COVID-safe IRL entertainment may seem thin on the ground these days, but if you need a break from your computer in the final stretch of 2020, we have lots of ideas that comply with social distancing guidelines. Read our picks for general activities and safe in-person events through the new year below, from restaurants to visit before they close (like the Charles Mudede-approved Lecosho Like List ) to lucky foods to seek out on New Year's (like the toshikoshi soba noodles from Kamonegi Like List ), and from places to book a local getaway (like the Easy Street Records Like List beach house on Alki) to a new short story dispenser at Beacon Hill's the Station. For even more options, read our guides to the best online events Like List through January 3.

Jump to: Holiday Lights & Spectacles | Last-Minute Shopping | Other Christmasy Ideas | New Year's Eve & New Year's Day | Non-Holiday Picks & Happenings

HOLIDAY LIGHTS & SPECTACLES

Check out COVID-safe holiday light displays, which are still going strong and offering much-needed cheer in a socially distanced manner. We've rounded up all the Seattle-area options for 2020 here Past Event Like List , from the Washington State Fair's Holiday Magic Drive-Thru Past Event Like List to Seattle Center's Campus Luminata Past Event Like List  to the Woodland Park Zoo's WildLanterns Past Event Like List , and we've also listed some highlights below. Most displays will be up through the new year, but note that many are also closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Highlights:

Candy Cane Lane Past Event Like List
1920s-era Tudor homes in Ravenna have been boasting impressive light displays every holiday season since 1949. Drive along Northeast Park Road taking in Nutcracker-themed havens complete with sleighs, reindeer, sugar plum fairies, and blow-up candy canes galore.
NE Park Road, Ravenna (through Jan 1) 

Dazzle Past Event Like List
Stroll down a pleasant lane in Maple Valley adorned with lights and photo-worthy wonderland displays. 
21401 244th Ave SE, Maple Valley (through Jan 3)

Downtown Holiday Lights & Delights Past Event Like List
More than 80,000 light bulbs assembled in the likeness of presents, arches, and trees will make your visits downtown as merry as possible during an ongoing pandemic. Also on deck this year is winter wonderland-themed augmented reality experiences set up on sidewalks and plazas around downtown, which require a smartphone.
Westlake Park, Downtown (through Jan 9)

Fantasy Lights Past Event Like List
Spanaway Park will bring back its festive light displays for drive-through spectators to enjoy.
Spanaway Park (through Jan 3)

Holiday Magic Drive-Thru Past Event Like List
The Washington State Fair is bringing a host of yuletide activities to its Puyallup grounds that visitors can enjoy from the safety of their cars. From light displays to fair food to a prize-bearing scavenger hunt to cheery music on SANTA FM 101.5, there's lots to choose from to warrant a mini road trip. You can even add Snowflake 3D glasses to make the displays look even more magical.
Washington State Fair Events Center, Puyallup (through Jan 3)

The Lights of Christmas Past Event Like List
In place of their annual Christmas festival, Stanwood will host a drive-through affair boasting over one million lights in dazzling displays, including their beloved light tunnel, a Cascade Splendor mountain scene, a Nativity, Santa and his reindeer, and more, plus costumed characters. Once you arrive (with tickets purchased in advance), tune in to LOC Radio 101.9 FM to enjoy Christmas music with radio host Bruce the Spruce. If you want a snack for the journey, you can order fresh-hot mini-donuts and a hot beverage from your car.
Warm Beach Camp & Conference Center, Stanwood (through Dec 30)

Lusio Past Event Like List
Nine local artists have created light installations around Pioneer Square, viewable in a COVID-safe manner throughout the holidays.
Pioneer Square (through Jan 19)

Schitt's Creek Rosebud Motel Replica Remind Like List
This adorable handmade mini-replica in the front yard of local fan Richard Knowles's house on Queen Anne's 10th Avenue West, mimics the Rosebud Motel from the comedy series about a wealthy family who loses all their money and relocates to a run-down motel in the middle of nowhere (all six seasons of which are streaming Remind Like List  on Netflix). It even comes complete with a festive wreath hanging on the door of the office, behind which we imagine a miniature Stevie resides. "I was just bored with the whole COVID thing," Knowles told the Seattle Times. “It’s something to do, really. I’ve always been kind of artsy. It just worked out." It won't be there forever, so mask up and drive or walk by in a socially distanced fashion.
10th Ave W & West Bothwell Street, Queen Anne (ongoing)

