10 Secret Holiday Adventures for your Kids

It’s the holidays which means it's time to shake off the gloomy weather, get your kids out of the house, and go find some cheer. We went on the hunt to discover all of the lesser-known things to do around Seattle with kids during the holiday season. Check out our list.

1. Gingerbread House Party at Farm Kitchen – This quaint event space in Poulsbo, WA is a wonderful place. They host gingerbread-decorating parties through the entire month of December with lots of icing and candies to make your house delicious and unique ($35 a piece, max 3 people per party). We recommend making a day of it. You can visit the Point No Point Lighthouse, beach walk, and eat some crepes at J’aime Les Crepes.

2. Holiday Shows – There is a ridiculous amount of holiday themed shows around Seattle that would be a perfect afternoon or evening out with your kiddos. A few of our favorites this holiday season include: A Charlie Brown Christmas at Taproot Theater, A Christmas Carol at ACT Theater, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe at Seattle Children’s Theater, The Steadfast Tin Soldier at Dance Fremont!, and Holiday Hooray! at the Seattle Symphony.

3. Burn a Yule Log at Golden Gardens – This is a great suggestion from our friend (and Parent Map contributor) Jen Kakutani. Every year on the winter solstice, you can burn a yule log and talk with your kids about things to let go from this year and then think about the things you want to attract for the new year. Golden Gardens is a great place to start this tradition! Just grab bring your Yule Logs and have a seat around one of their many fire pits (first come, first serve).

4. The Lights of Christmas at Warm Beach – There are plenty of holiday festivals around the Seattle area, but we love The Lights of Christmas in Stanwood, WA. They have the largest light display in the entire PNW along with a nightly festival featuring carolers, shopping, treats, and live performances.

5. Hot chocolate at Chocolopolis – Part retail store, part café, this is the place to take the family to try some amazing drinking chocolate. They have different flavors to choose from (dark, milk, Mexican, peanut butter) and you can either drink it there or buy a canister to take home. They also have treats and truffles in all varieties, which would make excellent gifts.

6. Volunteer your time - The holidays are a great time to teach your kids about giving to those in need. We especially love donating and working at local food banks. Check out opportunities to get involved at Northwest Harvest, Food Lifeline, and the Pike Place Market Food Bank.

7. Santa Brunch at Icon Grill – There are so many places to see Santa around Seattle, but we love that you can get some grub AND see Santa at Icon Grill. They hosts brunch with Santa many times throughout December (Santa arrives at 10am and doesn't leave until 1pm). They also have a cookie decorating class with the head chef! 

8. Carriage Horse Riding – Sealth Horse Carriages have been operating in downtown Seattle since 1979! You can find them around Pike Place Market, Westlake Center, and the Space Needle and you can give them a call at 206-313-0722 to make a reservation. Is there anything more classic during the holidays than a horse drawn carriage ride?

9. Art Classes – Why not get the kids involved in making holiday cards or gifts this year? Curious Kid Stuff offers drop in classes for kids of all ages on Mondays and Fridays and uses a variety of different materials. If you have an older child who wants a bit more of a challenge, Paper Delights has both watercolor and calligraphy classes to choose from.

10. Tubing at Snoqualmie Pass – So maybe your family isn’t a bunch of skiers, you can still enjoy the mountain! Tubing is a blast and a great way to get outdoors and enjoy some snow. The cost ranges from $20 - $24 depending on age and time of day (If your child is 0-5, it’s only $5!) and includes professional grade tubes to use (you cannot bring your own tube). The hill has 12 lanes and 60ft vertical drop. Wheeeeeee!

Meet the Maker: Jennifer Cullin of Paper Feather

Just off Western Ave on the backside of Pike Place Market sits a small shop bursting at the brim with creativity and charm. The Paper Feather, owned and operated by Jennifer Cullin, is an homage to all things paper.

WHAT’S YOUR BACKSTORY? WHEN DID YOU START CREATING YOUR PAPER ART? 

I was a substitute teacher for 8 years and always loved crafting with the kids. I started making cards for friends and family on the side and eventually decided I wanted a permanent change. I started my business online and was working from home in the town of Duvall, but then made the move to downtown Seattle.  I knew I wanted my own studio and was walking along Western Ave where I found a storefront/studio space for rent in Pike Place Market.  I knew immediately there was something special about the space and was so happy when I got approval to open up my own shop!

She opened up Valentines Day 2012 with only a few offerings including her handmade cards, postcards, and gift tags. That was 5 years ago and she has now filled the shop to the brim with all of her paper art, expanding to original art, calligraphy, matted prints, a variety of greeting cards, paper flowers, journals, and stationery sets.  She also does custom wedding invitations, chalkboards and party/special occasion goods.

