Winning Gingerbread Houses Deck Halls of Webster YMCA

Candy constructions are on display for the Kirkwood-Webster Groves Family YMCA gingerbread house making contest.

Gingerbread buildings are on display this week at the Webster Groves Family YMCA. Families entered their sweet sculptures in the gingerbread house making contest on Saturday for a chance to win gift cards. First place, a $25 gift card, went to Owen Backer, of Kirkwood. Second place, a $15 gift card, went to Christopher Douglas, of Des Peres. Third place, a $10 gift card, went to Libby Brooking, of Webster Groves. Nicole Burke, of Ellisville, and Erin Sullivan, of Ballwin, both received honorable mentions.

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Tour Sparkling Worlds Around St. Louis

Use our holiday light guide map to plan a night of family fun.

Each blue point on our holiday light guide map represents a particularly beautiful light display in the St. Louis region. Click on the blue points to find addresses, hours and details. As more parks, businesses and neighbors begin to deck the halls, send us your pictures of beautiful holiday light displays. We'll add them to the map so families can plan light-viewing outings. Send pictures, addresses and impressions of light displays to your local Patch or to Lindsay.Toler@patch.com. If you're on the road, tweet about it @StLouisLindsay.

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Recipes for Homemade Holidays Gifts

Culinary gifts made in your own kitchen are sure to be a hit.

The following recipes are from my holiday classes presented at St. Louis Community College and Dierberg's School of Cooking.  Black & White Sesame Seed Lovash In a large mixing bowl combine butter, water and one cup of the flour, yeast, salt and sugar. Stir in enough flour to make a stiff dough. Turn dough out on a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Place in a lightly greased bowl and allow dough to rise for 20 minutes. Punch down and divide dough in 12 ñ14 pieces. Spread sesame seeds on work surface. Roll each piece of dough over seeds; rolling dough out as thin as possible. Place on ungreased baking sheets and bake on the lowest oven rack at 400 degrees for 8 in 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove and cool lovash …

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Troops Get Holiday Surprise Via Kirkwood Market

Gifts collected from a St. Louis-area Support Our Troops Drive made their way overseas and brought smiles to the faces of soldiers of the Missouri Army National Guard's 3175th Chemical Company.

Presents came early this holiday season for a group of soldiers stationed overseas thanks to Kirkwood's Majic Market and a St. Louis-area non-profit. The deli and convenience store served as a drop-off location for a Support Our Troops drive for the men and women of the Missouri Army National Guard's 3175th Chemical Company based at Jefferson Barracks. The drive was headed by All About Paws Rescue. (See: Kirkwood Market Sends 'Majic' Overseas) Members of the company, who are stationed in Qatar as part of a year-long base security mission, recently received gifts from the drive and a reminder of how they are supported back home. Click the video to watch their reaction as they unwrap the holiday goodies. Like Majic Market and All About Paws …

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Life in the Sandwich

Post-Thanksgiving Letdown; Pre-Christmas Procrastination

Between the the post-Thanksgiving letdown and the pre-Christmas frenzy, there exists a tiny window of time to reflect on the holidays.

Who thought it was a good idea to put Thanksgiving so close to Christmas? The Canadians are smart, their Thanksgiving is in October, putting more than eight weeks between the two holidays. I’d like that, I feel like I need more than eight weeks to recover from Thanksgiving, yet I only have about eight days, less even, before I’m thrown into the next holiday frenzy.  I really shouldn’t complain. My Thanksgiving is tiny compared to most. Dinner for five, two house guests for two to three days, easy-peasy, right? Yes and no.  Every year our house guests are my in-laws. Lovely people, though slightly neurotic, and even after 22 years of marriage to their son, I still feel like my house needs to be spotless when they visit. A week of shopping, …

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Kirkwood Giving Trees Ready for Presents

A Kirkwood nonprofit has set the ambitious goal of collecting 2,000 gifts for kids in need, including those in Joplin.

More than 20 trees are set up in Kirkwood and surrounding communities and Youth in Action is calling on residents to stuff them to the brim with gifts for Missouri kids in need. In addition to passing along presents to St. Louis organizations, including Annie's Hope, Friends of Kids with Cancer and Nurses for Newborns, the Kirkwood nonprofit will deliver gifts to victims of the Joplin tornado. The organization hopes to collect 2,000 items by Dec. 21. "They don't necessarily have to be large or wrapped," Youth in Action Executive Director Keith Rawlings said. "We even accept monetary donations and go out and buy presents ourselves. These people are thankful for anything they get." A list of gift giving tree locations can be found at the …

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Owen Skoler

10:33 pm on Monday, November 28, 2011

What a great cause. Thank you for sharing!   more ›

Black Friday Shopping Guide in St. Louis

The stores, sales and strategies you need to optimize your all-night shopping blow-out.

Here’s a new holiday tradition to try: Say grace, eat turkey, head to the mall. Black Friday sales start at midnight this year at some of the regions biggest stores, including Walmart, Target, Kohl’s and Best Buy. We’ve read through the ads and compiled everything you need for the best all-night holiday shopping blow-out possible. And for each sale, we've highlighted the items we think would make the best gifts (at the best prices!) Check back on Black Friday for updates and tips, and if you hit the sales, tag your tweets with #BlackFridaySTL or mention @StLouisLindsay. And don't forget: Black Friday sales are already starting online at popular big box stores. Best Buy said they've already sold out of popular $80 TVs and $150 laptops, but …

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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 …

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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 ›

In the Stacks

Kirkwood Library Helps Kris Kringle With Correspondence

With an easy online order form, the Kirkwood Public Library makes giving the gift of a Letter From Santa a snap. Learn about the program and what's going on this week at the Kirkwood Public Library.

In our fourth edition of In the Stacks, our weekly look at what's going on at the Kirkwood Public Library (KPL), we bring you holiday happenings and more. As always, Kirkwood Patch extends a sincere thank you to Deb Barry, assistant director of Youth Services & Programs at KPL, for sharing library information with our readers. Holidays Kick Off With Help From The Friends Friends of the Kirkwood Public Library is sponsoring it second annual Holiday Kick Off Event on Sunday, Nov. 20, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The event will offer discounts on special items in the Books & Beyond gift shop only that evening. In addition, there will be a Giving Tree for gifts to the library. Hors d’oeuvres, desserts and beverages will be served. Tickets are $25 …

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