Local Charities Release Holiday Cards for a Cause

Buy your annual holiday cards from a local charity this year.

Every holiday season, families across the country send cards to their loved ones, filling them in on the last year and wishing them a happy new one.  For families planning to buy holiday cards this year, nonprofit organizations around the area are offering unique cards that benefit their missions. That way, each card sends holiday cheer while supporting a worthy cause. Here is our round-up of holiday cards for charity. The Salvation Army – St. Louis Smiling bell-ringers in front of Downtown St. Louis’ Peabody Opera House greet recipients of this 2011 holiday card. Pick up yours at The Salvation Army office near Forest Park and support youth programming and homeless assistance throughout Missouri and southern Illinois.  Cost: $10 for 10 …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (9)
• Documents (1)

Kemery Baldwin

8:02 am on Tuesday, November 15, 2011

I buy Emmaus Homes Christmas Cards every year. The art is delightful, cards well made, and packaged by residents. Thanks for this article about all these wonderful cards and this opportunity to help these great organizations.   more ›

Life in the Sandwich

Catering Capabilities

Holiday parties got you stressed? We got you covered.

Is your shopping done? Are all your decorations out? Did you mail your cards yet? Cookies all baked? Finish planning the menu for the party? Completely stressed? Do yourself a favor and call one of our capable local caterers to handle your party planning needs and check one item off your to-do list. "We only need two to three days notice for any size party," said Brady Hanlen, owner of Hanlen's Meat Shoppe and Catering in Kirkwood. "More time is better of course." Hanlen's caters parties of any size, as small as two and as large as 5,000. "Dinner parties, cocktail parties, a sandwich platter or a pig roast – we handle it all," Hanlen said. "But this time of year, the item we sell the most of is beef tenderloin, cooked to our customer's …

• Photos (1)

Kirkwood Woman Gets Christmas Surprise

Her camera was stolen more than three years ago, along with all of her photos from a trip to Europe.

When someone broke into her car three years ago, Mary Sudekum was angry. But she was crushed that the thief also stole her camera with more than 300 irreplaceable photos from her recent trip to Europe. "It was awful," the Kirkwood woman said Thursday. "I was upset about the money and the rest of it, but the pictures kept me up at night. You can't ever get them back." But it seems the thief had a change of heart because this week, three and a half years later, the camera was returned anonymously with an apology attached. "This was taken awhile ago when I was hanging with the wrong people," the note read. "I am truly sorry." Sudekum said the camera was stolen from her car when it was parked in her parents' driveway in Frontenac. The camera …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (5)

Jean Whitney

3:02 pm on Thursday, December 23, 2010

this is really hard to believe   more ›

Webster Lot Owner's Tips on Keeping the Tree Green Through New Year's

If you bought early, it might be tough; those first shipments have a hard time lasting long enough.

Holiday enthusiasts who grab a Christmas tree from the first shipment on a lot sometimes end up with a less than dazzling plant by Dec. 25. Rogers Produce at 625 E Lockwood Ave. in Webster Groves usually receives its first batch of trees shortly after Thanksgiving. "Sometimes the demand is really high early in the season," said Jessica Krull, whose father is the founder and owner of Rogers. "Buying them that early isn't always a good idea." Krull, a former employee, indicated that trees ideally last about three weeks. The trees are naturally inclined to survive in cold weather, and the dry heat of a family home can sap the moisture from the branches. One service that is crucial for the tree is administering a 'fresh cut' upon purchase, …

• Photos (2)

Santa Straps on Skates

A fun time was had by all this past weekend at Kirkwood Ice Arena's Skate With Santa.

For a man of such large stature, Santa nimbly maneuvered around the Kirkwood Ice Arena this past weekend. Stopping to take Christmas requests, the big man brought smiles to the faces of kids and parents. Growing up, Santa split his time between the North Pole and Kirkwood and played hockey from a young age. Who knew? He is friends with the rink's manager and has been gracing the complex with his prescence for the past four years, despite his busy holiday schedule. "It's a fun way to help out the community," he said.

•  1 Comment
• Photos (5)

Jean Whitney

10:45 pm on Monday, December 20, 2010

I learned some little-known facts about Santa's early years here. Very nice.   more ›

Transportation Museum Remembers Holidays Past

The "Memories of Christmas Past" exhibit at the Museum of Transportation explores everything from toy trucks from the '60s to horse-drawn sleighs from the 1800s.

What little boy doesn't love playing with toy trucks and train sets? What teenager doesn't hope for a new car on her sixteenth birthday? Some things never change, as the "Memories of Christmas Past" exhibit at the Museum of Transportation shows. The exhibit takes visitors back in time to see toys and cars that were popular gifts in decades past. Many of them are similar, at least in theme, to what kids find under the tree today. The first item in the exhibit is a gleaming teal Chevy convertible from 1957. A printed sign next to the front wheel reads, "Some presents are too big to fit under the tree." Two other cars on display include a sporty yellow '65 Corvette and the flashy 1960 DiDia, on which the sign read, "What's on Santa's wish …

• Photos (7)

The Best Theatre Guild Fundraiser Ever

The Theatre Guild of Webster Groves presents "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" as a winter musical fundraiser.

A choir of angels, shepherds and wise men crowded the stage at Theatre Guild of Webster Groves last weekend, but it wasn't for the Christmas pageant you might expect. The guild performed The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, a play adapted from the novel by Barbara Robinson, as its winter fundraiser. The story follows a community's efforts to organize a Christmas pageant, despite the disruptions caused by a local family of hooligans, the Herdmans. "It's such a great kid show, they have a lot of fun with it," director Barb Mulligan said. "This is probably the nicest group of kids we've had." Auditions were in October, drawing children and parents from Webster Groves and beyond. The cast includes 22 children ranging in age from 6 to 13, with a …

• Photos (4)