March 18, 2026 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

Holly Jolly Kids Christmas to take place Saturday

Santa Claus is coming to town. 

The St. Joseph Stanton-Fire Family is putting on Holly Jolly Kids Christmas on Saturday. The event includes a pancake breakfast from 7 to 9:30 a.m. with a visit from The Grinch. The cost is $8 for adults, $6 for kids.  

Santa will arrive on a St. Joseph-Stanton fire truck at 10 a.m. 

While waiting to see Santa kids and parents can enjoy hot cocoa, crafts, make reindeer food and write Santa a letter.

Meena’s Memories will also be on site to take family photos. 

Event organizer Vickie Reese said the event take months to plan but it is worth it to see the joy on the children’s faces. 

“My personal favorite part is seeing all the joy, hearing all the laughter and seeing the Village of St. Joe and surrounding towns come together to share in the Magic of the Christmas season,” she said. 

Reese said there is a lot of work that goes into the day. 

“We begin planning the year prior and start to execute the vision in October,” she said. “We set up the trees and make sure all the lights are working a couple of weeks prior to the event.”

A week prior to the event, the lights are hung, the trees are fluffed and decorated and the backdrops are hung.

Then the evening prior and the early morning of a few of Fire Family members decorate the tables the firefighters, SJO FFA and National Honor Society volunteers put up.

“It’s a ton of work but so worth it,” she said. 

Each child who visits Santa will receive a fire helmet and a gift bag with a craft, reindeer food, coloring pages and a few other surprises inside.

Banner
Related Posts

DQ to hold fundraiser on May 13

May 4, 2019

May 4, 2019

The St. Joseph Dairy Queen wants to help out the St. Joseph Stanton Fire Protection District. On May 13, the...

Employees help co-worker during time of need

February 8, 2021

February 8, 2021

The staff at the St. Joseph Subway wanted to help April Patton. Manager Adam Porter said his co-worker said she...

Fall into a ‘Trap’ today at SJO

October 20, 2019

October 20, 2019

Today at 2 p.m. a mystery will unfold at St. Joseph-Ogden High School. The SJO drama department is producing “Trap”...

Vendor profile: Tupperware with Aubree

August 8, 2024

August 8, 2024

1. Tell me about your business. Tupperware has been around for 79 years and is known for the bowls, kitchen...

Welcome home: Parade set to honor Randall

October 2, 2021

October 2, 2021

Lyndsey Leemon is proud of her brother. So proud in fact, she wants to honor him with a parade to...

Around town April 10-14

April 10, 2019

April 10, 2019

APRIL 10Free Movie Matinee: Green BookHomer Library 1 p.m. In this Oscar Award winning movie, a working-class Italian-American bouncer becomes...

Around Town April 23-26

April 23, 2019

April 23, 2019

April 23Summer Camp Registration All Day Registration for summer camps at Homer Lake and Lake of the Woods Forest Preserves...

Willowdale Winter Wonderland to open tonight

December 9, 2020

December 9, 2020

The Willowdale subdivision north of St. Joseph has created a winter wonderland. Resident Lacey Smith organized the multi-night event which...

Wagle reaches out of her comfort zone

April 3, 2022

April 3, 2022

Alayna Wagle loves Halloween. So the Addams Family spooky motif is right up her alley. “I was pretty familiar with...

St. Joseph resident Lewis to star in ‘Frozen Jr.’

September 21, 2019

September 21, 2019

Hayden Lewis loves to act. The St. Joseph Middle School student is participating in the The Champaign Urbana Theatre Company...

Family Fun Guide March 1-3

February 28, 2019

February 28, 2019

Each week we provide a list of some fun activities to do with your family. Here are this weekend’s events....

4 Questions with Creations by De

August 12, 2023

August 12, 2023

Tell us about your business. Creations by De is a licensed home-based business. I do custom cakes, cookies and a...

Weekend Family Fun Guide

June 24, 2019

June 24, 2019

Every week we select some events that would provide your family with some fun. This post is sponsored by Island...

Ogden Harvest Festival to take place this weekend

October 25, 2019

October 25, 2019

A town tradition is taking place Saturday. The Village of Ogden will hold its Harvest Festival from 2 p.m. to...

Voges urges St. Joseph residents to celebrate America

July 3, 2020

July 3, 2020

World War II veteran Bruce Voges loves America. When he told his kids he wanted to have a Fourth of...

Comments
Leave a Reply