What inspires you and your creations?

I try to always keep up with current trends. I also love birds, so they inspire a lot of my work. "The Fat Bird" greeting card was my first creation and he shows up in a few different pieces around the shop now. 

The Fat Bird!

I also love to travel and use those experiences as inspiration. My favorite places are probably Paris, Italy, and New Zealand. Great birds in New Zealand.

What is your favorite thing to create?

Probably artwork or calligraphy pieces. I love to just go home and create art without thinking.

Who are your favorite artists in Seattle? Anyone readers should check out?

Brooke Westlund is my neighbor on Western Ave. and I love her art. Alex Achavel is another artist in Pike Place Market I really like. Ethan Jack Harrington has a gallery in Belltown that I love to visit. He creates great oil paintings. Lucca in Ballard is probably my favorite shop in town.

Where are your favorite places to get art supplies? 

Definitely Daniel Smith in South Seattle for art supplies and Paper Source in Queen Anne for everything paper. 

Your work spread across a lot of different mediums, did you start in one area and expand or have you always loved to work with different supplies?

Well everything in my shop is handmade. I hand pick all the paper, sketch out and create all the ideas, hand print all the designs once I know what I want. 

I am entirely self taught and have slowly expanded what I work with. I love experimenting with different things. I started with simple methods and have since expanded into more mediums and techniques. Now you can find pieces made with water colors, oils, chalk, and pen. I'm working with resin now with my paintings and love foiling and calligraphy.

Anything coming up in the future we should look out for?

Yes! I am going to start doing calligraphy and card making classes. Look out for more information on this, but essentially I would set out tables and supplies and have wine and snacks and invite people in to learn to create their own paper goods! 

I also want to expand my card business into larger markets. I currently have cards at a few places around Seattle (Once Upon a Time, Sassafras, and Bella Umbrella), but would love to sell them to a broader audience.

Hopefully we will see Paper Feather creations across the U.S. soon! We for one cannot get enough of Fat Bird and think the rest of the world should be able to enjoy him too! 

Paper Feather is located at 1520 Western Ave and is open Tuesday - Friday from 12 - 3 PM. If you are interested in Jennifer's wedding services you can email her for an appointment at thepaperfeather@hotmail.com. 

You can also find her at the Pioneer Square First Thursday Art Walk in a tent in Occidental Park. 

Temple of the Dog

Seattle is known for a lot of things…rain, coffee, evergreens, rain, and, of course, grunge. The Seattle grunge scene (also known as The Seattle Sound) includes famous bands such as Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains and was responsible for 100% of flannel sold between 1984 and 1998. 

Today, we are here to talk to you about Temple of the Dog, a band that is celebrating their 25th anniversary and just wrapped up two shows at the Paramount Theater.

Now, we’re going to be honest with you here…the grunge scene is a complicated mess of musicians working together and collaborating for years, but Temple of the Dog is an important one to know. Let’s see if we can break it down for you:

Mother Love Bone was made up of Andrew Wood (lead singer), Jeff Ament, Bruce Fairweather and Stone Gossard. Sadly, Andrew Wood died right before the release of their first album.

With the end of Mother Love Bone, Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard would go on to create Pearl Jam with Eddie Vedder and Mike McCready.

Chris Cornell, who is the lead singer of Soundgarden, was Andrew Wood’s roommate.

In the months following Andrew Wood’s death, Chris Cornell approached Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament and asked them if they would like to collaborate on an album to pay tribute to Andrew Wood. Mike Mcready and Matt Cameron joined them and, thus, Temple of the Dog was formed. Here is a helpful graphic:

This Soundgarden/Pearl Jam super group only had 1 album with the most well-known song being Hunger Strike (you know, the one where you don’t mind stealing bread from the mouth of decadence. I’m going huuuuuuuuuuuuungry). Not to confuse you more, but Hungry Strike featured vocals by Eddie Vedder who sat in on this singular Temple of the Dog song (Chris Cornell covered all other lead vocals).

The band is celebrating 25 years since the album was first released and doing a (short) tour that sold out in mere seconds online (including 2 shows in Seattle). Since the band members were already working on other successful projects, the band has never actually toured making these shows even more of a hot ticket. We still aren’t exactly sure why the music Gods blessed us with tickets, but we aren’t going to argue.

The band played every single song from their album and included covers from Mad Season, Mother Love Bone, Bowie, Black Sabbath, and Jimi Hendrix. There was some harmonica playing, some guitar slamming, and some swinging around of the microphone stand. The biggest highlight for us was when the entire crowd sang Hunger Strike in lieu of Eddie Vedder. It felt like the entire theater knew the words and sang along. Amazing. It was an incredible night and lets hope it's not another 25 years before they play again!

