The Edgewater Hotel's Six Seven restaurant (because it's on Pier 67).

Patience. This year we made a gingerbread village and it's the first year our houses are actually structurally sound. The trick is building the night before, then waiting a day to decorate. Doh! 10 years of collapsed houses before I finally figured this out.

Garden d'Lights ranks high in terms of value and fun. It's in its 30th year at the Bellevue Botanical Garden. Some of the other holiday events feel very commercial, like they're constantly hitting you over the head for more money (AHEM ENCHANT), but the vibe at Garden d'Lights is very low key and charming.

The garden is free the rest of the year, and a big team of volunteers puts on the light show. I don't know my flowers well enough, but the lights are shaped like real flowers (lupines, crocuses, lilacs, etc.).

There's none of the surge pricing nonsense and add-on fees; everyone is a flat $8, kids 10 and under are free. You can park in their lot for $5, or as the sign straight up tells you, head a little further down the road and park for free.

When we visited, the JCC hosted a few tables where kids could decorate menorahs and dreidels with sparkly stickers. It's no pressure and very sweet, exactly what the holidays should be.

It's not Christmas without a visit to Swansons, which turned 100 this year! A big birthday for a small business in our young city.

Fog, colored lights, ethereal music... Hear me out, what if they played something with a beat, so middle-aged moms could relive their clubbing days? (While their kids die of shame.)

Do Astra Lumina once, you won't regret it. But save a little money by parking on the street, which is easy in West Seattle, instead of in their lot.

Phew! My last story for 2024, in today's Seattle Times. This one was such a joy to write, one I've been researching for the past decade!

6 fun itineraries around holiday lights, link here.

Made the cover of the weekend section, and got an A1 tease! iykyk

These pictures are from Thanksgiving, but Santa is BACK at Pike Place this Saturday, Dec. 14. Free Santa photos 10-3.

If you spend $50 at the market, you also get a cute Pike Place shopping basket and a roll of Pike Place tissue paper. Happy shopping!

The line was long, so we cheated and took a picture from the fence.

Gum wall must have been recently pressure-washed; it was looking less gross than usual.

Cookie-decorating and live music in the atrium.

Not sure if Paul has enough frosting and sprinkles on his cookie.

No cons here, just pros! The theme of the 30th annual gingerbread village at the Sheraton Grand Seattle is iconic destinations.

Four cities featured: Agra, London, Sydney and Paris.

Runs through Jan. 1, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. It gets busier the closer you get to Christmas. Go early or go late in the day, and do a weekday if you can.

Pros and cons, the Kringle's Filling Station edition:

Pros:

• Hot cocoa from the gas pump was warm and chocolate-y.
• Unlimited games! We were there for FOUR hours and only left because it was a school night. Loved that they're old school, low tech games.
• Tickets are $18 per person; I bought ours during the pre-sale for $15. I'd say we got our money's worth.
• Close by, on Aurora just north of the zoo.

Cons:

• Witnessed some parents behaving badly. That was weird and uncomfortable.
• The games are getting WELL-LOVED. Some of it is worn, and I touched something sticky.

The verdict: We'll be back!

Step 1: Declutter and organize
Step 2: Clean
Step 3: Set up the guest room
Step 4: Inventory your dishes, chairs
Step 5: Decorate for cheap, aka find some pinecones

… (Step 6: Sleep for a week! 😅)

I wrote this week's At Home cover story for The Seattle Times.