15 Seconds of Stardom Past Event Like List
This virtual experience gives you the power to create a 15-second custom light show through the Seattle Star (the giant star on the outside of the Bon Marché Building that used to house Macy's) for $15. Every dollar of which will benefit homeless families through Mary's Place.
Westlake Park, Downtown (through Jan 6)

Snowflake Lane Past Event Like List
Every year, downtown Bellevue turns into a winter wonderland not just for one night but for a whole dang month, with (fake) falling snow, jolly music, and twinkling lights every night until Christmas Eve. Don't expect a marching band this year (mouths blowing into trumpets during COVID = bad), but do expect a perfectly lovely, socially distanced walk- or drive-through.
Bellevue Collection (through Dec 24)

Tacoma Light Trail Past Event Like List
A free tail of light art will cheer up the downtown Tacoma streets every night through the end of January. 
Downtown Tacoma (Dec 30-Jan 24)

WildLanterns Past Event Like List
The Woodland Park Zoo is taking a more realistic approach to its beloved annual holiday light display by lining its paths with glowing lanterns in the likeness of tigers, snow leopards, aquatic creatures, zebras, and other exotic animals.
Woodland Park Zoo, Phinney (through Jan 17; closed Mondays & Dec 24-25)

Winter Glow at PowellsWood Past Event Like List
Experience 12 nights of socially distanced winter magic as the Federal Way garden lights up with holiday displays.
PowellsWood Garden, Federal Way (through Dec 23)

LAST-MINUTE SHOPPING

Finish your last-minute holiday shopping. Christmas is here, and the shipping deadlines have passed to get gifts online from many Seattle retailers in time for the holiday. Luckily, even in this weird year of COVID-19, many of our favorite local shops Like List are open for in-person shopping, so you can stop by and get your hands on the perfect gift. Several local restaurants, bars, and bakeries are also offering curated holiday gift boxes Like List of their favorite products, which make a great gift for the hard-to-shop-for person on your list. You can also check out our holiday gift guide Like List —online orders may arrive after Christmas, but in the times we live in, we don't think it will hurt to extend the festive season. For a cute in-person pickup option, the Wing Luke Museum has an adorable gift set with proceeds benefiting Mary's Place and their No Child Sleeps Outside Campaign—which you can also support at the Holiday Care-A-Van events on the 23rd and 31st, where you'll find Dick's, Trophy Cupcakes, and Anthony's food trucks.

Noteworthy events and markets:

Historically Hip Artisan Market Past Event Like List
Three Issaquah locations—the Historic Shell Station, the Issaquah Train Depot, and the old Rogue Brewery will play host to local artisans slinging wares for holiday shoppers.
Issaquah (through Dec 30)

Holiday Boozar Past Event Like List
Need a cup of cheer? Browse Salt & Iron's boozy take on the holiday bazaar, with festive to-go cocktails, curated wine packages, cocktail kits, and other potent potables, plus partnerships with local artists and vendors.
Salt & Iron, Edmonds (through Dec 31)

Japantown Jingle 2020 Past Event Like List
Count down to Kurisumasu with gifts, beer, and snacks in Japantown.
Japantown, Chinatown-International District (through Dec 24)

Last-Minute Local Holiday Bazaar Past Event Like List
Pick up last-minute stocking stuffers for the natural wine and bubbly fans in your life. 
Molly's Bottle Shop, Ballard (Thurs Dec 24)

Poindexter's Good Cheer Shop Past Event Like List
Stop in to Poindexter's Coffee for a market with natural wine, holiday spirits, local gifts, vinyl, and even a "Santa phone." 
Poindexter Coffee, University District (through Dec 24)

Small Works Holiday Sale Past Event Like List
Buy little things from resident Gallery 110 artists for the holidays. 
Gallery 110, Pioneer Square (through Dec 26)

