Many of us are spending the first leg of the holiday season far away from family and friends this year, but, without being too saccharinely optimistic in this difficult time, we'll argue that this weekend brings some fine ways to comfort yourself and maintain top-notch wintry traditions while staying home or otherwise safely distanced from others. Our suggestions are listed below, from Black Friday deals on booze at spots like Fremont Brewing Like List to El Centro de la Raza's Christmas Tree Sale Past Event Like List , and from places to find eggnog (like Delancey Like List 's cocktail bar) to Seattle podcasts and local Grammy-nominated artists to queue up on your next isolation walk. For even more options, read our guides to the best online events this week Like List and the best movies to watch this week Like List .

Jump to: Holidays | Food & Drink | COVID-Safe Outdoor Activities

HOLIDAYS

Turn to local businesses for your holiday shopping. The weekend after Thanksgiving squeezes in Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Museum Store Sunday, giving you extra incentive to find deals on all manner of gifts and support Seattle makers during this tough season. If you need somewhere to start, check out our 2020 Holiday Gift Guide Like List for a roundup of our favorite things from Seattle authors, artists, food businesses, and more (like Ijeoma Oluo's new book Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America or subscriptions to local wine clubs Like List ). We've also compiled a guide Like List to this season's best holiday markets and shopping events, like Saturday's outdoor market at the Georgetown Trailer Park Mall Past Event Like List and Sunday's Handmade Brigade Pop-Up Past Event Like List and Holiday Market at Skål Beer Hall Past Event Like List , along with a list of branded merch items Like List from places like Dick's Drive-In and Hood Famous Bakeshop. If you plan accordingly, you won't even have to leave your house to check off everyone on your list.  

Deck your halls with festive foliage. Surely we can all agree that Thanksgiving submits to the holiday season as soon as the dinner plates are cleared. Here to prove it are the U-Picks and parking-lot sales across the Evergreen State filling up with Doug firs and Scotch pines galore, many of which are open for socially distanced shopping this weekend. In town, head to El Centro de la Raza Past Event Like List for your choice of Nordmans, Nobles, and Doug firs to take home or donate to a low-income family, or opt for Swansons Nursery Like List in Ballard, which is all decked out in holiday lights and is taking reservations for holiday tree and plant shopping. Other options include Stocker Farms Like List in Snohomish, whose U-Pick opens on Friday; Carpinito Brothers Like List in Kent with its pre-cut trees (and poinsettias, wreaths, garland, and live reindeer!); City People's Garden Store, which reopens on Friday for your locally-grown tree, wreath, and garland needs; and Sky Nursery, whose items you can order online for pickup starting December 1.

Inventive holiday light displays are here to ease our seasonal depression and offer much-needed cheer in a socially distanced manner, even while many other wintertime activities (like caroling and shoulder-to-shoulder photos with Santa and his elves) are a no-go with the rapid rise of COVID-19 cases. We've rounded up Like List all the Seattle-area options for 2020 below, from Westlake Park's virtual tree-lighting ceremony Past Event Like List on Friday to Woodland Park Zoo's WildLanterns Past Event Like List . to the Bellevue Collection's Snowflake Lane Past Event Like List .

Celebrate Native American Heritage Day. Not just home to Thanksgiving, November is also Native American Heritage Month, which culminates in Native American Heritage Day this Friday. Though celebrating the contributions of Indigenous people is always important, this month is an especially good time for it, and many local organizations are holding panel discussions, performances, and other events for the occasion. We've rounded those up here Like List , along with some other local Native American businesses to support and some notable music, books, and other media with a local Indigenous connection. 