What to Do in Seattle Center (that park where the Space Needle is)

Seattle Center is the most popular park in Seattle for obvious reasons. There is a lot to do and see so let us give you our tips on what check out. 

Space Needle 

This one doesn't need much introduction. The Space Needle is the most visited place in Seattle and it's a tad bit noticeable as a 605 foot tall Jetson-esque shaped tower. The Space Needle was built for the 1962 World's Fair in Seattle.

Insider tip: Adult tickets are $22 to visit the Observation Deck or you can take a trip up to SkyCity, the rotating restaurant at the top, and for a $35 food/drink minimum get access to the observation deck and delicious food! 

Visit site.

Chihuly Garden & Glass

We did an entire post on Chihuly Garden & Glass because it is AMAZING! Dale Chihuly is a pretttyy famous glassblower from Tacoma, WA (Washington is full of the most talented people). This museum in Seattle Center is a tribute to his beautiful work. Even if you aren't a "museum person" give this one a shot, we think you'll be impressed...like super duper impressed. 

Insider tip: Save big bucks and get a dual access ticket for $36 to visit Chihuly Garden and Glass and the Space Needle.

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MoPOP!

Museum of Pop Culture - MoPOP

MoPOP (previously EMP) is made for the cool pop culture fans out there. They basically cover everything that is awesome about pop culture and nothing else. Exhibits highlight Horror and Science Fiction films, the Grunge Era, and obviously, the Seahawks epic Super Bowl win. And don't get too excited, but they have a David Bowie exhibit coming in 2017. We think this goes without saying, but no Kardashians allowed. 

Insider tip: Check out Campout Cinema. Their movie screen is MASSIVE and their movie nights are so cool! Camp out in a huge room with LED stars above you and watch cool movies. 

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Pacific Science Center 

The science center is an interactive museum for people of all ages. Seriously, even the exhibits you can tell they made for kids, we love. The have a butterfly house and exhibits that teach you about dinosaurs, medical science, and earth's atmosphere. Best yet, the IMAX theater is located here and it plays all the best movies that will blow your mind because... IMAX.

Insider tip: There are some giant flowers outside the Pacific Science Center. They are more than flowers, it's an art exhibit called Sonic Boom. When it's sunny hang out beneath them and wait for them to soak up enough solar power to start playing their echo-y songs! 

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Key Arena 

This is where Beyonce comes when she visits Seattle. I think that sells itself.

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Teatro Zinzanni

The dinner show of all dinner shows. Teatro Zinzanni never disappoints. It has everything...comedy, acrobats, singing, dancing, cabaret, audience participation, and magic. Your ticket includes a 5-course meal, a three hour show, and a whole bunch of entertainment (even the servers get in on the dancing). The show rotates constantly, so you can keep go back and experiencing new performances. It is expensive (tickets range from $89 - $173 depending on your seat in relation to the stage), but we definitely recommend checking it out at least once.

Insider tip: Your ticket does not include any alcohol or gratuity, and they automatically add $6 per person to your bill for gratuity. You can bring you own wine to the show (if it's not on their menu) for a $20 corkage fee.

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The Bill and Melinda Gates Visitor Center

Across the street from the EMP are the offices of The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. For those of you not aware, Bill Gates started this small company, Microsoft, and then made like 1 gillion dollars and now puts a lot of that money toward helping others. This visitor center is free and showcases all of the cool stuff they are doing. Think inventing new ways to teach children to ensure they never fall behind in school and eradicating diseases worldwide. They are awesome, go get inspired.

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Seattle Repertory Theater 

This is a small theater that creates a incredible lineup of shows every year. It has two stages, and since it is smaller in size every seat is a good one! We have seen several shows here and they have all been phenomenal. 

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Pacific Northwest Ballet 

It's a ballet. We aren't ballet experts, but we think this one is pretty up to standard. Beautiful dancers, beautiful costumes, beautiful stories. Oh, and The Nutcracker starts this week so if you haven't been now is a good time to start! 

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Seattle Monorail 

To be honest, the monorail doesn't have much of a purpose for locals, but it is a cool thing to ride as a visitor. This was built with the Space Needle for the 1962 Worlds Fair and you can ride from Seattle Center to Westlake. You get great views of the Space Needle and get this, it goes THROUGH MoPOP, which is really cool. Also, Frasier and Niles rode it in a special anniversary episode of Frasier. 

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The Armory 

The Seattle Center Armory is where you go when you are hungry after all your sightseeing. It houses over 15 restaurants ranging from Mexican, to Japanese, to American, to Starbucks (yes that is a category of food here). It has also public restrooms. Take note. 

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