WildLanterns at Woodland Park Zoo: by day and at night. Which one do you prefer?

• When: through Jan. 14, 4 to 9 p.m.
• Cost: $29.95–$36.95 for everyone 13 and up; $25.95–$31.95 for kids 3-12.

Scenes from a walk through downtown Seattle...

Will Enchant Christmas ever come back to Seattle? There's a FREE version in Westlake Park through Jan. 9. Beautiful light installation with giant snowflakes, candy canes and a 13-foot reindeer.

• Where: Westlake Park, downtown Seattle
• Cost: Free!
• When: Daily through Jan. 9, rain or shine

Holiday outing must: the annual Teddy Bear Suite at the super swanky Fairmont Olympic Hotel. After getting our cuddles in, we stopped in the café downstairs for a free cookie.

• Where: Fairmont Olympic Hotel, 411 University St.
• Cost: Free to visit, donations accepted for Seattle Children's Hospital
• When: Through Jan. 3, 2024
• Times: Tuesday-Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sundays 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Closed Mondays.

Last weekend, the Downtown Seattle Association sponsored FREE ice skating in Occidental Square. The "ice" was actually sheets of plastic, and it was slick! I'm pretty sure I spent more time lacing up our skates than actually skating, but hey, the price was right.

This year's gingerbread house village at the Sheraton is themed Charlie and The Chocolate Factory! We're going to make our gingerbread houses this weekend, and I'm sure ours are going to turn out looking *just* like these.

• Where: Sheraton Grand Seattle, 1400 6th Ave.
• When: Through Jan. 1, 2024
• Cost: Free to visit, donations accepted for type 1 diabetes research
• Times: Sunday-Thursday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday-Saturday 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.

After decades of the prevailing white aesthetic, the pendulum's swinging the other way. Color is back, in paint, tile, even the fixtures. I wrote the cover story for this week's At Home section in The Seattle Times.

Opening weekend for the Calder show at the Seattle Art Museum. Such a joy to walk through this exhibit. I am a massive, MASSIVE fan and here are a million pictures.

* Show runs Nov. 8, 2023 to August 4, 2024. Kids 14 and under are free, adults are $30 advance or $33 day-of tickets. We snagged the museum pass from The Seattle Public Library; free day is First Thursday.

Calder isn't the only big show; SAM has a double header! Hokusai of "The Great Wave" fame is here from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. A few more pictures...

Opening night of WildLanterns at Woodland Park Zoo!

Themes for this year's show are...

• spiders
• snow/ice
• and PANDAS, PANDAS, PANDAS!!!

WildLanterns is one of our favorite holiday activities, and we love that it's a completely new show every year. Link to my ParentMap story here.

When: Nov. 10 to Jan. 14, 4 to 9 p.m.

Cost: $29.95–$36.95 for everyone 13 and up; $25.95–$31.95 for kids 3-12. (Yes, I know it's spendy, but that money goes directly to animal care.)

These lucky young wizards got a sneak peak at Harry Potter Magic at Play, a new, immersive experience at The Bravern! Here's a link to my story for ParentMap.