You know Dansher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, now you'll get a chance to meet some of their antlered brethren up close. The Reindeer Flight instructor has brought some of his special friends direct from the North Pole as a special surprise for Christmas Traditions in St. Charles visitors. Meet and take photos with these beautiful animals at this free event.
3 to 5 p.m. on December 15 and 16 at the Historic Missouri First State Capitol Historic Site on South Main Street in St. Charles.
More information: discoverstcharles.com
Celebrating the history, culture, and people of Japan, the Japanese Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden is one of the largest and oldest festivals of its kind in the United States. Your family can enjoy guided walking tours, bonsai, cooking, martial arts and origami demonstrations, sumo wrestling, and special activities for kids.
Kids can work on existing gym skills, learn new skills or just play around during Open Gym at Miss Kelly's Gym in Creve Coeur.
Wagon rides, live entertainment, great festival foods, a petting zoo and much more make this an apple pickin' good time for the whole family. There will be pony rides, a children's carnival, opportunities to feed goats and other farm animals, caramel apples, funnel cakes and more.
See the Zoo's California sea lions perform acrobatic and athletic feats, including Olympic-style dives on a high-diving platform, flipper walks, frisbee tosses and plenty of surprises. While on stage with the sea lions, the Zoo's trainers explain sea lion behavior and positive-reinforcement training, in addition to the need for conserving the sea lion's ocean habitat.
LEGO Club at the St. Louis County Library is a free opportunity for kids to gather and have fun building with LEGO bricks. LEGOs are provided.