January 15, 2026 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

Willowdale Winter Wonderland to open tonight

The Willowdale subdivision north of St. Joseph has created a winter wonderland.


Resident Lacey Smith organized the multi-night event which features more than 20 homes decorated in Christmas lights.

The event starts Dec. 10.


“I love Christmas,” she said. “And we have a fantastic neighborhood.”


When Smith moved to Willowdale in 2015, she heard the neighborhood used to decorate for Christmas quite a bit.


“The idea just popped in my head that one day I would like to organize this for the community,” she said. “In the fall of 2019 we had some neighbors over for a bonfire and I casually brought the idea up. Everyone was interested and plans began to form for Willowdale Winter Wonderland.”


Smith said the event has brought the neighborhood together.

“It’s been a fun way to connect as a neighborhood-planning out what lights we want to put out and comparing ideas,” she said.


The subdivision includes everything from a lighted kickball field to lots of Santas and Snowmen.


“It looks really cool,” Smith said. “You can feel the excitement in the air among the neighbors. As we’ve been decorating, lots of people have been out walking and checking out one another’s displays, it’s been really fun to do this together as a neighborhood.”


Smith said many in the neighborhood are making plans for how they want to change their displays next year.

“Many of us are making plans for how we want to make this bigger and better next year,” she said. “We plan to hit up the after Christmas sales for more decorations, that’s for sure.”

The decorations will be on through Jan. 1.

Banner
Related Posts

‘I have absolutely loved portraying her’

April 3, 2022

April 3, 2022

Sophia McDade loves everything about the Addams Family production. The senior, who is acting in her second show with the...

Holly Jolly event postponed

December 3, 2021

December 3, 2021

The annual Holly Jolly Kids Christmas event scheduled for Dec. 11 has been postponed. The St. Joseph Stanton Fire Wife...

Ceremony to honor Edwards scheduled for Thursday

December 9, 2020

December 9, 2020

A Gift of Hope Flag raising ceremony will be held on Dec. 10 at 4 p.m. at the St, Joseph-Ogden...

Aden brings Easter joy to community

April 15, 2020

April 15, 2020

The Easter Bunny made sure children in St. Joseph had a happy holiday this past weekend. St. Joseph-Ogden Senior Lindsey...

‘There was a spunk and tenacity to her that would never quit, concede or fail’

February 2, 2023

February 2, 2023

Tiffany Kelley was many things. A loving mother. A great friend. An inspiration and a fighter. The St. Joseph resident...

Painter ‘making a difference’ during his time in St. Joseph

December 20, 2019

December 20, 2019

Max Painter loves to serve his community. Painter, who was appointed to the St. Joseph Village Board in August, said...

Little Prince and Princess applications being accepted

July 1, 2019

July 1, 2019

The St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce will be sponsoring the Little Prince and Princess event in conjunction with the St....

Christmas village on display at Ogden Rose Library

December 21, 2022

December 21, 2022

A winter wonderland is on display at the Ogden Rose Library. More than 500 holiday buildings are on display. The...

Weekend Family Fun Guide March 29-March 31

March 29, 2019

March 29, 2019

March 29Royal Community Garage Sale 5-8 p.m. Royal Community Building 103 Park St. Royal, IL 61871 Over 5,000 square feet...

Around Town: Feb. 18-23

February 18, 2019

February 18, 2019

If you want your event included please email us at stjosephrecord@gmail.com Feb. 18 Story Time for Children 6:30 p.m. St...

Ogden festival committee to meet tonight

March 11, 2019

March 11, 2019

The Ogden Festival will be bigger and better this year if organizer Kelly Cooper has anything to say about it....

SJO to host event for seniors

April 1, 2021

April 1, 2021

The administration at St. Joseph-Ogden High School wants to give their seniors some sense of normalcy.   “The decision to have...

Short hopes to light up St. Joseph

December 8, 2020

December 8, 2020

Audrey Short wants to light up St. Joseph for Christmas. Short is urging the community to take part in a...

‘As long as you put the effort into it, it can be achieved’

July 19, 2024

July 19, 2024

Logan Allen has loved Barry Manilow’s music his entire life. Allen’s mother was a huge Manilow fan. “When she had...

Around town for Jan. 21-26

January 22, 2019

January 22, 2019

Every week we will post a round-up of events for the following week. We call it Around Town. If you...

Comments
Leave a Reply