My 5 Favorite Things About Christmas In St. Cloud

I LOVE Christmas. It's probably my favorite holiday because I celebrate it all month long! St. Cloud is a great place to be during Christmas time for all of these reasons!

1. Mall Santa--My mom made my younger siblings and I take pictures with the same mall Santa from the time I was born until I turned 18. We hated it when we were teenagers but we did it for her. Now, as an adult, I miss it all! Especially now--Crossroads Shopping Center had the same mall Santa for many years. He recently passed away of brain cancer. His real name was Richard Scott. He was synonymous with Christmas in St. Cloud for a very long time.

2. Winter Nights and Lights Parade--No doubt that it's always freezing cold out for this parade, but I love it! It's so cool to see all of the parade floats all decked out in Christmas lights. Just dress warm and bring hot chocolate!

3. Annual St. Cloud Hospital lighting--The St. Cloud Hospital just wrapped up their annual hospital lighting. They throw a little party every year when they turn their Christmas lights on for the first time. They usually have Christmas Carolers from Tech High School singing, sleigh rides running around the hospital and hot chocolate and cookies for guests. It's a free event--but they ask for food shelf donations!

4. Sauk Rapid's Parade of Lights--This is also a really neat parade to check out. The lights are awesome and it takes place in the heart of downtown Sauk Rapids. This year it's Saturday, Dec. 5 starting at 5:00 p.m.

5. Christmas plays--The Paramount Theater, Great Theater Company and Saint John's University put on AMAZING holiday plays. I look forward to seeing A Christmas Carol every year! I can always count on one of the three putting on that production!