This year it’s more important than ever to shop locally to help support the businesses and places in Seattle we love. So here’s my running list this year for Seattle gift ideas that have caught my eye. Many of them are things our family will be buying and giving to friends and family as well this year too and there are experience gifts like being able to program the lights for the Seattle star or museum memberships for places we used to frequent often. If you see any things I might have missed in the list, please feel free to message me or share them in the comments below.
A gift to play with the Seattle Star
Going to see the Macy’s star has long been part of our family holiday traditions and I’m glad the star is still part of our city even though we don’t have a Macy’s here anymore. This year you can create or gift the opportunity to play with the Seattle Star on the 15 seconds of Stardom in Seattle website. I was gifted a code to try out the website and I had one of my kids pick a time for it to showcase and create a design. When he finished that part, we were sent a link to livestream the star from our computer when the design goes live. It’s not a huge spend and a portion of the ticket goes to Mary’s Place and this is a nice experience gift for people who have fond memories of the Seattle Star. I’m really excited to see our design go live next week.
Starlight Lane a drive through light experience at Lumen Field
I have tickets in my pocket for Starlight Lane that I bought as soon as this went on sale because it just seemed like the kind of whimsey that the 2020 needs. We are going on one of the last days so I have no idea what we’ve gotten into and won’t be able to review it in time to let you know how it goes, but I like the idea of being contained in our car as a family unit and we’ve been driving around the city looking for all the pretty lights. And it was around the price we used to pay for our family to go to a movie so this seems like a reasonable price for a family outing during a once in a century pandemic.
There is also a free walk through light display at Westlake Center that we’ve driven by that is right across the street from the Seattle Star. It seems pretty popular and we’ve seen it get a bit crowded so I think we’re going to stick to drive through lights only this year.
Woodland park Zoo and Seattle Museum Memberships make great local gifts too
We usually support a handful of Seattle Museums throughout the year and this year it’s important to continue to support them even though many are not open right now. Woodland Park Zoo is one place that is open and it has a new event called WildLanterns that has timed tickets for an outdoor event with current distancing measures. Wildlanterns looks spectacular and runs until mid January and we’ll be checking it out in the next few weeks too.
Seattle Art Museum is currently closed but has 25% off gift memberships until November 30th. The Seattle Art Museum has a fabulous gift shop and you can shop it online while the Museum is closed. Seattle Aquarium also has a discount if you purchase a membership between now and December.
Watch the Seattle Nutcracker from home
Should we get dressed up to watch the ballet or stream it in our pjs while we sip hot chocolate? We’ve taken the boys to the Nutcracker a few times over the years and it’s such a Seattle tradition. This year, even though we can’t go in person, there is a really cool opportunity to watch the Seattle Nutcracker from home. This might be a good experience gift too if you want to watch “together” with out of town family and friends who we can’t see this year. There is even an option to add a Nutcracker Gift Box to add to the at-home experience.
A carwash gift because all we do is drive everywhere nowadays
I’m a bit terrified of carwashes but I like that at the end of the Brown Bear carwash I go to in Seattle the friendly little bear waves as we exit. I was excited to see that Brown Bear carwash has a coupon code that you can use “BearyThankful” until November 30th for 20% off Beary Bright Ticket Books and I know this is one thing the hubby really appreciates as a gift.
Seattle Sports Teams
We tend to buy 12 Seahawks jerseys but we are starting to embrace everything Kraken now too. Before we know it, we’ll have hockey in Seattle (finally, again).
Amazon 4 star Seattle store gifts
I am trying to buy a lot more things locally so we’re not buying as much on Amazon this year. But I do love going into the Amazon 4 star Seattle store just because it’s such a cool place to shop, especially if I’m in South Lake Union where there are a lot of fun new restaurants and stores. I was so excited when Happy Lemon showed up in the South Lake Union neighborhood because it’s a lot closer than the Issaquah location we’ve been visiting. And Tutta Bella in South Lake Union has had some really great takeout deals too.
Pike Place Market gifts with Savor Seattle
We are shopping more online than in real life lately so I haven’t shopped Pike Place Market as much as I used to this year but one way I’ve been able to buy from my favorite vendors (and some new to me places too!) has been with Savor Seattle. I bought many of their market boxes this year and I’ve been thankful that I can support one of my favorite Seattle places without even having to leave home. Savor Seattle has a sweets box that can be shipped nationwide so these are great local gifts that can be sent to family and friends who can’t visit right now to remind them of our beautiful city.
London Plane wreath and flower workshops
London Plane is another Seattle place I love to visit in real life, and I noticed that they have online wreath and flower workshops that you can gift even to yourself. My sister sent me a beautiful bouquet from London Plane earlier this year that we absolutely exquisite and it makes me think of all the times we’ve eaten and visited in that beautiful restaurant and store.
This list is by no means finished and I’ll update as I shop in the next few weeks. In the past I’ve had more of an experience gift list, but in this unique year I am definitely shopping for more things that can be experienced at home. Hopefully we’ll be out and about again soon, but for now we’ll be shopping from home and shopping locally as much as we can.
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)
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