This Saturday, Nov. 7, the Veterans Day parade leaves Willow Springs High School at 11 a.m. and finishes at Booster Field. Four weeks later, on Saturday, Dec. 5, the Lighted Christmas Parade starts at the same school at 5 p.m. and ends at the same field.
Between those two parades, the Willow Springs Chamber of Commerce has stacked most of the town's Christmas onto that one December Saturday. Breakfast with Santa, a brand-new Grinch-themed market and the lighted parade all fall on Dec. 5. A permanent downtown Christmas tree is also in the works, and it still depends on donation jars sitting on counters around town.
A Saturday Built From Morning to Dark
Here is the Dec. 5 schedule as the Chamber and city have posted it.
| Time | Event | Where | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 to 10 a.m. | Pancakes with Santa | 2532 County Road 5800 | Free, per the Chamber listing |
| 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. | First annual Grinch Fest Market | Downtown Willow Springs, indoors | Craft and artisan vendors, Grinch theme required |
| 5 p.m. | Lighted Christmas Parade | High school to Booster Field | Theme is "Christmas Through the Decades" |
The address on the breakfast listing is the Willow Springs Lions Clubhouse. When the West Plains Daily Quill covered the 2024 breakfast, it reported that the Chamber and the Lions Club teamed up to host it. For 2026, the Chamber's Pancakes with Santa page gives the date, the two-hour window and the County Road 5800 address.
The breakfast ends right as the market opens. From then on the day moves into downtown, with a two-hour gap between the market closing at 3 p.m. and the parade lineup heading out at 5.
Grinch Fest Brings Its Own Set of Rules
Grinch Fest is the new event this year. The Chamber is calling it the First Annual Grinch Fest Market, so the plan is for it to come back. The Chamber's Grinch Fest page sets out what shoppers will find. It asks for craft, artisan and homemade vendors. Home-baked goods are welcome if they're prepackaged, but there are no food vendors because the market is indoors. On the vendor application, booths go either in the Annex or in the Ferguson Bldg., assigned first come, first served.
Every booth has to carry the theme in some way, and the Chamber leaves room for each vendor to choose how:
"All Vendors MUST have something Grinch-themed in their booths along with their other items. This can be a item for sale, the decor of the booth, or the clothing of the vendor."
The page also bans one thing outright. No Grinch costumes are allowed on vendors, because the Chamber has invited "the ONE AND ONLY GRINCH" to spend the day and won't accept any imposters. Each vendor gets one 8-foot table and brings their own decor, tables and chairs. So expect a long row of small, personal booths rather than big retail setups.
That makes the 10-to-3 window a good fit for gift lists. You'll find handmade and homemade items in one place, close to the parade route, on a day when much of the town is already downtown.
"Christmas Through the Decades" After Dark
The evening parade is where the most people get involved. The Chamber's parade page sets this year's theme as "Christmas Through the Decades." Each entry picks a favorite decade and builds around how Christmas looked back then. The invitation is wide open: families, businesses, groups, organizations, churches, individuals, school groups, musical groups, bands and cheerleaders.
Every entry needs a form. The 2026 parade entry form says the Willow Springs Chamber of Commerce and the City of Willow Springs set the rules. Three of those rules change how the parade looks from the curb:
- No real person may appear on an entry as Santa or the Grinch.
- Walkers hand out candy. It isn't thrown from vehicles or floats.
- Anyone driving a motorized entry has to meet the form's safety requirements.
The candy rule means the treats come to the kids at the curb, carried by walkers, rather than landing in the street. If you're bringing little ones, that's good news. The costume rule fits the rest of the day too. Santa has his morning at the Lions Clubhouse, the Grinch has his afternoon at the market, and the parade belongs to everybody else.
Leaving from the high school and ending at Booster Field puts the lighted floats on the same streets the veterans will have walked in daylight a month before.
The Tree That Pocket Change Is Buying
In June, the Chamber and the city started a campaign to raise $15,000 for a commercial-grade, fully lighted artificial tree. The West Plains Daily Quill reported that it's intended as a permanent community asset and the anchor for an annual Community Tree Lighting Ceremony. The Chamber kicked things off with "Sparkles the Elf," a holiday character who delivered donation jars to businesses around town. In the Daily Quill's story, Chamber Executive Director Kim McCormick put it plainly: "This tree belongs to the entire community, and we hope everyone will take part in helping make it happen."
Howell County News described the tree in its August 4 update. It would be 18 feet tall with a 3-foot star on top, decorated with ornaments, and installed and anchored in Wendell Bailey Park. It's built to meet the public-safety standards that liability insurance requires. That same update said fundraising had reached the halfway mark, and that the committee will buy the tree once it hits the full $15,000.
So whether Willow Springs gets a permanent tree depends on how many people give. Every other part of the season is already on the calendar. The Chamber's events page lists a Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony alongside the parade, the market and the breakfast. The tree that ceremony is meant to light gets bought one donation at a time.
Organizers take gifts of every size, from loose pocket change to corporate sponsorships to memorial donations in honor of loved ones. Besides the jars at local merchants, here's where to give:
- The Willow Springs Chamber of Commerce office, 209 E. Main St.
- Willow Springs City Hall
- Any local Simmons Bank branch
- By mail to the Willow Springs Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 322, Willow Springs, MO 65793
You can reach the Chamber at 417-469-5519 or [email protected]. If you're downtown on Dec. 5 for Grinch Fest, the Chamber office on East Main is one of those drop-off spots.
When Willow Springs Families Head to West Plains
West Plains has its own holiday events, and one of them lands on the same Saturday. The West Plains Optimist Club's 44th annual Holiday Season Arts & Crafts Show & Sale runs Dec. 5 and 6 at the West Plains Civic Center, 110 St. Louis St. Saturday hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and admission is $3 a day, according to the Daily Quill's Oct. 31 community calendar. If you'd rather keep Dec. 5 in Willow Springs, the Sunday session is an easy way to catch it.
A week earlier, the Back Lot outdoor Christmas Market fills 3 Luster Arcade in downtown West Plains. It runs Nov. 28 and 29 from noon to 8 p.m., then Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 from 4 to 8 p.m., with food, crafts, gifts, music and lights, per that same calendar. The market opens the weekend after Thanksgiving and runs into the following Monday and Tuesday, so it wraps up before Willow Springs' big Saturday.
At Wild Hills Realty, we hope to see you along the route from the high school to Booster Field on Nov. 7 and again on Dec. 5. If your family or business is putting together a "Christmas Through the Decades" entry, or you just want to talk about what's happening around Willow Springs this season, give us a call or stop by. We're always glad to visit with neighbors.
