By, Kari Tanta, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA
Manager, Children’s Therapy at Valley Medical Center
Valley’s Children’s Therapy Team wishes you and your family a magical holiday season and Happy New Year! We know it will look a little different than year’s past, but family traditions and fun outings can still be a safe part of the 2020 holiday season! While searching for available activities outside our own home for this season, my heart warmed at the creative ways organizations are re-imagining holiday outings and events. In this light, I share the following ideas and resources with your family. Go out and enjoy the lights, “see” Santa, enter a contest, and/or engage in learning! After the holidays, we’ll look forward to sharing stories of our celebrations!
Community Activities
- View the Zoolights at Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium through Jan. 3, 2021 (entry fee). See link for tickets.
- Check out the WildLanterns light festival at Woodland Park Zoo through January (entry fee). Click link for more information and to get tickets.
- Drive through The Lights of Christmas at Warm Beach Drive (entry fee per vehicle). See spectacular light displays while listening to Christmas music and sipping hot cocoa from the comfort of your car. Various dates through Dec. 30.
- Have some holiday fun at Swanson Nursery through Dec. 24 in Seattle (FREE). Take a holiday adventure tour, view their colorful light displays and admire a model train village.
- Explore Campus Luminata, Virtual Winterfest Performances and Coloring Contest through Dec. 31 (FREE). Visit Seattle Center to view the light display in person or virtually! Also see virtual performances, videos highlighting holiday traditions, activities for kids. Download any of their three coloring pages to enter the coloring contest.
- Schedule a virtual visit with Santa! The elves have set aside time in Santa’s busy schedule for him to take a break in his workshop to visit with kids. (Cost is $25 for Auburn residents and $32 for non-Auburn residents.)
- StoryWalk: Cat’s Colors (FREE). Walk through the holiday lights and enjoy a self-guided story-telling of Cat’s Colors by Arlie Anderson. Meet at Burien Town Square to walk through holiday lights.
Learning Fun
Don’t let a break slow down your child’s progress!
- Ongoing, free virtual tutoring K-8 Study Zone
- Arizona State University is offering five weeks of free virtual programming for families and kids!
- Take free virtual field trips and watch a variety of live-streaming science shows, hands-on activities, tutorials for all ages with the Pacific Science Center.
Lists of Area Holiday Events
These events are updated often, so check back!
