Who says that the holidays need to be hectic? I love December for celebrating and reflecting on all the joys of the year. This year I’m really thankful to have partnered with many local shops and activities that have become part of my family’s daily life in Seattle. And many of these places will be part of my family’s gifting to our friends and families during the holidays too. The more I live in this city the more I realize we’re all so connected and we’re lucky to have each other so I thought I’d share some of our Seattle favorites from 2022 below just in case you’re looking for holiday inspiration this year as well.
Kitchen and Market
This store has been in existence just barely over a year and we already have so many staples here that we can’t live without. I buy everyone I know who loves afternoon tea the Kitchen and Market Scone mix because it is easy to make and foolproof. They even have this scone mix in gluten-free too.
Kitchen and Market has a strawberry jam in the refrigerator section that goes perfectly with the scones. And they also sell Girl meet Dirt jam (a plum one) that is delightful. I buy Kitchen and Market branded Magic Pie Spice to make apple crumble and their meal kits make weeknight dinners VERY easy. A gift card or care package from Kitchen and Market would be a fabulous Seattle gift. And they lift up their community so you can find many other Seattle brands within the store as well. One we really enjoy is the Ethan Stowell partnership for pasta and wine and with their just-opened Mercer Island store, their soon-to-be-opened Medina store and who knows where else next, we’re just going to see more and more of them in Seattle and I’m really happy about this fact. Stephanie King, their owner/founder is also delightful and she taught me how to make seared juicy chicken and my boys are eternally grateful.
Lady Yum
This is one of our best “maybe we’ll just pop-in” stops in South Lake Union and yes there are a handful of other stores in our area (including the just re-opened epic Pioneer Store that I can’t wait to revisit soon and they all have beautiful decor and yummy treats). Lady Yum is exactly what they profess: macarons and magic and maybe even mischief. If it’s open and we have time we always grab a macaron or two for while we walk around the area.
A few weeks ago I was invited to visit with my guys to savor our time a little with macarons and bubbly drinks. It became the most delightful daydate with my teenage guys. We all need time with our families, especially in the busy seasons and especially with our teenagers. And this just hit everything right. I had no idea that this would be one of my best moments of 2022 but I’ll remember it forever in its magical simplicity. I hope that by sharing this that someone out there might end up with a bubbly macaron moment with their what-do-we-do-to-bond-together teenage kid(s) too. If you’re looking for gifts they have really beautiful customizable macaron packages that can be sent to all 50 states.
Argosy Cruises
My guys and I went on the Locks cruise this summer and had the most fabulous time. We do so many things like this in other cities that I can’t believe we left this one so long to try in our own city. Hanging out together with Argosy Cruises reminded me that there are so many local things we can do together and this gave us such a neat perspective of the Ballard Locks. We’ve always seen the locks from the outside but never from in a boat on the water. It was also really cool to boat under so many bridges in our city, sometimes we forget how much of a water-reliant city Seattle is.
My husband and I also had cocktails on a sunny evening Harbor cruise and it was such a lovely date. The cruise is just an hour and it felt so nice to feel a bit of outdoor air, see spectacular views and have a nice drink. We save these things sometimes for tourists and I’m glad for the reminder that we need to take in days like this as locals. A Locks or Harbor cruise would make a really great experience gift for a local or someone who has Seattle on their list to visit in 2023.
Flora Bakehouse
Our family leans vegetarian and we’ve loved the Cafe Flora family of restaurants for years since we started going to Cafe Flora (and dreaming about their heavenly cheesy grits). I even bought an art piece that is on my kitchen wall from local Kate Endle because I first saw her work in that restaurant years and years ago.
Flora Bakehouse is relatively new and it is a place that brought us a lot of joy during our guys’ soccer games this year. Whenever we had a game at the soccer field near Flora Bakehouse it meant we’d have great treats. We also really enjoyed when Flora Bakeshop started offering soft serve in the summer time. Flora Bakeshop also sells pottery and a floral hat that is on the top of my own holiday list-I keep trying to get it at Floret at the airport too but we’ve just missed opening hours. (we’ll just have to keeping flying and trying….).
Tutta Bella
Every visitor we’ve ever had in our house has eaten Tutta Bella with us since we moved to Seattle over 20 years ago. The hubby and I started eating at their Stone Way restaurant back when we had no kids and our family has really grown up with this restaurant. Now Tutta Bella has multiple locations and you can find their pizzas and sauces at many of our local grocery stores and even Costco. They have put together really great meal packs for the holidays and also just visiting and having a meal is a nice way to keep the holidays easy. You can check out their $45 holiday box through this link for pre-order and pickup will begin December 7th 2022.
Simple Goodness Sisters
I met the Simple Goodness Sisters through my work with Washington Potatoes a few years ago and Venise and Belinda have this effortless way of making people feel joyful and you can really feel that in the drink syrups that they make. They own a soda shop in Wilkeson Washington and I want to go here with my sister and my niece. And maybe you might put this place on your list too? Don’t we all need a soda shop to visit in our lives.
For those of us who don’t regularly get to their soda shop, they have a farm cocktail club that you can order and get at home. I was invited to see the actual farm where the ingredients are grown this summer and when you see a lovely place like this and know the syrups that you buy come from a happy place like this with goats and pretty signs and happy people who like hanging out together, it’s just the kind of place you want to buy more things from. These sisters have created a really incredible brand, their syrups make fantastic gifts for friends (and even for ourselves) and can be made into cocktails or mocktails so they’re really for everyone.
Are you swooning a little yet too?
But there’s more…..
All of these businesses helped me celebrate the last month of the year with giveaways and I had a celebration with some contest winners at Noir Lux Candle Bar a place very dear to my heart. (if you love candles and want to make candles in Seattle this will be a place you’ll love too!)
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)
One thought on “Our Seattle favorite things of 2022 for all of your holiday lists”
Comments are closed.