Debbie and Bob Hahn of Imperial sent a photo of their grandson, Augustus “Augie” Kister visiting Santa in 2021 on St. Charles Main Street during a time of social distancing. “When you couldn’t sit on (Santa’s) lap, (Augie) found a way to let Santa know what he wanted!”
Liz Greubel sent a photo from this month of her grandson, Maverick Edward Davila, 1, at the house of her daughter and son-in-law, Bailey and Keanen.
Tia Beran, formerly of De Soto, took this picture of her daughter, Lola Beran, checking the “naughty and nice list” with Santa in Daisy, Mo. “Not only was this Lola’s first time meeting Santa, but also her first time meeting a family friend, Bill Polley.”
Kyla of Farmington took this picture of her sons, Arnold, 5, and Alex, 4, in Farmington meeting Mr. and Mrs. Claus, Bill and Lisa Polley.
Taylor O’Harver of Cadet sent in this picture of her daughters, Raeyln, 1 month, and Alexis, 6, at a breakfast with Santa event at Kingston High School.
Ashley McCabe of House Springs took pictures of her daughter, Violet Lalumondiere, 6, sneaking around her grandparents’ cabin as an Elf on the Shelf.
Ashley Dalba of Festus sent in a picture of her son, Tate Dalba, during his first Christmas last year.
Ashley Fox of Arnold sent in a photo of her daughters, Sadie, 2, and Savannah, 8, fulfilling a Christmas wish. “Our girls have been asking to see a real life reindeer, and we were fortunate enough to find the opportunity for them to do so and get the cutest photos taken,” Ashley said. The picture was taken last month in De Soto by AC Photography.
Lisa Malone of House Springs sent a photo of her family celebrating Thanksgiving. From left are Lisa’s son, Robert; daughter-in-law, Macy; Lisa; and her husband holding their grandson, Landon.
Lisa Malone of House Springs sent a photo of her grandson, Landon, at the city of Eureka’s Christmas tree.
Lisa Malone of House Springs and her grandson, Landon, visit the city of Eureka’s Christmas tree.
Rosie Cook of Festus sent in a picture of Saya and Izaiah Cook, 8 and 5. The photo was taken by AC Photography in De Soto.
Janice Cross of Fenton took this photo last year in House Springs of her daughter, Adriann Cross, 6, hugging Santa. “Santa hugs are the best to fill your heart with joy and happiness,” Janice said.
Tracy Collins, then 47, of Festus sent a festive photo of herself, Tom Collins, then 55, as Santa and their granddaughter, Penelope Zepeda, about 8-9 months. The picture was taken at Sandy Creek Covered Bridge by Sarah Zepeda in 2018.
Tracy Collins, then 50, of Festus sent a family photo from 2021 of herself and Tom Collins, then 58, as Santa with their grandchildren, Penelope Zepeda, then 3; Frankie Zepeda, then 2; Luca Zepeda, then a newborn; and Presley Warner, then 3.
Tracy Collins of Festus sent in a photo from 2018 of Penelope Zepeda, then 9 months, and Penelope’s grandfather, Tom Collins, then 55, as Santa.
Sarah Williams of Crystal City sent in a photo from earlier this month of Sydney Williams, 2, next to the Christmas tree.
Sarah Williams of Crystal City sent in a photo from earlier this month of Sydney Williams, 2, during a visit from Mr. and Mrs. Claus.
Bryttany Whipple of Crystal City sent a photo of her 2-year-old children, Jagger, left, and Jovey, having a rough time meeting Santa, Mike Hankins. The picture was taken last month by photographer Cieara Ruess.
Kayla Gill of De Soto took this photo earlier this month of her children dressed in their Grinch-themed pajamas. From left are Oliver Hardin, 4; Lillie Gill, 12; and Ava Rothgeb, 9.
Kane Seek, 5
Kullen Seek, 10; Kaleb Seek, 8; and Kane Seek, 5.
Alicia Vazquez of Festus sent in a picture of her children, Logan Ramsbottom with Kennedy Hinklin on his shoulders and Jackson Hinklin. Logan wears a special shirt for this Christmas photo.
