Seattle Holiday Guide

The holidays are busy and taxing. Friends and family come and go. You see people love and others you hate, but as is the holiday spirit-your cheerful. A lot more time is spent in the kitchen and your waist line blooms. We've brought together a guide of some helpful topics for the holidays. Browse our recipes, shopping and places to donate and volunteer and guide to holiday lights and shows. Take a deep breath and delve into the holiday season with a smile.

Giving presents is great. Getting them is even better, but all of it is awful when you get stuck in traffic for 45 minutes two blocks from a mega mall. Double vision after trying to walk through Westlake during shopping rush hour in December is also maddening, but options abound in other corners of the city. Finding present solutions that are out of the way will not only save your sanity, but also result in unique gifts.

This holiday season be a time of sadness and frustration too many people this year, exacerbated in no small part by the recent economic implosion. But even if all you can spare is your own two hands, that’s plenty. Volunteering is not only free; it’s also more meaningful than any material present you could possibly give.

While the holidays are about friends and family, merry times, company parties and piping hot drinks, the holidays are also about finding a way to give to the needy, the homeless and less fortunate. Below is a list of local agencies that are doing just that; providing and facilitating a way for the public to help the thousands in need during the holidays.

Here's a guide to help you locate light displays going on in Seattle. Take the car out for a night with the kids and enjoy the holiday festivities as they light up the season.

Seattle.net has compiled a four course meal of creative, out of the norm, Thanksgiving dishes to help you expand your culinary swath. Take a look and have fun in the kitchen for a change.

Culture is, in part, defined by food: the Northwest is no exception. In the minds of many outsiders the region’s hallmarks are apples, coffee, and fresh seafood. In part these conceptions are right, and should even be embraced by what you decide to serve on your table this holiday season

Christmas season has finally arrived. After a short summer and the falling of the autumn leaves comes our best reason to celebrate winter. To-do lists are growing and traveling plans are being made. The white lights have made their way to the trees. The sights and smells of the season have begun to fill us with cheer. And as we wonder how to share our joy with our loved ones, Seattle theaters already know what they would like to share with us this year.