7 Missouri Towns That Go All Out for Christmas

Missouri’s small towns don’t wait for December to start celebrating.

In Arrow Rock, villagers sing while they hang the greens on Nov. 21, then wait for Santa to arrive.

Here are the Missouri towns that go all out for Christmas, and when to plan your visit.

1. Hermann

The Hermann Twinkle Tour is a self-guided driving tour of holiday lights that you can take from Nov. 25 through Dec. 31, 2026.

The visithermann.com calendar lists more than a dozen holiday events in December, in a town of fewer than 2,500 residents.

If you have one day, make it Saturday, Dec. 5, when the Holiday House Tour runs.

All Aboard With Santa runs that Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 5 and 6.

Weihnachtsfest, German for a Christmas festival, takes over Deutschheim State Historic Site on the 5th and 6th of December and again on the 12th and 13th.

2. Ste. Genevieve

Christmas in Ste. Genevieve centers on a Holiday Christmas Festival every first weekend of December, and nearly every event is free.

If you’re going in 2026, that weekend is Dec. 5 and 6.

Visit Missouri’s holiday listing put the 2025 festival on Dec. 6 and 7, which fits that pattern.

The festival’s page tells you to expect one of the state’s largest parades, plus historical receptions, hands-on craft experiences and French colonial holiday traditions.

On Dec. 31, a troupe of costumed revelers carries out La Guiannée in a town of about 5,000 residents.

The tourism page says the tradition has run for over 250 years.

3. Arrow Rock

Arrow Rock hangs its greens on Saturday, Nov. 21, 2026, when villagers sing as they hang them and wait for Santa’s arrival at 2 p.m.

You can shop and eat lunch beforehand, and the listing says the J. Huston Tavern hosts cocoa and cookies.

Old Fashioned Christmas in the Village follows on Saturday, Dec. 5, from 5 to 7 p.m., in a village of fewer than 100 residents.

Admission is free.

You can tour decorated historic buildings, talk with interpreters and ride in a carriage.

The village’s listing says the pathway will be lit, but guests are encouraged to bring a flashlight.

The Lyceum Theatre’s A Christmas Carol runs Dec. 12 to 20, and its listing calls the show a holiday tradition now in its eleventh year.

4. Augusta

The 44th annual Augusta Candlelight Christmas Walk is set for Friday, Dec. 4, 2026.

It starts at 5 p.m.

The listing promises over a thousand luminaries lighting the streets of a town with fewer than 300 residents.

It also lists a Christmas market in the elementary school gym and an elf scavenger hunt with a prize.

You can also take your picture with Santa Claus, buy roasted chestnuts and hot chocolate, or taste wine and spirits in the Town Hall.

If you drive, parking is at Mount Pleasant Estates, with a free shuttle.

The 2026 listing shows one date so far and promises more details soon.

5. Weston

Weston's Historic Holiday Homes Tour opens historic homes for a weekend in early December (Dec. 6 and 7 in 2025).

The chamber lists a 2026 tour but no date yet.

In a town of about 1,900, the 2025 tour ran noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday, with tickets at $20 before Nov. 1 and $25 after, and children under 12 free.

In 2025, you could also ride a shuttle, buy cookies by the pound, eat soup and dessert, and hear carolers with St. Nick and Mrs. Claus.

The third annual Weston Wassailing Market is listed for Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 14 and 15, at the Weston Burley House on Main Street, but its page carries a postponement notice and no new date, so check before you plan around it.

The listing describes vendors, warm cider, traditional wassail and a visit with Father Christmas, and admission is free.

6. Kimmswick

Kimmswick's Christmas Parade & Open House on Saturday, Nov. 21, opens the season.

The town's tourism site lists an event on every weekend through Dec. 20, in a place with fewer than 150 residents.

The Cookie Walk runs Dec. 3 to 6, and each ticket you buy includes a holiday cookbook, a gift bag and a sweet-treats map.

The Kimmswick Christmas Festival, Dec. 4 to 6, brings decorated historic buildings, carolers and luminaries.

Earlier listings called it the Old Fashioned Christmas Festival, and a 2020 account counted that year's edition as the tenth anniversary.

If you're bringing children, the Elf Hunt is a ticketed hunt that fills the weekends of Dec. 12 and 13 and Dec. 19 and 20.

7. Cole Camp

Cole Camp's chamber of commerce lists the Christkindlmarket downtown on Friday, Dec. 4, and a Christbaumfest Craft Show on Saturday, Nov. 21, though both say more information is to come.

Missouri Life listed the Christkindlmarket for Dec. 6 in 2024, in a town of fewer than 1,500 residents.

That listing, sponsored content from the Benton County Tourism Commission, told you to expect hot apple cider, food trucks, pictures with Santa and Mrs. Claus, wagon and carriage rides, carolers and living windows.

Confirm before you go.

Hermann Between November and Christmas

If you want to start early, Hermann has the Old Vine & Chapter 3 Christmas Open House on Friday to Sunday, Nov. 6 to 8, and the Holiday Kick-Off on Saturday, Nov. 14.

The Holiday Fare Wine Trail runs Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 21 and 22, the same Saturday Arrow Rock hangs its greens.

The Christmas Tree Lighting & Lantern Walk is set for Saturday, Nov. 28, and the listing says details are still to be determined.