OTHER CHRISTMASY IDEAS

Have a Mariah Carey Christmas. Ever since the debut of 1994's Merry Christmas and its smash hit, "All I Want for Christmas Is You," Mariah Carey has preserved her reign as the definitive matriarch of the Yuletide season (no offense to Mrs. Claus or the woman who gave birth to Santa) by putting out album-length renditions of holiday originals and standards every few years, embellished with her signature sultry grace notes and pitch-perfect whistles. This year's Apple TV+ holiday special Remind Like List and accompanying album is arguably the most energetic one yet, seeing Mimi and big-name special guests (like Jennifer Hudson and Ariana Grande in "Oh Santa!") bopping around a candy cane wonderland in sparkly outfits and reminding us what Christmas cheer looks like. As another gift to her fans in this otherwise bleak year, the pop chanteuse has put out a memoir (wherein she explains her affinity for the holidays) and spearheaded a cookie company Like List with a ghost kitchen in Seattle that delivers comforting flavors like chocolate chunk and gingerbread right to your door. In conclusion, if your holiday spirit has been tarnished by the events of 2020, the Queen of Christmas's jolly offerings may be just what the doctor ordered. 

Get Chinese takeout for Christmas. Dining on Chinese takeout on Christmas is a time-honored tradition, and best of all, it's one that can easily be observed at your small socially distanced celebration this year without any major modifications. Former Stranger staffer Eli Sanders has written in the past about his go-to spot of choice, Shanghai Garden Like List . Other places worth your consideration this year: the dim sum mainstay Jade Garden Like List , the hallowed Hong Kong-style noodle institution Mike's Noodle House Like List , the beloved dumpling destination Little Ting's Dumplings Like List , the standout Chinese barbecue joint Kau Kau BBQ Like List , and Seattle's oldest Chinese restaurant, the Bruce Lee-approved Tai Tung Like List . Looking for more restaurants that are open? These spots Like List are offering takeout meals for the holidays.

Watch virtual holiday shows. Three beloved Seattle holiday specials have acclimated to the virtual realm quite nicely thanks to EverOut's streaming platform StreamLocal, and they're a perfect change of pace from your standard Christmas movie roster. The first is the Dina Martina Christmas Show Past Event Like List (Dec 24 & 26-27), which The Stranger's Chase Burns has favorably likened to a "Christmastime flu" (and we hope it's the only flu you get this year). Also on the streams is Scott Shoemaker's War on Christmas Past Event Like List (on demand through Jan 5), a reverie of festive songs and dances with special guests like Ade, Waxie Moon, Mandy Price, and Fageddy Randy. Kitten N' Loui's Jingle All the Gay Past Event Like List (through Jan 2) rounds out the lineup with a pre-recorded performance of queer-tastic comfort. If you stan Seattle drag legends BenDeLaCreme and Jinkx Monsoon, be sure to also check out the Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Special Remind Like List streaming on Hulu.

Sip some eggnog. Stranger contributor Jordan Michelman writes, "Eggnog is so hot right now." He explores five fine new versions of the boozy Christmas favorite, including offerings from L'Oursin Like List , Liberty Like List , Damn the Weather Like List , Hood Famous Bakeshop Like List , and Tacoma's En Rama Like List . Nog not for you? Check out our complete guide to festive winter drinks Like List , including the Miracle on 2nd Past Event Like List pop-up at Rob Roy, or our guide to restaurants and bars with covered and heated patio seating Like List (just make sure to double-check hours with places directly, as they may differ around the holidays).

Other notable events:

O, Wonder! A Seattle Shakespeare Interactive Adventure Past Event Like List
Who says the works of England's most famous bard should be confined to the theater? Seattle Shakespeare Company's COVID-friendly scavenger hunt invites you to complete Shakespeare-related challenges in pursuit of prizes.
Various locations (through Jan 3)

Santa Snow Globe Past Event Like List
Dan Kemmis, affectionately known as Seattle Santa, posts up in an inflatable snow globe on a street corner in Greenwood for socially distanced visits. He also makes video calls.
Greenwood Avenue North and North 76th Street (through Dec 23)

