By sunset, cars line the gravel road outside YaYa's Alpaca Farm as families arrive for 30-minute Christmas tours through barns, festive lights and a pasture of alpacas.

Why it matters: The tours give visitors a rare look at the labor, fiber work and daily care behind alpaca farming while offering a low-key, fuzzy holiday outing.

Catch up quick: Owner Karl Blandin, known as "YaYa," bought his first seven alpacas in 2011 after the passing of his wife Angie.

• He says caring for them brought structure to his days, and before long, visitors started asking to come back after their first trip, planting the idea for daily tours.
• Today, he and his wife Kathy, or Mrs. YaYa, care for 77 alpacas and one llama, and the farm draws more than 16,000 visitors annually, with roughly 4,000 of those coming during the holiday season.

What they're saying: "I wanted people to feel that moment they had as a child, with the lights and joy," Mrs. YaYa tells Axios. "Sometimes you do not feel it again until something unexpected like this brings it back."

• She watches the herd closely. "When one alpaca stays with someone and will not leave, I tell them to honor it. It is rare. They're good judges of character."

How it works: The Christmas tour shrinks the farm's longer daytime visit into a short nighttime walk through lights and decorations and the occasional alpaca wearing a Santa hat.

• Before guests meet the alpacas, Mrs. YaYa explains how to move among the animals. She demonstrates the flat-palm feeding technique and reminds kids to avoid petting heads and backsides.

If you go: Tickets cost $10 for ages 14 and up, $8 for ages 3 to 13, and children 2 and under visit for free.

• Evening tours start from 5pm to 7pm through December.

The bottom line: YaYa's Alpaca Farm offers a holiday stop built on family work, fleece and a herd that greets visitors on its own terms.

• Just watch out — they might spit.

Boozy beverages are one of my favorite ways to warm my hands and lift my spirits when the weather outside is frightful.

• Here are four of my favorites — plus how to make them, and ways to infuse local flavors.

🍎 Mulled cider

My mom always made this, and I've carried on the tradition.

• Heat up half a gallon of cider, then drop in orange slices, cinnamon sticks and cloves to taste. Spike with rum or brandy.
• Make it local: Kudos if you managed to snag this limited brandy collab by Lifted Spirits and KC Wineworks. Find Louisburg cider in Hy-Vees around town.

🍋 Hot toddy

This is essentially the best hot lemon water you'll ever have.

• Fill a mug two-thirds full of hot water, then add 1 ounce lemon juice, 1 ounce honey, and 2 ounces whiskey or brandy.
• Make it local: Kansas City Box has a cute toddy kit, or you can get one made for you at Thou Mayest.

☕ Irish coffee

It's 4pm, and you're getting sleepy. Whatever will you do?

• Make some black coffee and add Irish whiskey to taste. Go nuts and add a little Irish cream while you're at it.
• Make it local: Find authentic whiskeys and liquors at Browne's Irish Marketplace. I also like Sons of Erin from Restless Spirits.

🍫 Spiked hot chocolate

Warm milk used to put me to sleep. This is pretty much the same, right?

• Heat up 16 ounces of milk in a pan. Add 1 tablespoon cocoa powder and 2 tablespoons sugar, and whisk. Add chopped up chocolate (chips work too) to taste. Spike with vodka or whiskey.
• Make it local: Skip the hassle with a Bizz and Weezy hot cocoa bomb or a Christopher Elbow drinking chocolate mix.

🏗️ Leawood approved about $146 million in incentives for the $765.7 million Hallbrook North development project. (The Business Journals)

🍔 Fast-food chain A&W is planning to open at least three new restaurants in the Kansas City area, with more to follow. (Kansas City Star)

Missouri workers will start 2026 with a pay bump when the state's minimum wage reaches $15 on Jan. 1.

Why it matters: The increase boosts pay not only for minimum wage workers but also for employees slightly above the floor as businesses adjust their wage ladders.

By the numbers: Missouri's minimum wage will rise from $13.75 to $15 an hour on Jan. 1, the final step in the voter-approved phase-in, according to the National Employment Law Project.

• Tipped workers will earn $7.50 an hour before tips.
• Missouri and Nebraska are the two states crossing the $15 threshold at the start of 2026.

The latest: Lawmakers who sought to scale back the 2024 ballot measure succeeded this year.

• A follow-up bill removed future inflation indexing that would have increased the wage beyond 2026, while leaving the scheduled jump to $15 intact.
• Worker advocates argued that removing inflation adjustments will weaken the wage's value as costs continue to rise, but lawmakers framed the rollback as a way to give employers more predictability.

The big picture: For the first time, more U.S. workers in 2026 will live in states with minimum wages of $15 or higher than in states still tied to the federal $7.25 floor.