Santa in St Louis

Whether you want to meet Santa, be Santa, or see Santa, there are all sorts of options to get you in the Christmas mood here in St. Louis. Here are four great ways Santa can make your day:

Saint Louis Santa Crawl

The 4th Annual St. Louis Santa Crawl will be held on Saturday, December 12th, 2009. To participate in the Santa Crawl, you must wear a Santa Suit, or another holiday-themed outfit. From Washington University to the Soulard area, you get on a bus for different drink specials throughout the city. Last year over 80 Santas participated. If you don't want to dress up as Santa, you can check out their intinerary and show up at one of the locations these Santas will be visiting. Remember, these Santas will be drinking so this event won't be a great way to introduce your children to the jolly fat man.

St. Charles Santa Parade

Between November 27-December 26 on Saturdays and Sundays at 1:30pm there is a Santa Parade in historic St. Charles. The santa parade is led by the Lewis and Clark Fife and Drum Corp and culminates at the corner of South Main Street and First Capitol in Berthold Square. After the show don't miss out on the opportunity to interact with all the Santas, as well as collect their Character Cards. You can meet all sorts of historical Santas from the Civil War, Victorian and Frontier eras. This event is great if you want to show your children the historical origins of Santa in a fun spectacle.

Santa vs. the Snowman

Check out the new IMAX film through Christmas at the St. Louis Science Center. Santa has a old-fashioned fight with a Snowman in state of the art animation. The film screens daily (except for Thanksgiving and Christmas) through Sunday, January 3, and tickets are $7 to $8. You might not get to actually meet Santa but it will give your kids a whole new level of respect for him.

Snapshots with Santa at the Boathouse

From 11am to 2pm on December 6th you and your kids can pose with Santa at the Boathouse in Forest Park. Bring your family or your four-legged friends you can not only get a pic with old St. Nick but you can make it a day by having brunch there.