Suncadia Winterfest Past Event Like List
Take holiday photos in Santa's Corner (Santa will be there in spirit), shop from a virtual holiday bazaar, donate nonperishable food in exchange for an ice-skate rental, enjoy cozy warm drinks, and visit a Candy Cane Forest Tree Lot at Suncadia's COVID-modified holiday affair.
Suncadia Resort, Cle Elum (through Jan 3)

NEW YEAR'S EVE & NEW YEAR'S DAY

Pick up some sparkling wine and last-minute goods for New Year's Eve. In a time where merriment is hard to come by, the departure of 2020 calls for an extra-decadent sendoff. If you're looking to go big, pick up some suitably festive bottles of fizzy wine. The gourmet cupcake bakery and party supply shop Trophy Cupcakes has sparkling cocktail and mocktail kits complete with edible glitter and flowers, sprinkles, glitter swizzle sticks, cocktail napkins, and even macarons for a garnish, as well as a selection of festive sparkling wines and Töst (a nonalcoholic sparkling beverage made with white tea, white cranberry, and ginger). The local wine club Crunchy Red Fruit Like List also has a "bubble box" with three bottles, and Chophouse Row's recently opened natural wine shop Wide Eyed Wines Like List has plenty of minimal-intervention sparklers in stock. Plus, Pagliacci will let you add a bottle of Prosecco from the Pike Place staple DeLaurenti Like List to your pizza delivery or pickup order, and the macaron maven Lady Yum has a champagne gift box with a bottle of bubbly and six macarons of your choice. For something more interactive, check out Stoneburner's virtual champagne cocktail class Past Event Like List to learn more about effervescent classics like the French 75 and the Seelbach. 

Grab takeout for New Year's Eve. We know, you've already heard the now-familiar refrain: This holiday season won't be the same, but no matter what form your responsible festivities take, you can still add a little glimmer to the occasion with comforting and luxurious meals for takeout from local restaurants. Check out our list of places to grab takeout for New Year's Eve Like List .

Find lucky foods for an auspicious 2021. Eating dishes thought to bring luck for the coming year on New Year's Eve or Day is a popular custom in many cultures, and it's one that may hold particular appeal this year for obvious reasons—nobody wants to risk a repeat of 2020. Fittingly, some local restaurants are offering meals designed to bring good fortune. Chef Mutsuko Soma's lauded Japanese restaurant Kamonegi Like List is offering its famed handmade soba noodles in takeout toshikoshi sets for the occasion—in Japan, eating toshikoshi soba (“year-passing noodles”) on New Year’s Eve is thought to impart longevity and prosperity, in part because of soba’s association with the remarkably resilient buckwheat plant and in part because it’s believed that the noodles, which are easily cut, aid in severing the hardship of the previous year. The Black arts space Wa Na Wari Like List is also serving up vegan black-eyed peas, collard greens, and cornbread Past Event Like List on New Year's Day, all considered lucky foods in Southern culture—the peas represent coins, the collard greens represent paper money, and the cornbread represents gold. And finally, "pasta artist" Linda Miller Nicholson, known for her vibrant plant-dyed pasta creations on her Instagram account Salty Seattle Like List , will be offering a virtual "good luck pasta class Past Event Like List " featuring a festive black and sparkly gold pasta dish filled with sausage and lentils, which are traditionally eaten on New Year's Eve in Italy for good luck—the lentils symbolize coins and are believed to bring prosperity. 

Have dinner and a show at home. If New Year's doesn't feel the same to you without getting dressed up and going out, settle for the next best thing: takeout dinner packages that include a livestreamed performance. The Paragon Supper Club Remind Like List is offering a three-course meal of orange and date salad, rabbit à la moutarde with vichy carrots  and rutabaga puree, and croquembouche for dessert, which you'll enjoy during a live performance from Lady A, the Evan Captain Trio, and Lauren Napier. The "culinary cabaret" Can Can also has a New Year's Eve Party Pack with a meal for two, a bottle of Cristal champagne, crystal-embellished pasties and a bra (so you can put on your own saucy show), and weekend access to a virtual Can Can show like Wonderland Past Event Like List . And while Cafe Nordo Like List 's holiday-box experience is sold out, their mystery-solving Do Not Disturb at-home experience is available for pre-order. 

