Looking for last-minute Thanksgiving tips or outings? Maybe you need ideas for activities to do with your relatives over the holiday weekend? Whether you’ve already started the Thanksgiving festivities or still haven’t made a game plan, let this guide help you make the most of these food and family-filled days.
Remember, many situations can cancel or cause schedule changes for events and outings, so always check before you go.
Thanksgiving
- Stuck in Seattle and looking for a place to have a Thanksgiving meal? If you can still get a reservation, 13 Coins, Wild Ginger and Salty’s are just a few restaurants open on Thanksgiving serving up traditional fare. Additionally, the Salvation Army Seattle Temple Corps is hosting a free, full Thanksgiving lunch for all from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Not too big on Thanksgiving food? You could get soup dumplings at Din Tai Fung, dim sum at Joy Palace, Filipino-inspired dishes at Outlier or hot pot at The Dolar Shop instead.
- Making Thanksgiving dinner? If you’re not sure what to do with that bird yet, try this Puerto Rican-style turkey. Just be sure to think twice before you wash it. Is your gathering going to be a small one? Take the simple route with this sheet-pan dinner. Need more side dish ideas? The solution is to sous-vide everything. Have vegan guests? Think about these imitation roasts. Don’t forget the wine! These are the best ones to go with your feast.
- Still haven’t set out for your Thanksgiving travels yet? Check out these tips for maintaining your sanity and safety while on the road or in the air. Reading this at the airport and getting hungry? Your gate might be home to one of these recommended eateries.
- Need to get out of the house, like, now? Take a trip to the Sheraton Grand on Sixth Avenue to view its gingerbread village open until 9 p.m. If you’re in the Renton area, it’s the opening day of Candy Cane Lane in Maplewood Heights from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. For more ideas on how to stay sane during the holidays, consult this list of ways to keep you and the relatives happy.
- Already dreading all the leftovers you’re bound to have? Consider this turkey soup or spicy cranberry sauce to make them a little more interesting.
Get out
- Indulge in a Christmas wonderland at Enchant at T-Mobile Park. There’s ice skating, light mazes and more; and if you need help deciding whether or not you want to go, read what my colleague and I thought of it all.
- Spend your Friday downtown starting with the 29th, and final, Macy’s Downtown Holiday Parade, which begins at 9 a.m. After braving the stores for some Black Friday shopping or retreating to a bar to watch the Apple Cup (Coug fans, this one is for you!), head to the Downtown Holiday Tree-Lighting Celebration at Westlake Park. Friday also marks the start of Winterfest at Seattle Center. For more information on these events, see our Weekend Highlight.
- From festivals and markets to lights and Santa sightings, there’s plenty more holiday events happening this weekend and beyond. You can find them in this week’s community calendar, as well as in our 2019 Holiday Guide.
- You can try to catch a preview of “Mrs. Doubtfire,” (official opening is Dec. 13) the 10th musical at the 5th Avenue Theatre slated for a Broadway run.
- Learn the legacy, and maybe even dance to the music, of Sister Rosetta Tharpe in the play “Shout Sister Shout!” at Seattle Rep.
- It’s “Nutcracker” season. You can see PNB’s version at McCaw Hall (starting on Friday) but first, read this list of tips on how to get cheap tickets, good seats and more.
- Bust out your winter sports gear and head to Crystal Mountain Resort’s Discovery Meadow area, open Friday, Nov. 29, to Sunday, Dec. 1, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Hang out with a few reindeer at the Leavenworth Reindeer farm.
Movies
- Take a break from your family drama and watch someone else’s in Trey Edward Schultz’s “Waves,” staring “This Is Us” actor Sterling K. Brown.
- See Adam Driver (“Girls,” “Star Wars”) and Scarlett Johansson (“Avengers,” “Lost in Translation”) in the “Kramer vs. Kramer”-like drama “Marriage Story.”
- For a powerful and devastating on-the-run drama, go for “Queen & Slim,” starring Daniel Kaluuya (“Get Out”) and newcomer Jodie Turner-Smith.
- Watch Mark Ruffalo and Anne Hathaway in the based-on-fact story of Cincinnati attorney Rob Bilott in “Dark Waters.”
- Find some relief from the stress of the holiday season with the silly, but sharp, whodunit “Knives Out.”
- For quick snapshots of the movies listed above, see this week’s movie roundup.
Food and drink
- Take a break from the turkey and stuffing and try something new at South Lake Union’s District H. While you’re there, pick up some of these recommended snacks from our resident Queen of Snacks, Amy Wong.
- Warm up with slurp-worthy Taiwanese soup at Fremont’s 19 Gold.
- Treat your visiting relatives without breaking the bank at these four new happy hours.
Stay in
- If you’re overwhelmed by family and food, take a time-out with one of these crime-fiction books.
- Follow in the footsteps of Grammy-nominated, Maple Valley-based singer Brandi Carlile and read what she’s reading.
- Take your food coma to the couch and turn on one of these now streaming titles.
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