• Event Schedule:
  • Friday, July 18
    • Bring your Christmas decorations and transform your site into a Christmas village for a chance to win a fun prize. Check-in starts at 2 p.m.
  • Saturday, July 1
    • 10 a.m. – Ugly sweater fashion show: Stop in the park’s cultural center and show us your ugliest Christmas sweater or other Christmas apparel.
    • Noon – Christmas treats and crafts: Make some Christmas crafts and treats in the cultural center.
    • Noon – Campsite judging: Park staff members will anonymously go through the campground and cast votes for the campsite decorating contest. In the evening, park visitors will also have a chance to vote for their favorite site. Prizes will be awarded for the top two sites.
    • 6:30 p.m. – Come listen to a storyteller weave Native American Christmas tales in the day-use area.
    • 9 p.m. – Lighting of the tree: Watch as the Van Meter staff light the park Christmas tree in the campground.
    • 9-10 p.m. – Drive through the Christmas town: Visitors will be encouraged to drive through the campground loop to see the decorated campsites.
  • Sunday, July 20
    • Campsite decorating contest winners announced: Contest winners will be informed in person at their campsites before 10 a.m.
    • Pack up the Christmas decorations and return to the real world. Check out by 10 a.m.

Regular camping fees apply. Guests are encouraged to reserve a site in advance; however, the event itself is free and does not require registration. For more information, call the park office at 660-886-7537. Annie and Abel Van Meter State Park is located at 32146 N. Highway 122 in Miami, Missouri.