IF you could measure such a thing, it seems likely that Seattle has a higher ratio of lights, Santas and cheer per square foot than most cities do.
This is a town that loves to get its tinsel on.
Last weekend - with husband and kids in tow - I made the three-hour drive south to check out the sparkling results of a partnership between the Downtown Seattle Association/Metropolitan Improvement District, Seattle Center and Seattle's Convention and Visitors Bureau that's been lighting up the city since 2009 with a Holidays in the City seasonal campaign.
Although three days isn't nearly enough time to fit in all the glitter (and Space Needling and science centering) we were aiming for, we made a serious run at it. It's made easier by the campaign's DowntownHolidays.com website, where there's a comprehensive events calendar, maps, travel deals, visitor information, and a downloadable holiday guide. Before even leaving for the border, we made a list of things to see and do, then did our festive best to take it all in.
The posh Fairmont Olympic Hotel makes a comfy home base - it's just a few blocks from the Seattle Art Museum, Pacific Place shops, the Pike Place Market, and Westlake Center Mall, where the Monorail departs from.
The hotel is hosting one of the prettiest tree festivals around; each of 20 plump firs is decorated by the Dr. Forrest L. Flashman, Guild of Seattle Children's Hospital and is dedicated to a patient at the hospital. On the fourth floor, the youngest guests in our party got a kick out of the Teddy Bear Suite, entirely decked out by a local interior designer in luxe fabrics, heaps of ornaments and massive, cushy bears. Best of all, until Feb. 8, 2012, the Fairmont Olympic is offering rates that start at $199 per night.
From the hotel, we strolled to Westlake Park and lined up for a spin on the glittery Holiday Carousel. It's worth a ride - the $2 ticket price supports a non-profit organization that helps kids in foster care.
We checked in with Santa - Seattle is keeping him busy - he's making a host of appearances at Macy's Santaland, Nordstrom's Santa Lane and at Pacific Place, where at 6 p.m. every night, Pacific Northwesters get an impressive snowfall inside the shopping centre.
Pike Place Market hums with activity as always - vendors throw salmon to each other, hawk chocolate linguini and offering slices of apple to passers-by - but at this time of year it is especially appealing, bedecked with lights and trees.
Then we were on to the Monorail for the quick ride to Seattle Center. Built for the 1962 World's Fair, the 74-acre campus is home to the Space Needle, the Experience Music Project, the International Fountain, Pacific Science Center, a fairground, park and more, but at this time of year, while hosting its annual Winterfest, it's Christmas Central.
Inside Center House, we watched the miniature Winter Train zip around its track through a turn-of-the-century Christmas Village, we saw ice sculpting and spotted graceful skaters taking a turn on the indoor pop-up Winterfest Ice Rink.
Tops for me though - and even for all the boys in my family - was Pacific Northwest Ballet's Nutcracker. PNB's version is the original, a collaboration between the company's founding artistic director and choreographer Kent Stowell and renowned children's book author and illustrator Maurice Sendak.
I love all of it (despite that Waltz of the Flowers is still stuck on repeat in my head). From the detailed costumes to the magical growing Christmas tree, and the divine, technically beautiful dancing - especially the sinewy peacock - the kaleidoscope of images is enchanting. My boys were most thrilled by the battle between the Nutcracker and The Mouse King.
With lengthy to-do lists, gifts to buy, holiday meals to plan, it can sometimes be hard to find that holiday spirit. Turns out, a mini-break in Seattle was all I needed to find it. Now it feels like Christmas.