“When big stepbrother Logan first moved to Festus, all his friends in St. Louis wondered, ‘Where the heck is Festus, Missouri?’” Alicia said.
Alicia Vazquez of Festus sent in a picture of her daughter, Kennedy Hinklin, goofing off in her Christmas pajamas.
Alicia Vazquez of Festus sent in a picture of the family dog, Bo.
Kathleen Firle of Crystal City took this photo of her daughter-in-law, Cassie Firle, and granddaughter, Kasey Firle, then 2, both of Bloomsdale.
“(Kasey) adored Santa and was so surprised to see him, and he stopped at our table to talk with her,” Kathleen said. The group was riding the Christmas train in Jackson in 2014.
Amelia Morgan, 16, of Pevely sent in a family photo from Thanksgiving this year. At the table, from left, are Amelia; her sister, Mary Morgan, 18; brother, John Morgan, 14; father, Robert Morgan, 55; and sister, Katherine Murphy, 29. Amelia’s nephew, Daniel Murphy, 1, sits nearby.
Amelia Morgan, 16, of Pevely sent in a family photo from Thanksgiving last year. Around the table are Amelia; her sister, Mary Morgan, 18; brother, John Morgan, 14; father, Robert Morgan, 55; sister, Katherine Murphy, 29; nephew, Daniel Murphy, then 6 months; and sister, Rachel Morgan, 23. Included are friends Vicki, 29, and James, 31, both from St. Charles.
Amelia Morgan, 16, of Pevely sent in a photo from this Thanksgiving of her family playing their favorite board game, Catan. Amelia sits with her back to the camera, with her brother, John Morgan, 14, to the left; father, Robert Morgan, 55, in the center; and sister, Katherine Murphy, 29, and nephew, Daniel Murphy, 1, to the right.
Rita Bomberry, 57, of De Soto and her granddaughter, Amelia Bishop, then 1, can be seen decorating the Christmas tree in this 2014 photo taken by Arthur Bishop.
Debby Geary of De Soto visited the Polar Express at St. Louis Union Station along with friends and four generations of family. “What a wonderful way to celebrate the holiday with family and friends,” Debby said.
Pictured is Debby, third from the left, along with her great-granddaughter, Catalina Jean Geary; granddaughter, Jessica Geary; son, Jerold Geary; daughter-in-law, Conny Geary; sister, Linda Griffin; and friends, Linda Shepherd and Portia Jones.
Debby Geary of De Soto and her dog, Prince Harry Eugene, pose in their Christmas gear in 2017. “This is a photo of puppy love to the fullest, which Harry gives unconditionally to Debby, his two-legged mommy,” Debby said.
Debby Geary of De Soto sent a picture of Tom Geary with Santa at the De Soto VFW in 2019. “There’s a little kid in every one of us, just waiting to come out at Christmas,” Debby said.
Susan and Wayne Boostrom of De Soto sent a photo of their daughter, Shari Pinkel, 44, of De Soto with her husband and children around the Christmas tree last month. From left are Jeff Pinkel, 44; Miles Pinkel, 18; Shari; and Isabella Pinkel, 15. Meg, a 3-year-old German shepherd, also joins the holiday fun.
Tara and Tony Lang of Festus sent a photo of their children snuggled up in their Christmas gear earlier this month. From left are Asher Lang, 5, Lucy Lang, 1, and Ruby Lang, 7.
Patricia Parsons, 65, of Herculaneum and her husband, Steve Parsons, 64, spread holiday cheer by dressing as Sparkles the elf and Santa Clause. Joined by Carol Ann, 79, of St. Louis, as Mrs. Claus, they visited Mimi’s Cafe in Chesterfield for a pancake breakfast event.
“Santa and Sparkles walked around the restaurant catching children by surprise!” Patricia said. “Sparkles scrolled through the list to see if the children were good or bad. Luckily, all of the children were on the good list.”
Mike and Donna Cooper of De Soto and their family visited Silver Dollar City last month. Their grandchildren are, from left, Aubrey, 8, Bennett, 4, and Jacob, 11.
