^{Free pixabay image.}

We are deep into the holiday season (Thanksgiving, Christmas, heading into the new year) so this seems a good a time as any for a holiday photo dump. ‘Cause if it’s not on the blockchain did it even happen?

Thanksgiving

On Thanksgiving my husband and I hosted my dad and cousin. Since dad had been caring for mom the last 5 years, this was the first time he joined for the holiday since 2019. My cousin is the youngest son of my aunt who recently passed. So, we were kind of a motley crew of holiday grievers. However, the holiday was good and we feasted on the traditional foods (Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans and pie for dessert.)

Photo Shoot

^{Photo by Alyssa Rose Photography}

Post Thanksgiving I organized a photo shoot for us with our pups. The boys will be 13 and 15 in 2025. As they are elder gentleman, I know I will treasure the photos long after they are gone.

Local Snippets

^{Images around my town.}

Here are a couple of images from around town. Our little city gets very quaint for the Christmas season. The tree, Santa’s mailbox, decorating boats in the marina, and a selection of holiday photo-op spots are just a few of the special touches.

Work Party

The last couple of years my boss has held our team’s holiday party at her home. We have lunch and a white elephant gift exchange. This year we also made candles and visited with her horse, dog, and ducks.

Biddy Christmas

The “biddies” are a group of my sorority sisters. In another yearly tradition, we gather at one sister’s house every Christmas season for a gift exchange. Usually we do another “white elephant”, but this year we did a “favorite things” party. So instead of each person going home with one gift, we all got THREE. Mine included a fleece blanket, some thrive cosmetics, and a fancy after bath body oil.

Holiday Touches

^{My “coastal” Christmas tree.}

Christmas 2020 I decided to switch up my holiday vibe. The year sucked in many ways, and we were stuck at home. So for fun, I decided to only put seaside inspired decorations on my tree.

This is my fourth year of having a coastal tree. Aside from the main color scheme being blues, golds and coral, all of the unique ornaments are beachy. We have seashells, seaglass, turtles, whales, crabs, sailboats, lobsters, seals, otters, jellyfish and a variety of other coastal creatures hidden throughout the branches.

^{Other holiday touches around the house.}

Seattle Center Christmas Market

^{Sights of the Christmas Market}

This is the second year Seattle has held its own German style Christmas Market. The event features over 50 artisans, a double decker merry-go-round, festive light displays, visits with Santa, live entertainment, and SO MUCH DELICIOUS FOOD!

I love the market so much I visited twice!

During our daytime visit, we bought two types of fudge, a wooden snowflake Christmas ornament, licorice, holiday cards, a handmade ceramic piece from Poland and a print by the artist Henry. We ate a chimney cake and sampled so many tasty treats.

^{Day verses night.}

I met friends downtown for my evening visit. We rode the merry-go-round, drank Glühwein, sampled bourbon toffee covered popcorn, and dined on goulash and spaetzle. There were also stalls selling paella, sausages, raclette, churros, and schnitzel. Everything smelled so delicious, and every stall shared tasting sized free samples.

Seattle lights

^{Holiday landmarks.}

After the Christmas Markets I explored more of the city center in search of holiday lights. My first stop was a better view of the Space Needle. The iconic Seattle landmark is topped with a Christmas tree this time of year.

Then I hopped on the monorail to see Seattle’s main Christmas tree at Westlake Center. The Westlake tree shares the spotlight with a giant star, which has adorned this corner of town for Christmas since 1957!

The star was originally added to the building under the management of the Bon Marche department store. Lucky for Seattlites, it has continued to shine through the closure of two retail chains. Now the star funded and maintained by the building’s largest tenants, Amazon.

Holiday Party

Last night I attended a Christmas party at the home of one of my best friend’s parents. This party has been a tradition for me for over 30 years. Though my friend’s dad passed in 2018, his mom has kept the tradition alive despite being 81 herself.

^{Their poodle is always camera ready!.}

The party is both a potluck and an open house. Everyone brings a sweet or savory to share. Guests range from elderly neighbors to the children of my school friends, and each year a HIGHLY alcoholic yet still tasty homemade eggnog is the star of the show.

I arrive a bit after 7pm. Which was an hour past start time. However, I was also one of thr last to leave at 1am. By that time our host was already asleep in bed!

---

With only three days until Christmas, I am mostly ready for the BIG event. Three gifts have yet to arrive, so those will hopefully come and get wrapped. Today I will start decorating our holiday table. Tonight is dinner out. Tomorrow is my final grocery shop for the fresh foods needed to host our holiday feast. On Christmas Eve I will start preparing the food to be had on Christmas Day.

I hope everyone who celebrates has a wonderful time. Treasure the moments with your families. Having lost my grandma, aunt and mom this past year… our Christmas is going to have an undertone of melancholy. But that only reinforces the importance of the family time ahead.

Happy Holidays & Merry Christmas!

---

All photos are my own unless otherwise noted.