Other notable weekend events: 

Christmas of the Corn Past Event Like List
Cafe Nordo's annual holiday collab with Seattle playwright and puppet-maker Scot Augustson returns with a murderous twist. This radio play horror-comedy includes a mysterious box of clues (plus cookies, crafts, and cocktails, with additional holiday feast add-ons such as Reindeer Shepherd's Pie) delivered to your door. Once it's unpacked, you're primed to help solve a murder in the town of Drupe Fruit, Minnisconsan, while stuffing your face with all manner of deliciousness. 
Pickup at Cafe Nordo, Pioneer Square (Friday-Sunday); also available for delivery

Winterfest Past Event Like List
With the exception of the campus light display Past Event Like List , Seattle Center's annual winter festival will take place largely online with virtual student showcases and holiday videos and a Winterfest coloring contest. 
Seattle Center (Friday-Sunday)

FOOD & DRINK

Shop for Black Friday deals on booze. If the mere idea of Black Friday bargain-hunting makes you yearn for a stiff drink, you're in luck: some local shops and breweries are using the day as an opportunity to offer rare releases and special discounts. As per annual tradition, the revered craft beer destination Fremont Brewing Like List will release Past Event Like List their extremely sought-after "B-Bomb" (a bourbon barrel-aged imperial winter ale) at their Urban Beer Garden Like List on Friday—this year's release will be appropriately socially distanced, with outdoor seating, tents, and heaters. (Bottles were also released online on Tuesday, and some are still available.) The Growler Guys Like List are also offering a variety of deals, including 20% all beer in the shop, 10% off all Theo Chocolate Like List candy, and 20% off all growler fills with the purchase of a 64 oz insulated growler. They'll also have the coveted Goose Island Bourbon County stout in bottles and on tap (with a free Goose Island pint glass with every purchase of a drink on tap).

Drink eggnog. Now that Thanksgiving has passed, it's time to get on with the real reason for the season: eggnog. The Maple Like List in Maple Leaf has a house-made version made with brandy, dark rum, egg yolks, cream, and nutmeg, aged for over thirty days, and the Ballard pizza haven Delancey Like List  has released their secret-recipe 'nog from their cocktail bar Essex Like List , which contains no fewer than five kinds of booze (!) and fresh nutmeg. Both are available in bottles to-go for your holiday drinking pleasure, and Sol Liquor Like List will also be releasing their cult-favorite aged eggnog in the coming weeks when they reopen after dining restrictions are lifted. Pour yourself a glass with a sprinkle of freshly grated nutmeg and settle in for a holiday rom-com marathon.

Visit Hama Hama Oyster Saloon's COVID-safe outdoor triangles. Feeling cooped up and ready for a post-Thanksgiving road trip? Hop in the car and take a scenic jaunt to Hood Canal to visit Hama Hama Oyster Saloon Like List 's new socially distanced dining option—outdoor tables covered by individual open-air A-frames for protection from the elements, available by reservation for parties of five or less for a $50 deposit (which goes toward your party's food order). It's the perfect place to contemplate the waves while gulping down superlatively fresh bivalves. Make sure to bundle up in warm layers and bring a blanket to snuggle up in—while the saloon has heaters, they note that propane is currently in short supply. Light blankets are also available for purchase for $10 if you forget yours.

Organize a cookie swap with friends. Cookies are an easy and simple way to share a dash of joviality this holiday season. Round up a crew of friends, follow these guidelines for keeping your exchange safe, and arrange for contactless doorstep drop-offs. Looking for cookie ideas? Try this collection of recipes from the New York Times. If baking is too tall an order right now, no judgment—try assembling a box of goodies with an assortment of offerings from Hello Robin, Lowrider Baking Company, Alexandra's Macarons, Bakery Nouveau, and/or Sugar Bakery.