Debbie Forbes of Cedar Hill took this 2018 picture of her grandson, Gabriel Wicker, then 8 months, of Hillsboro, on the family farm.
William Polley of De Soto, dressed as Santa, goes for a cookie in Oliver Orr’s hand. The picture was taken last month at Fireplace and Outdoor Living Supply in Farmington.
Tosha Luhrsen, 44, of De Soto sent a picture of herself, Rob, 40, and Adelin, 10, at Silver Dollar City last month.
Jadyn Achelpohl of Hillsboro took this picture last December of her father and stepmother, Robert Achelpohl and Sue Connolly-Hahn. “Every year for Christmas, they dress up as Mrs. and Mr. Claus and let kids come to their house to meet and get a photo with them for free,” Jadyn said.
Lisa Carr of Imperial sent this picture of her 7-month-old grandson, Jameson Williams, visiting Santa at CB’s Chop House in Fenton.
Michael Gross of De Soto took this picture on Christmas Eve in 2021 of Sydney and Mason Buehl of Imperial.
Dawn Sullivan of Festus took this picture of her dog in 2015.
Dawn Sullivan of Festus took this picture of her dog in 2016.
Danny and Gina Whitehead of Festus posed with their grandchildren on Thanksgiving Day. “We are so blessed to have all our grandkids with us as much as we can,” Gina said. “We take this picture every year to see how much they have grown.”
In this picture, from left, are Hailey Meyer holding Elsi Coulter; Natalie Meyer; Charlie Brown in the back, with Wyatt and Colt Wallman, brothers, in front; Lani and Brian Coulter, wife and husband, in the back with Weston Gant and Sutton Bossch, siblings, in front; Gina and Danny; Gunnar Spruell; Kylee Barton; Riley Spruell; and Claire Barton holding Aniston Bossch.
Edward and Denice Shaw of High Ridge sent this picture taken in 2019 by Rhonda Pierce Photography of their grandchildren, Nicholas, then 5, and Nicole, then 3.
Brent Persoon of Eureka tried to get his cat into the Christmas spirit earlier this month. “Our cat, Babydoll, is always cold, so we thought we’d get her a Christmas sweater,” Brent said. “She’s not big on wearing clothes, so I put it on her as a blanket. As you can see, she’s not amused.”
Eileen Bell of De Soto took this picture of her granddaughter, Claire Martin, on Santa’s lap last December.
Darla Rieger of Imperial took this picture of her grandson, Liam Rieger, with a Red Ryder BB gun.
Darla Rieger of Imperial took this picture of her grandson, Houston Rieger, imitating Kevin from the movie “Home Alone.”
Darla Rieger of Imperial took this picture of her grandchildren, Jack and Arabella Rieger, dressed in Elf on the Shelf costumes.
Laura Goodwin of Wildwood plans to carry on a tradition in honor of her father, who died in October. He loved Christmas cards, so she decided that this year’s card would be a recreation of picture his family, the Gurneys, took in 1974. “Themed Christmas cards started in the Gurney family over 75 years ago,” Laura said. Like the picture from the 70s, Laura’s children, Emma, 5, Grant, 7, and Isla 2, gather around the family dog, a goldendoodle puppy named Marbles.
Emily Hill of De Soto and her daughter, Addie, 3, gather near the Christmas tree after going to see Santa at the Arlington Event Center in De Soto.
Ashley Pratte of De Soto took this picture of her daughter, Maddie Pratte, 5, on Santa’s lap last year at Mercantile at Main in De Soto.
Ashley Pratte of De Soto took this photo last Christmas Eve of her family hastily dressed as snowmen and snowwomen. Pictured here, from left, are Jeff Marcou, 33, of Imperial; Desiree Kaestner, 33, of Imperial; John Church, 59, of Festus; and Debbie Pratte, 65, of Gideon.
Tammy Scheidl of High Ridge took this picture of her grandson, Lincoln Ritch, 5, of Dittmer, at her house on Christmas Eve last year. “He loves his new PJs!” Tammy said.