Start the new year with a Polar Plunge or a First Day Hike. The eternally popular resolution of spending more time outdoors is easier when you don't have to worry about whether or not the stranger next to you in the park is carrying a deadly virus, but two New Year's Day traditions endure in social distancing-friendly settings. Instead of gathering in droves on the shores of Lake Washington, there are two virtual Polar Plunges (an annual tradition wherein you sacrifice your body heat for a Commemorative Polar Bear Badge of Courage) happening this year. The first, from Seattle Parks & Rec Past Event Like List , includes a kit with said Badge of Courage, "Polar Bear Vitamins" (which we assume means candy), instant hot cocoa, a celebratory noisemaker, and instructions on how to complete a plunge in your area. Another Past Event Like List , which comes courtesy of the folks who usually host an event at Lake Sammamish State Park, invites you to find your nearest water source—even if it's your bathtub or your garden hose—and submit photos of your icy experience. Not in the mood for that? First Day Hikes, which traditionally consist of guided treks but will instead encourage participants to mask up and go alone or in their quarantine pods this year, are a far drier alternative. Check out this list of our favorite trails in Washington, or head to your nearest state park for free admission Past Event Like List on January 1. For a more local route, you could also take advantage of Lake Washington Blvd's walking paths, which will remain open through January 3. As you know by now, be vigilant about keeping at least six feet of distance from others and wearing a mask if you leave home.

Queue up virtual New Year's Eve events. Staying home on NYE? Same. Our guide to the best things to do from home through January 3 Like List includes things to do online on December 31, including the Space Needle's virtual light show Past Event Like List . 

NON-HOLIDAY PICKS & HAPPENINGS

Try some of the year's most noteworthy new restaurants. Opening a restaurant is a truly impressive feat even during the best of times. Despite the fact that this year was unbelievably challenging for the restaurant industry, many bold restaurant owners found creative new ways to survive shortly after opening, or even did the unthinkable and went forward with opening in the midst of a pandemic. As you're reflecting on the year, why not take a chance to celebrate some of these unlikely additions to the Seattle food scene? Though it seems like decades ago now, Melissa Miranda's celebrated Filipinx restaurant Musang Like List (named restaurant of the year by Seattle Met), the inventive Capitol Hill izakaya Rondo Like List , and the cozy Beacon Hill natural wine bar Petite Soif Like List all opened at the beginning of the year, just before the pandemic. Over the summer, they were joined by the fried chicken and soft serve spot Milk Drunk Like List and the Fremont seafood restaurant Local Tide Like List . More recently, chef Kristi Brown and her son Damon Bomar opened their dream "Seattle soul food" restaurant Communion Like List in the Central District, and the highly anticipated wood-fired pizza spot Light Sleeper Like List recently arrived in Chophouse Row. Pick one or a few to try and raise a glass to these small businesses' admirable fortitude in the face of adversity.

...Or visit these restaurants before they close. Sadly, not every restaurant made it through the many trials and tribulations of 2020. Both the craft brewery Populuxe Brewing Like List and the German pub Feierabend Like List will close for good on December 23, so beer lovers will want to high-tail it over there to pay their respects before it's too late. The longtime Harbor Steps favorite Lecosho Like List is also set to close at the end of the month. Charles Mudede once penned a love letter to the restaurant, writing, "More recently, I stopped by Lecosho on my birthday. I wanted to eat there all by myself. That is how much I dig this place. I thought that the best way to commemorate the day I was born was not with other people talking about this and that but in the silence of consuming this restaurant's rich foods and wines." Don't miss your last chance to pick up some takeout and have a similarly meditative solo feast.

