Holiday Guide 2021
Welcome to the holiday season! A time when we enthusiastically embrace the colder months’ coziness by bundling up indoors with our favorite holiday movies and tunes, put the kitchen to good use by cooking up traditional delights and maybe even enjoy (or curse) a rare snow event or two.
However you spend your holiday season, there are plenty of festive shows, light displays, performances, movies and more coming this winter to usher you into the season. Read on for stories on how families are navigating the holidays and its diverse traditions, Washington’s favorite pie flavor (and where to find it) and an inside look at the Nutcracker, as well as our recommendations for how to bake a pie, holiday events (both live and digital) and more this winter.
Happy holidays!
— Seattle Times Features staff
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Where to see holiday lights, dance performances, Santa and more in the Seattle area this 2021 holiday season
Looking for an opportunity to get out of the house and see a holiday play or light show this year? The Seattle Times has you covered with this list of holiday events around Greater Seattle, with light shows, markets, music and much more. Click on through!
A pie for every baker: No matter your experience level, there’s a pie you can make to share with loved ones this year
You don’t have to be an expert baker to make a pie for your holiday feast. Our writer explains how, during the pandemic, she went from novice to seasoned pie maker. Plus: Three recipes that anyone of any ability level could make this holiday season.
Holiday traditions are different for everyone. Here’s how 4 Seattle-area families and social groups plan to celebrate
With the holiday season comes many time-honored traditions — hot cocoa, family feasts and gifts, to name a few. Here are some unique and personal traditions, new and old, that get Seattle-area families — biological and chosen — into the holiday mood.
A pie shop’s reason for being? Perfecting that final bite of food you’ll take at your Thanksgiving table
After the turkey and accoutrements are cleared from the Thanksgiving table, your very last bite of food will likely be pie. For these Seattle-area pie shop proprietors, your Thanksgiving meal is the reason they exist and toil around the calendar.
As ‘Nutcracker’ returns, 4 PNB dancers share their first and favorite moments
Four principal dancers at Pacific Northwest Ballet share memories of many years of dancing “The Nutcracker,” from being a kid gazing at their idols from the wings, to watching the “Nutcracker” kids today.
How inflation’s bite affects Seattle-area restaurants, butchers (and you) this Thanksgiving
As costs to put Thanksgiving dinner on the table rise with widespread inflation, supply chain issues and the worker shortage, Seattle-area restaurants, butcher shops and bakeries struggle to meet demand.
The Great Apple Pie Blind Taste Test: We sampled 10 pies to crown a winner
We asked Seattle Times readers for their favorite pie flavors; then, we took the top result and went all over Greater Seattle, scooping up 10 different apple pies to conduct a blind test in hopes of finding the best pie for your Thanksgiving table.
Check out these Seattle holiday shows for a dose of good cheer
Another pandemic holiday season is here, though this year there are vaccines and falling COVID-19 case numbers ushering the return of in-person theater. Here are shows that will help you celebrate the holidays with laughter and a touch of the ridiculous.
9 hot Seattle-area concerts to catch this holiday season
Many of Seattle’s music all-stars come home for the holidays, giving the city a great lineup of winter shows. Here are some of the best concerts by locally grown artists to check out in the next couple of months.
Moira Macdonald’s 10 must-see movies this holiday season
What to watch during the holidays? Here are 10 promising-looking December movies headed for the multiplexes (and streaming services), from a classic musical to a Shakespeare tragedy and a fourth “Matrix” film. Check out Moira Macdonald’s roundup here.
These Seattle-area restaurants are open (or serve to-go feasts) on Thanksgiving
Maybe you don’t want to cook a whole turkey this Thanksgiving, or you’d rather enjoy a meal at a restaurant. Here’s a list of Seattle-area restaurants offering advance-order Thanksgiving feasts, or spots that will be open on Thanksgiving Day.
How do you stay sane during the wet, gray Seattle winter? Tell us
As we gear up for the winter season, we want to know: How do you stay sane during the rainy months? Is there a certain activity you do that keeps you moving until the warmer months or a tried-and-true method to lengthen those short days? Tell us here!
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