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The holidays are approaching, and it’s the perfect time to spend with family and friends, decorate your home and the Christmas tree, help the less fortunate, head to the library to pick up some good Christmas reads and enjoy wonderful programs.

St. John the Baptist Parish Library System is hosting a Santa’s Secret Shop Literacy Program for the holidays. Children in grades Pre-K through third are encouraged to read books, take quizzes and earn points to spend in our Christmas Shop. Children in fourth grade and up can create quizzes for the Pre-K through third grade readers and earn points in that way. The Christmas Shop will be open from Monday, Dec. 7 to Friday, Dec. 18. Items at the shop will include candies, jump ropes, pencils, puzzles, tote bags, toys, water bottles and much more. Children who participate will create a snowman countdown to help them keep track of how many days until Santa Claus arrives. For more information about the literacy program, please call Carolyn Mendoza at 985-536-4107.

Our library branches will be hosting a plethora of other Christmas programs. The Norris J. Millet, Sr. Library (Central) will host an “Elf on the Shelf” program where patrons can keep up with our elf Dewey as he gets into funny situations inside of the library. Pictures will be posted on our social media accounts weekly until the Christmas holiday. Children, up to age 11, are invited to write letters to ask Santa Claus to honor their wish list. “Letters to the North Pole” will run from Tuesday, Dec. 1 to Monday, Dec. 21. Children of all ages are welcome to create a “Plastic Plate Snow Globe.” Grab & Go Bags will be available for pick-up from Tuesday, Dec. 1 to Saturday, Dec. 19. Adult patrons can create a “Tabletop Christmas Tree” just in time for the holidays. A video will be posted on our social media accounts with step-by-step instructions on how to create the centerpiece. For more information about the programs, please call 985-652-6857.

The Leroy D. Williams Memorial Library (Reserve) will create a paper ornament display where patrons of all ages will have the opportunity to write down what they would like for the holidays and place it on a Christmas tree. This passive program will be held throughout the month of December. Patrons can also participate in a guessing game called “Reindeer Noses.” They will have the chance to guess the amount of reindeer noses (whoppers) in a jar without going over the amount. The game will start on Tuesday, Dec. 1 and end on Sunday, Dec. 20. The winner will be announced on Facebook (St. John the Baptist Parish Library) just in time for Christmas. Adult patrons can also enjoy traditional and non-traditional holiday baking recipes that will be posted on our social media accounts throughout the month of December. For more information about the programs, please call 985-536-4107.

A “Christmas Simply Paint” will be hosted by the Frazee-Harris Memorial Library (Garyville) for tweens and teens. Grab and Go Bags will be available for pick-up from Monday, Dec. 7 to Friday, Dec. 18. Tweens and teens can also create a “Christmas Ornament Craft” and “Paper Plate Snowman Wreath” by picking up Grab and Go Bags from Monday, Dec. 21 to Wednesday, Dec. 23. For more information about the programs, please call 985-535-6868.

 

For a full list of December programs, please refer to our online calendar on our website (stjohnlib.com), Facebook (St. John the Baptist Parish Library), Instagram (stjohnparishlib), Twitter (stjohnlib4) or pick up a newsletter at any of our four branches. Kearston Poche’ can be reached at 985-652-6587.