Main Street Christmas: Holiday Celebration in St. Charles, Missouri

Feeling that we've earned ourselves a glass of wine, we head to the Vine restaurant, where Kimberly Staats and her girlfriends warm their toes around an outdoor fire. "It's our annual Christmas walk," she says. "We've been doing it for 11 years at least. We start at Little Hills Winery, then shop, eat and, some years, end up back around the fire at Little Hills." But even a pro like Kimberly pauses when Natalie and I mention we're staying overnight.

"Where?"

"There."

We point to Boone's Colonial Inn across the street, where lemons nestle in wreaths and candles flicker in lanterns. The gals clearly are impressed. I realize that spending the night in town affords me an intimate perspective on St. Charles that most Christmas Traditions visitors don't see.

Pictured: Visitors sip warm Alpenglow around a fire pit outside Little Hills Winery.