By Pauline Masson –

Whether your idea of Christmas is giving to others, family get-togethers, Christmas decorations or a visit with Santa, there is something for everyone each holiday season in Pacific.

Adopt a Family, a free Community Meal, Cookie Walk, a forest of Christmas trees, Lighted Parade, Open House, Memorial Ornament Ceremony, and Santa on the Plaza are all in the works this Christmas season in Pacific

Adopt a Family – Still Time to Donate

Volunteers at Pacific Heights Baptist Church, 523 West St. Louis Street, are busy filling bags with Christmas gifts for area youngsters in need.

Elizabeth Forister, pictured right, Adopt a Family chair says this is a very busy year.

Cleta Null, pictured left, started this program in 1992 by soliciting used stuffed animals to be distributed to children of needy families. The program grew into a community-wide effort that provides new clothing, and toys and food for hundreds of children each year. Each donated item is identified for a specific youngsters from newborn to age 18.

Each bag gets matching outfits, shoes, coat, hat, scarf, gloves, as well as sleep wear, socks and underwear, one large toy and five small toys.

It’s not too late to donate to the program. Forister said the greatest need is gifts for teens and the best item for teens is gift cards.

To donate, contact Elizabeth Forister at 314-791-3649 or by email at [email protected].

Cookie Walk – Saturday Dec. 10 at 9 a.m. to 12 noon

Imagine, if you will, rows of tables laden with platters of every families’ favorite Christmas cookies. That’s what the Pacific United Women in Faith (formerly Pacific United Methodist Women) do every year and it has turned out to be quite a fundraiser to support their charitable mission projects.

You are invited to their annual cookie walk and holiday bazaar on Saturday, December 10 at United Methodist Church, 1516 West Saint Louis Street. Doors open at 9:00 a.m. but people typically line up ahead of time to get in and buy their holiday cookies.

Cookies are sold for $7.00 per pound, in increments of 1/4 pound. Shoppers go from table to table and fill their boxes with the cookies that know from childhood – or that they’re seeing for the first time. The cookie walk has been especially important since the ladies were unable to host their annual turkey dinner the past three years due to the Covid pandemic.

Adams Garden Ornament Ceremony – Saturday Dec. 10 at 3 p.m.

Some 3,000 Christmas lights have been installed on the Christmas Tree in Adams Garden this year. Next Saturday some 300 ornaments will be added to the tree. Each ornament will be placed by a family member in memory of a youngster who  died too young.

Gina and Mark Pingleton founded the garden at the base of Sand Mountain inthe 200 block of West Osage to honor their son Adam, who died Dec. 23, —— – and to preserve the memories of the children of all area residents whose lives were cut short.

“The garden is really a place to remember these children,” Gina Pingleton said. 

The park is a good place to visit anytime, with a waterfall, bandstand style gazebo, a praying angel, seating for families to visit the memory of their child and survey the rows of paved brick with the names of children whose memories are preserved here. A flag draped exhibit is tucked into the south east corner to honor lost sons and daughters who served on the military.

“The park and ceremonies that bring out the families has grown beyond anything I imagined when we first put it together,” Gina said. “To me, it is an honor to be part of it.”

The ornament ceremony starts at 3:00 p.m. and tree lights will be turned on when all the ornaments have been placed on the tree.

Landing Hub Open House – Wednesday Dec. 14

When the Landing Hub Airbnb, at 1020 Hwy OO, opens its doors and invites the commuity to come by for a special holiday visit on December 14, visitors will see  a unique travel exprience that has tourism aficionados buzzing

Owner-operators Shane Mayer and Jennifer Blakely, veteran Airbnb operators, bill the Landing Hub as a pet friendly, boutique hotel, but it’s really a new way to travel.

It’s more than a hotel, more than a motel, more than a country inn. Actually it is a visitor’s lodge with no front desk – where rooms are booked on line. 

Inside the ultra modern facade is a smorgasbord of travel amenities – huge family friendly kitchen, large open spaces, outdoor patio and swimming pool – as welll as intimate single rooms, dormitory style rooms for large families or teams and space age sleeping pods for the adventurous. 

You can see it all for yourself when the Landing Hub hosts an Open House at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, December 14.

Christmas Parade – Saturday Dec. 17

No one has claimed to have counted the number of lights displayed on the floats in the annual lighted Christmas parade through downtown Pacific, but the imaginative display of color and Christmas imagery has become a favorite holiday spectacular.

Kaleidoscope is the host of this years parade which is organized by the Pacific Partnership.

The parade leaves Pacific Intermediate School at 6 p.m. and will travel along the route posted below, through downtown.

Downtown parking is available at the Pacific Commuter lot, on East St. Louis Street, and at the Community School.

Christmas on the Plaza – Saturday Dec. 17 at 7 to 9 p.m.

There will be additional festivities at the Pacific Station Plaza on South First Street, opposite the commuter parking log. following the parade from 7-9 p.m., including photos with Santa! Families are invited to enjoy a free cookie, smores pack, and enjoy the heat of the fires.

This event, which is traditionally highlighted by Santa Claus’ arrival in a dramatic entry, has grown into a family Christmas affair.

Christmas Tree Forest – Now to Dec 21

The Christmas Tree Forest is all about giving a stocking stuffing size gift to an organization of your choice.

For the fifth year in a row, a Riverbend School club has invited organizations to decorate a unique Christmas tree in the forest located in the small wedge shaped lot on West Osage opposite the Pacific Intermediate School.

This year 15 organizations have decorated 25 trees with the goal of generating funds for the work they do.

“Club members are out there every evening, no matter how cold,” said Genetta Tomnitz, the club sponsor. “They walk visitors through the lighted forest and identify the creator of each tree. 

Visitors are invited to vote on their favorite tree. To vote, visitors place $1 – or as much as they like – in a provided envelope, mark the tree number on the envelope, and put the donation envelope in the lockbox. All donations go to the charities or groups that created the tree. The envelopes willl be delivered to the tree owners on December 21.

Eagles Community Meal – Sunday, Dec. 11 

One group of Pacific givers wants to make sure that every resident can enjoy a Christmas meal with friends and neigbors.

For at least 30 years – they don’t remember exactly how long – each December as Christmas nears, the men at the Pacific Eagles, 707 West Congress, have cooked up a holiday meal and invited the community to dine.

They don’t keep track of how many people join the feast, but Jimmy Harris who coordinates this year’s event, said the Eagles men will roast 17 turkes and ten hams and cook up all the fixins for a holiday meal. Eagles and Auxiliary volunteers will carry in home made pies – pumpkin, pecan and apple – along with each cook’s favorite cakes and cookies.

On Sunday December 11, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. volunteers will serve the meals. Nobody goes home until all the dishes are done.

“It’s a big deal for the community,” Harris said.. “Some people don’t have family members to eat with and they come out to be with friends and neighbors. It’s one of the most popular things in the Community. I expect to be doing it until I can’t get around any more.”

After enjoying the meal, diners are invited to take a walk through Peggy McDermott’s vendor fair where to shop for local goods and unique Christmas gifts.