Ellen Boyer of Herculaneum sent in a photo her daughter, Krysten Freund of Festus, took on Christmas Eve last year of Krysten’s children, Brody, then 5 months, and Renlee, then 3. “Renlee loves her brother so much and was so excited for Brody’s first Christmas,” Ellen said.
Ellen Boyer of Herculaneum and her granddaughter, Renlee Freund, then 1, of Festus, show off their Christmas cookies in November 2020. “We spent the day baking cookies and of course made a big mess, but we had so much fun!” Ellen said. “As you can see in the photo, Renlee loved the green sugar sprinkles!”
Ellen Boyer of Herculaneum sent in a picture from January of her granddaughter, Renlee Freund, then 3, of Festus. “(Renlee) was very proud of the snowman – that was as big as her – that she made with her mommy, Krysten,” Ellen said.
Stephanie Gillespie of Festus, an English and language arts teacher at Hillsboro Senior High School, sent in a picture that a student, Lendon Arledge of Festus, took during photography club earlier this month.
“Students were practicing taking photos in low light conditions,” Stephanie said. “They also decorated the room with lights, ate snacks and decorated holiday cookies.”
Pictured are freshman Elisabeth Pierce, left, and sophomore Jadyn Achelpohl.
Stephanie Gillespie of Festus, an English and language arts teacher at Hillsboro Senior High School, sent in a picture that a student, Lendon Arledge of Festus, took during photography club earlier this month.
“Students were practicing taking photos in low light conditions,” Stephanie said. “They also decorated the room with lights, ate snacks and decorated holiday cookies.”
Pictured is freshman Elisabeth Pierce.
Heather Plake of House Springs, then 19, and her daughter, Symone Plake, visited Santa at Crestwood Mall in 1993. Symone, then 1, was meeting Santa for the first time.
Stephanie Gillespie of Festus took this picture on Christmas Eve 2019 of her mother, Pam Rodden of House Springs, with her dog, Lily. Lily, who died in November last year, was a saluki Pam owned with a friend, CynDee Hahn.
“Lily was an intelligent, spirited and precocious dog who liked sneaking bread from the countertop and was a fierce competitor in sighthound lure coursing,” Stephanie said. “We miss her very much!”
Stephanie Gillespie of Festus sent a photo from Thanksgiving 2019, which she and her husband, Kevin Gillespie, hosted. “Since we were both teachers, we decided to have some fun and use a breakout box with our family,” Stephanie said. “Kevin locked the silverware inside the box, so we couldn’t eat dinner until we had solved it!”
In the picture, Kevin watches as Jennifer Bremerkamp, his nephew’s wife, tries solving the clues. To the left is Kevin’s sister, Dana Gillespie, and mother, Reba Zerr.
Stephanie Gillespie of Festus took this photo of her dog, Max, in December 2019. Max, who is now about 9 or 10 years old, was found in a ditch and his matted fur had to be shorn away. He was taken to Is Today My Day Rescue when his owner could not be found.
“I was supposed to be a temporary foster mom, only watching him for the weekend – especially since I have never been a fan of small, yippy dogs – but Max was so merry and bright from the moment we met him that we knew he had to stay,” Stephanie said. “He is so joyful and makes us laugh every single day. We have fostered many dogs since then, but no one has stolen my heart like Max.”
Sharon (Liverar) Davis of De Soto sent in a photo from Christmas 1958. Sharon said the picture was taken at her aunt and uncle Norma and Lawrence Walker’s house, likely by a family friend, Lysle Filkins.
Sharon sits front and center on the floor with Lila Filkins behind her. On the couch, from left, are Sharon’s cousin, Jean Walker; Norma; Lawrence; Anna Mary Filkins; Sharon’s sister, Donna Liverar; and their parents, Wilma and Bryan Liverar.
Diane Hayes of Festus sent a photo of her great-granddaughter, Emery Kay Lowe, 4, on Santa’s lap. Emery is the daughter of Ashley and Matt Lowe; granddaughter of Donna and Marke Lowe; and great-granddaughter of Diane and Judy Lowe.
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