Other notable weekend events:

Cookie Crawl Past Event Like List
Knock out some of your Christmas shopping by browsing small businesses and pick up cookies to enjoy at participating locations.
Burien Town Square Park (Saturday)

Food Walk - Small Biz Saturday 2020 Past Event Like List
At this socially distanced version of Chinatown-International District's popular "food walk," you can support local businesses by strolling through the neighborhood and trying different takeout dishes from over 30 participating restaurants, including Crawfish King, Fort St. George, Dough Zone, Fuji Bakery, Hood Famous Bakeshop, Phnom Penh Noodle House, and more.
Hing Hay Park, Chinatown-International District (Saturday)

Madrona Winery Thanksgiving Weekend Past Event Like List
Taste various vintages, shop for bottles, and warm up with some grappa, hot spiced red wine, or brandy at Wilridge's Madrona winery.
Wilridge Winery, Madrona (Friday-Saturday)

Miracle on 2nd Past Event Like List
In 2014, New York bar owner Greg Boehm temporarily transformed his space into a kitschy Christmas wonderland replete with gewgaws and tchotchkes galore. Now the pop-up has expanded to more than 100 locations all over the world and will be returning to Belltown’s Rob Roy this year. The specialty cocktails are no ordinary cups of cheer: Beverages are housed in tacky-tastic vessels (a drinking mug resembling Santa’s mug, for example), bedecked with fanciful garnishes like peppers and dried pineapple, and christened with irreverent, pop-culture-referencing names like the “Bad Santa,” the “Yippie Ki Yay Mother F**r,” and the “You’ll Shoot Your Rye Out.” This year, the pop-up will be available for to-go orders only, with "a lot of amusing decor and twerking Santas to elbow bump as you walk through to pick up your take-home kits. Photo ops, a chance for a quick shot, and 15 minutes of holiday delight will all be yours!" Nearby sibling Navy Strength will host the spin-off holiday-tiki-themed pop-up called "Sippin' Santa Past Event Like List ," which asks you to "imagine Santa on a surfboard instead of a sleigh and palm trees instead of pine," with patio tables available by reservation and cocktails, glassware, and kits available for takeout.
Rob Roy, Belltown (Friday-Sunday)

COVID-SAFE OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES

Download a Seattle podcast for your next isolation walk. It's supposed to be cold and sunny this weekend—perfect winter strolling weather—and you and your favorite pair of headphones both know that you don't need a potentially virus-carrying human to keep you company when the soothing voices of local experts, comedians, and pundits are just a click away. For a lighthearted moment, we're fans of the tangential food and comedy podcast Spilled Milk, where friends Matthew Amster-Burton and James Beard Award-winning food writer Molly Wizenberg dig deep into everything from avocados to napkins. For a longer-form option, the hosts of the Seagull Project's Great Souls podcast orate stories by Anton Chekhov, Langston Hughes, Shirley Jackson, and other canonical writers. If you're still stuck in spooky season, Here Be Monsters is a popular choice for explorations of the unknown. For frequent Stranger staffer interviews (like this one with Chase Burns) and other news story updates, check out KUOW's Seattle Now podcast. Not into podcasts? Now's the perfect time to listen to albums by Washington State artists nominated for this year's Grammy Awards, like Brandie Carlile for best country song; Sara Gazarek, Amanda Taylor, and Johnaye Kendrick for their work on Säje's "Desert Song"; Bill Frisell for best contemporary Americana instrumental album; and others.

Other notable weekend events:

Issaquah Turkey Trot 2020 Past Event Like List
It's too late to register for a t-shirt, but you can still participate in Issaquah's annual Turkey Trot throughout Thanksgiving weekend. For social distancing's sake, you can choose from seven different courses around the region. 
Various locations, Issaquah (Thursday-Sunday)

Seattle Turkey Trot Past Event Like List
Make room for turkey, Tofurkey, or whatever Thanksgiving feast you're working with by running in the location of your choosing and posting photos on social with the hashtags #TurkeyTrotThursday and #SeattleTurkeyTrot. Proceeds will benefit the Ballard Food Bank.
Wherever you are (Thursday)

State Parks Free Days Past Event Like List
If you don't have a Discover Pass but you still want to take in Northwest wildlife in all its evergreen-hued glory, take advantage of free admission to state parks on special days throughout the year. Today is Autumn Day!
Various locations (Friday)