Holiday Kickoff

When it comes to celebrating the holidays, Edmonds goes all out adding a festive layer on top of an already charming city. It’s no secret around the Puget Sound region that Edmonds has become a prime destination to soak in the holiday magic with a calendar chock-full of events, activities, celebrations, and good cheer. There are things to do for all ages and interests, plus many are free!

Ready, set, mark your calendars!

Edmonds Holiday Market begins November 9th

Missing the summer market that wrapped up their season October 5th? Good news, you don’t have to wait much longer to enjoy that market experience! The limited-run Edmonds Holiday Market starts on Saturday, November 9th and runs 11/16, 11/23, 12/7, 12/14 and 12/21. Lots of opportunities to pick up goodies made by over 50 local artisans and craftspeople!

First Dibs returns Thursday, November 21st

Right before the official kick-off to holiday shopping season, the small businesses in Edmonds open their doors inviting people to get “first dibs” on all of their wonderful seasonal merchandise and specials. Come get a jump-start on your shopping list and enjoy samples, discounts, and other perks while you support local merchants and make progress on your gift list.

First Dibs takes place Thursday, November 21st from 5pm to 8pm. See the full list of participating businesses here.

Thanksgiving Community Meal, November 28th

Westgate Chapel opens its doors for the annual Thanksgiving meal, free to all, on Thanksgiving Day. Enjoy family activities and a homemade turkey dinner. More details on their website.

Edmonds Holiday Dash, November 30th

Put on your best festive apparel and bring your dog and join the fun at 9am down at Civic Field for the annual Edmonds Holiday Dash benefiting the Edmonds Police Foundation. Registration is available online or onsite at 8am.

Shop Small Saturday, November 30th

Black Friday may be the “official” day to start your holiday shopping, but Shop Small Saturday is a day that makes a huge impact to independently-owned merchants. Part of a national campaign, Shop Small Saturday is simply the commitment to spend some of your holiday shopping budget at small businesses as they make up the backbone of the American economy and do so much in our communities.

Edmonds is chock-full of such places! Visit the Ed! site for a full list of local merchants to visit.

Tree Lighting Ceremony with a Special Guest, November 30th  

Seen by many as the “official” way Edmonds starts the holidays, the annual Tree Lighting takes place late afternoon on Saturday, November 30th at Centennial Plaza.

Come down and enjoy free cookies and cider at 3pm and Emily the Elf will be handing out candy canes, too! Then grab a spot surrounding the plaza to watch the ceremony from 4pm to 5pm. And then follow the very special guest, Santa Claus, over to the Edmonds Masonic Lodge for photos. Produced by the team at the Edmonds Chamber of Commerce, the event is a beautiful show of community and is free to attend (note there is a fee for Santa photos post-tree lighting). As Emily told us, “this going to be a fantastically festive holiday extravaganza!”

More events from November through December

The events above are just the tip of the holiday iceberg…below is a list of some of the other great holiday goings-on around town!

Edmonds Holiday Trolley

Running every Saturday in December from 11am to 6pm, the popular holiday trolley makes several stops through town for shoppers and revelers to take in all the sites and get from place to place in a festive way. Hosted by Emily the Elf who hands out candy canes, the trolley has become one of the most beloved of the annual Edmonds holiday traditions. This year it will even run on December 28th to extend the holiday cheer a bit longer! The trolley route map is available here.

Christmas Ships

Puget Sound Express participates in several Christmas Ship excursions by  loading up a decorated boat in Edmonds and then joining up with the Argosy Spirit of Seattle boat that leads the parade around Puget Sound. For information on how to participate, visit their website.

The Argosy parade holds its official Edmonds port of call on December 11th which is a great time for residents to come down to the waterfront to enjoy the lights and singing.

Holiday Theater, Performances, and Sing-a-Longs

From traditional to humorous, there are many performing arts-related ways to enjoy the season around town! The Edmonds Center for the Arts will have several performances throughout the season, including a White Christmas Sing-a-Long on November 30th and the Gothard Sisters on December 5th.

The Edmonds Driftwood Players will be performing A Christmas Story, The Musical based on the hit holiday film. Performances will be from November 29-December 2nd, tickets are available here.

The Phoenix Theater is showing Inspecting Carol, a humorous behind the scenes look at how a local theater bumbles their production of A Christmas Carol. For more information and tickets, click here.

Olympic Ballet Theatre has several performances of the holiday classic The Nutcracker to choose from at the Edmonds Center for the Arts on December 20-23rd. All of the details are on their website.

Jingle Those Bells caroling contest is taking place on December 5th. This free event is an opportunity for amateur singers, wannabe singers and even not-so-great singers to get together and compete in a fun caroling contest that the audience then judges for awards and recognition. Stay tuned for more details!

To learn more about all of the great holiday events in Edmonds this season, visit the events calendar.

By Kelsey Foster