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Christmas on the Frisco gives Willard residents a chance to catch the holiday spirit

The annual event consists of a parade, Crafts & Cocoa with Santa and holiday tunes sung by area elementary students.

Holiday traditions have become something to look forward to for residents of both large and small cities in the Ozarks.

In Willard, the Parks Department begins planning their annual event, Christmas on the Frisco, well in advance, "which is the overarching name for a bunch of little things that we do on the first Saturday of December,” said Sam Guinn, Willard assistant parks director.

Besides planning, she said there’s work to be done to make the town festive. That falls to her maintenance staff, which takes their job very seriously, but at the same time has a lot of fun doing it.

“The Christmas season, I think, they take it kind of like as the reward for a hard year’s work mowing and weeding and taking care of gardens during summer," said Guinn. "You will find them out there whistling while they’re putting up Christmas lights.”

I found a happy crew of workers in November stringing up lights at the Frisco Highline Trailhead in Willard. One of them was parks employee Josh Addison.

“Oh, I enjoy it," he said. "I don’t know, I’ve lived here for 28 years, so to actually be part of creating it is just a joy, I really, especially when the kids come out here and see it.”

A Willard, Mo. Parks employee puts up lights in November, 2024.
Michele Skalicky
A Willard, Mo. Parks employee puts up lights in November, 2024.

The lights they put up are donated by a local business, according to Addison. The hard work to put them up falls to Addison and his co-workers, but he doesn’t mind. He’s been doing it for two years -- others have been there much longer. His sister Katie Addison was helping put up lights as a Parks employee for the first time.

“I actually enjoy it a lot and everything, just seeing the smiles on people’s faces, especially the kids and everything, and I love, like, older people in the community how they get excited that we’re still trying to keep the community alive and going and just trying to bring that joy to everyone,” she said.

The lights are hung on trees and bushes, and there are Peanuts-themed lighted decorations, too, that adorn a pathway leading through the trailhead.

In the weeks leading up to Christmas, children can drop off letters to Santa in a festive mailbox (called the Gingerbread Dropbox) made and decorated by the Willard Parks maintenance crew.

“It’s like they’ve turned into elves,” Guinn said about her team.

Assistant Willard Parks Director Sam Guinn stands next to the Gingerbread Dropbox in November, 2024.
Michele Skalicky
Assistant Willard Parks Director Sam Guinn stands next to the Gingerbread Dropbox in November, 2024.

That mailbox sits just inside the front doors of the Willard Recreation Center. All of the letters are answered by Santa.

Once the big day arrives, this year on December 7, it’s all hands on deck to make it all come together. There are even volunteers who donate their time to bring cheer to their community.

The day began with a chance to help decorate a community float for the parade that was to take place at 2.

And in the morning, inside the Willard Community Center, children went from table to table, making crafts and visiting with Santa. There was hot cocoa and holiday music. Lots of photos were taken and memories made.

Jill Simpson brought her children, Myles and Jaclyn, to Crafts & Cocoa with Santa, "to have fun, and we live in Willard, and we always go to community events,” she said.

Myles and his mom, Jill Simpson, smile for the camera while Myles' sister, Jaclyn, hides at Willard, Mo.'s Christmas on the Frisco Dec. 7, 2024.
Michele Skalicky
Myles and his mom, Jill Simpson, smile for the camera while Myles' sister, Jaclyn, hides at Willard, Mo.'s Christmas on the Frisco Dec. 7, 2024.

Her son, Myles, summed up the event in one word.

“Fun,” he said.

“Yeah, it’s usually a fun, good time, and the kids enjoy it,” Simpson said.

Myles went on to tell me what he’d done so far.

“Crafts. We seen Santa, got hot chocolate, went and saw the Girl Scouts and all that,” he said.

A Girl Scout troop was selling baked goods and gifts.

Lani Wise went with her sister and nephew and some friends to Crafts & Cocoa with Santa in Willard on the 7th.

"So we came out to be able to see Santa and do some crafts and get in the Christmas spirit,” she said.

Reporter: "And are you in the Christmas spirit now?"

“I think so," she said. "More so than I was when I got here.”

Her friend Ellie Flynn brought little Kai and Presley.

“They were super excited for Santa," Flynn said, "and they liked the coloring pictures and all the things they offered here.”

Just before noon, Santa bid his goodbye.

Tami Greene and a friend stand beside their float for the Willard, Mo. Christmas Parade on December 7, 2024.
Michele Skalicky
Tami Greene and a friend stand beside their float for the Willard, Mo. Christmas Parade on December 7, 2024.

As the community awaited the parade with the theme of “Favorite Christmas Movies!, floats and the people manning them got ready.

Tami Greene, children and youth director for the Sac River Cowboy Church, was waiting in the parking lot of Willard First Baptist Church for the young participants to arrive. She was sitting on the back of a trailer that was filled with small bales of hay.

“This year, the theme will be nativities," she said, "and all the kids will be dressed up like the animals in the barnyard, so kind of fits with our cowboy church theme, but we love doing the parade.”

The parade entries were judged and winners announced. Sac River Church won a prize for “Best Religious Theme.” A new category this year, “Reindeer Imposter,” encouraged people to dress up their animals like reindeer and lead them in the parade.

The day ended with a Community Choral Celebration at the Trailhead. Several of Willard’s elementary schools sang holiday songs to a crowd gathered around them.

Michele Skalicky has worked at KSMU since the station occupied the old white house at National and Grand. She enjoys working on both the announcing side and in news and has been the recipient of statewide and national awards for news reporting. She likes to tell stories that make a difference. Michele enjoys outdoor activities, including hiking, camping and leisurely kayaking.