Thinking about going to the Seattle Christmas Market?

Pros:

• Kids LOVED riding the double-decker carousel. Unlimited rides included with admission.
• We met the famous Seattle muralist Henry! He was so nice.
• We ate a lot of fudge samples.
• If you need a hack to get kids to wash their hands, I've discovered the secret. The kids picked out handmade soap from one of the vendors, and now they can't WAIT to wash their hands with bubble-gum scented soap.

Cons:

• You're essentially paying $20 admission to go shopping. (They did add some $5 days after complaints last year.)
• Food was VERY expensive, like $20 for a little dish.
• A large part of Seattle Center, which used to be public, is now walled off. This used to be the $6 ice rink that was very affordable and fun.

This is the honest Enchant Christmas review you need.

In a nutshell, Enchant is like Disney. It's magical and beautiful and your kids will LOVE it. But prepare to pay an arm and a leg for admission and, once inside, to be nickeled and dimed on everything.

A regular tree lighting is anti-climactic, but a tree lighting with fireworks?! Downtown Seattle Association put on a great show. It made my heart so happy to see Westlake packed with people.

Impressive fireworks. We've never watched a show so close-up!

The Nordstrom Santa came up to the window and waved to kids in between shoots. Nordstrom's set is so pretty and they take time to arrange the picture so everyone looks nice. For $10!

I wrote about my favorite time of year in Seattle. Sure, the holidays can be expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. My story made the lede story on seattletimes.com! Here’s a link.

Someday I'll have my aesthetic Christmas tree, and then I'll probably miss when the kids loved making their own ornaments. Our annual salt dough day is still the holiday event they look forward to most.

Here's the recipe:

• 4 cups of flour
• 1 cup of salt
• About 2 cups of hot water (keep adding until it gets to dough consistency)
• Optional food coloring

Stick in the oven at 325 degrees for 45 minutes so it dries and hardens.

Sneak peek at WildLanterns at Woodland Park Zoo! This is our favorite splurge for the holidays, and we love that it’s an entirely new show every year. Yes, tickets are pricey, but the money goes directly to animal care and conservation projects.

Here's a link to my story for Seattle's Child.

This year’s favorites: a giant peacock that fans its tail (it sounds like it’s farting) and flowers that blow smoke rings!

There's a guy two blocks over who grows giant pumpkins in his front yard. I've always been curious about his tradition, so when my editor asked for fall pitches, I suggested the pumpkin man.

Here's a link to my story for The Seattle Times.

Some burning questions:

What does he do with the pumpkins after Halloween?
He digs holes in his yard and buries them.

Why doesn't he eat them? Or send them to the Food Bank?
They're bred for size, not for flavor. They taste like cardboard.

What if you want to try growing giant pumpkins too?
Just knock on his door and he'll give you seeds for free.

Part I: Brunch by Paul. Blueberry scones fresh out of the oven!

Part II: Red bean soup and grass jelly from Meet Fresh, which just marked its 6th year in Bellevue. What did I do with my money 7 years ago?

Maris Farms: Did I drive all the way out to Buckley, Wash., just for this slide? Yup. Gone are the days when the boys would be entertained by a wheelbarrow and a couple of pumpkins, now they want alllll the bells and whistles at the pumpkin patch. The mega slide, candy cannon, zip line and fishing were big hits. The view of the sun setting on Mount Rainier on our way out wasn't so bad either!

Stocker Farms: Our favorite so far. This one felt a lot more commercial and polished than the others, in a good way. You don't feel like you're on a farm that happens to have some activities, it's all rather nicely organized and presented. The kids liked that there were LOTS of activities within a short distance. I liked that it had lots of pretty photo ops and a restroom trailer, not just port-a-potties.

Went to check out the Joyce J. Scott exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum. We took a hurried lap through and there's so much to unpack, so we'll be back! Exhibit runs through Jan. 20, 2025.

Few visitors make it up to the corner of the 4th floor to this wood-paneled 16th century Italian room. It's a treasure box of a room, one of my favorite spots in the museum.

We also did a block printing workshop with a teaching artist. Such a fun project! Our elementary school does not have an art teacher.

Perfect for the mantel.