to add a touch of elegance to your holiday menus. From standing prime rib to stylish small plate appetizers, beef makes holiday cooking easy.

Looking for something beyond turkey and the spiral sliced ham? Consider setting the holiday table with beef. Whether you’re serving an elegant standing prime rib or a flat-iron steak sliced and assembled into small plate appetizers, beef is a traditional yuletide favorite. “Prime rib is a classic lots of people like to have for the holidays,” said Charles Mateker, a third generation meat cutter and owner of Mateker Meat & Catering in St. Louis, who offered his tips on picking prime rib. “Look for marbling. That’s what gives beef the best flavor. I like my prime rib cut from the big end that’s closer to the chuck, which has more marbling. Prime rib cut from the smaller end is closer to the T-bone and porterhouse that’s leaner.” Mateker also…

• Photos (2)

Getting More for Your Gift Card Buck

STLMommy.com operator gives tips on saving with gift cards, and the Better Business Bureau shows how not to get stuck with accompanying fees.

Gift cards are great for any shopper puzzled over what to get a friend, family member or loved one. They’re also great last minute gifts. Sure, you can head to any store and pay $20 for a $20 gift card—or you can up your game and get more card for your buck. Kim Julian, a St. Louis-based author who operates stlmommy.com, suggests trying plasticjungle.com to check for bargains. “They offer anywhere from 10 to 50 percent off of gift cards,” said Julian, who links to some of the better deals on her site. “Sites like Groupon or livingsocial.com, the way they increase their database is to offer good deals on gift cards. The beauty in that is that, although they’re building their database, you can always unsubscribe if gets to be hassle.” …

• Photos (1)

Maryland Heights Chamber Hosts 2011 Holiday Gala

The local chamber of commerce held a holiday gala on Dec. 14.

The Maryland Heights Chamber of Commerce held its annual holiday gala on Dec. 14, a press release indicated. The money raised at the event benefited the organization's education fund, according to the release, which gives college scholarships to local high school students. The organization also unveiled a new logo, designed by Scott Palermo of A Skeetz Productions.

• Photos (4)

Trays of Tradition: The Art of Baking the Perfect Cookie

Baking cookies is a tradition and an art for St Louisan Julia Usher, author of the "Cookie Swap" and "The Ultimate Cookie" cookbooks.

Julia Usher is one smart cookie, especially when it comes to baking Christmas cookies.  “I love to bake Christmas cookies, but cookie-baking and cookie swaps are something I think people should do all year round,” said Usher, of Webster Groves, whose love for cookies served as the inspiration for her two cookie cookbooks, The Cookie Swap and her latest release, The Ultimate Cookie, both published by Gibbs Smith Publishing. Usher began commercially baking cookies and other sweet delights after relocating to St Louis several years ago. She opened a confection company here after working first as a a Yale educated engineer. A few years into the busincess she made the decision to close the company to focus on writing cookbooks and demonstrating…

• Photos (1)

A Great Gift: Charter Brings Military Men and Women Home for the Holidays

The company features servicemen and women who are serving overseas in holiday greeting videos, available On Demand for Charter customers in metro St. Louis.

Many metro St. Louis families are celebrating this holiday season without their loved ones who are serving in the United States military overseas.  Charter Communications is helping people on active duty in the military to make an appearance at home for the holidays. The company’s annual “US Soldier Holiday Greetings” program puts soldiers on video and their airs their special messages on television. “All branches of the military are represented in our greetings,” said Jessica Myers, Charter’s senior manager of communications. “Some of the locations where Missouri and Illinois servicemen and women serve that we have greetings from include Anderson Air Force Base; Spangdahlem Air Base; Incirlik Air Base; Kabul, Afghanistan; Camp Carroll; …

• Photos (1)
• Videos (1)

Government and Community Centers Around Maryland Heights Plan Closings and Limited Hours During the Holidays

Several places around town will have limited hours and closings due to the holiday season.

Holidays are coming quickly, and that means schools and government offices will be closed for a few days. We’ve compiled a quick run-down of places around Maryland Heights that will be closed, and the dates they will not have open hours. Maryland Heights Government Center Maryland Heights Centre Edward Jones Family YMCA U.S. Post Office

• Photos (1)

Viewfinder

Maryland Heights Community Chorus Celebrates the Holidays with Song

The local community chorus held a holiday concert on Dec. 12.

The Maryland Heights Community Chorus held a holiday concert on Dec. 12, where the musical group sang songs from around the world. Their program included "Light the Candles," "All Through the Night" and "Gloria in D." The Chorus' music director is Amy Smith, the concert program indicated, and Shirley Foust accompanied on the piano. Percussionists Joe Eagan and Ethan McClain also accompanied, according to the program.

• Photos (7)

Santa Appears at Westport Plaza

Santa delighted hundreds of kids at the indoor pavilion of Westport Plaza on December 10, 2011.

Santa Claus made an appearance at the Westport Plaza to the delight of the children in attendance on Dec. 10. The event also featured performances by DaySpring School of the Arts, free face painting and free balloon sculptures from Spunkybeans. 

• Photos (14)