Book yourself a staycation at a local getaway. Taking a holiday somewhere far, far away is more tempting than ever right now, but it's still a thing of the past (and hopefully the near-ish future). For now, set your sights on a nearby destination for a refreshing change of pace and something to look forward to in the new year. Right on Alki Beach in West Seattle, music lovers might enjoy a trip to Easy Street Records Like List ' themed beach cottage with views of Elliott Bay and a living room complete with music memorabilia and a reading nook with a record station. There are also two grills outside if you're in the mood for a winter BBQ. Over in Eastern Washington in Orondo, the Underground Hygge "earth house" is ready to make your hobbit dreams come true with rounded archways and entrances, a stone fireplace, and sweet views of the Columbia River Gorge. Nestled among old growth firs on the shore of Whidbey Island, the Captain Whidbey Inn—the "unofficial official lodge" of Ebey's Landing National Forest Reserve—puts you in the heart of the Olympic Rain Shadow (a region that magically experiences far drier and sunnier weather than its nearby Seattle neighbor). Other honorable mentions: the beachside, Port Townsend-adjacent Chevy Chase Beach Cabins, which curiously have nothing to do with the National Lampoon star, and the charming riverside TreeHouse Point, just south of Seattle in Fall City. Capitol Hill boutique Glasswing Like List , which Seattle Met has described as looking "like the apartment of your coolest friend" is also planning to open a gorgeous, cozy cabin in Granite Falls soon—if that's your thing, message them to be among the first to find out when reservations are open.

Play video games with a local connection. There's something to be said for fighting off wild cougars and unlocking hidden treasures in the valleys of the Old West (that's the gist of Red Dead Redemption 2, right?), but there's a whole world of video games set in the Pacific Northwest that you might not know about, and seeing as self-isolation remains paramount this long winter, now is the perfect time to add them to your rotation. In the Portland-set (and Portland Mercury-approved) exploring game Gone Home, praised by the New York Times as "the greatest video game love story ever told," you arrive at your childhood home after a year abroad to find that your family and most of their belongings are nowhere to be found, leaving you to rummage around and pick up the pieces. Ever had the black forest cake at Regent Bakery Like List in Redmond? You'll get a pixelated version of it as a reward in 2007's Portal. Taking place in the same sci-fi cyberpunk Seattle universe as the Shadowrun tabletop RPG, Shadowrun Returns takes you to Pike Place, the South Seattle docks, and other familiar sites in pursuit of the Emerald City Ripper. There's also the zombie survival game Days Gone and the supernatural Life is Strange, both set in Oregon, the Seattle-set Coffee Talk, and the Seattle-designed Among Us. For more ideas, The Stranger's resident gaming expert Matt Baume is a valuable source. Also, while it's not local, we'd be remiss not to mention the Animal Crossing winter update. So many glowing reindeer!

Check out local short fiction projects. The next time you stop by Beacon Hill's beloved cafe and community center the Station, you'll notice a slim, kiosk-like machine near the entrance. It's not a luxury trash receptacle. It's Seattle's first short story dispenser, a project dreamed up by French company Short Edition and made possible by the Seattle Public Library. Described in press materials as a "contactless story-generating experience," it has you wave your hands over the buttons and choose a story with an estimated reading time of one, three, or five minutes. Once you've made your selection by an emerging or established writer, your free story is printed on BPA-free paper to read while you wait for your coffee. Short Edition also accepts submissions, which means, if you're lucky, your own work could be featured in a kiosk in another part of the world. Have a story related to your experience during COVID? Consider sharing it with SPL's COVID-19 Community Collection, or read others' submissions. For experiential storytelling, check out Wa Na Wari's outdoor Story Porch Past Event Like List installations that explore gentrification in the Central District. If you're looking for more kid-friendly options, follow a trail of outdoor posted pages in Burien Town Square Park. 

Take in outdoor art on a socially distanced walk. While museums remain closed, there's another way to admire the fruits of local artists' labor that doesn't involve a computer screen: free outdoor art! Seattle is lucky to be chock-full of it, from the peculiar statues of Vladimir Lenin and a giant troll in Fremont to painted panoramas in Ballard (whose Storefront Mural Project adds stories and local history to the outside of local brick and mortars) to the gorgeous structures by Teresa Fernandez and Richard Serra in the Olympic Sculpture Park Like List . Up north, Whidbey Island's peaceful Earth Sanctuary Sculpture Garden features towering, clean-lined stone structures in a 72-acre nature reserve. If you want to add a festive note to your journey, queue up a Seattle-specific Christmas playlist and bop along to tracks by local greats like Jimi Hendrix, SassyBlack, Brandie Carlile, and Dude York.