Green Ice Cream, Red Noses, and Electric Flowers

Sure you can go to the malls this month and drink your coco-mocha-peppermint-ginger-pumpkin-creamy caffeine concoctions, but there’s lots more to see (and drink) than that. Simply put, Bellevue does an awesome job of making the winter holiday season rock. Go here to see the list of events that make up the Bellevue Magic Season. And I love that some of these things don’t cost a penny (or maybe just a small donation).

Here are some of my favorites:

Green tea ice cream at Koots.
I’ll assume that you know all about the antoxidant benefits of green tea. Well Koots Green Tea, one of the new shops in the snazzy Lincoln Square complex across from the Bellevue Square Mall, has a calm, modern, pretty atmosphere in which to enjoy their teas, hot or iced. The Matcha (powdered green tea) ice cream is a tasty delight. Who says you can’t eat ice cream in the winter?

Red-nosed fun while ice-skating at the downtown Bellevue park.
The parks of Bellevue are so incredible I’ll be doing a series on just that subject. The downtown Bellevue park is adjacent to the mall and one of the nicest places in town to go for a walk. In wintertime, they convert the big fountain area to a partially-covered ice rink! Admission is only $8 and includes skate rental–how cool is that! Okay, so I won’t put on a pair of skates myself, but it sure is fun to watch folks zipping around the rink. Taking the pups for a stroll around the park at night is fun, too, when all the lights are on and the park is buzzing with holiday shoppers and skaters.

Electric flowers at the Bellevue Botanical Garden.
Nevermind that the Bellevue Botanical Garden building is a mid-century modern beauty, or that the garden itself is 36 acres of green to explore: on top of all that, they do a display every holiday season called Garden d’Lights that will blow you away. Imagine touring a beautiful garden at night, where the flowers, shrubs and vines (and some critters, too) are made of lights. Volunteers create this memorable, original display and they depend on donations to keep it going. I absolutely love this and bet you will, too. Warning: this can get crowded, so be prepared, and be patient–it’s worth it. Unfortunately, dogs aren’t allowed in the garden.

I intend on seeing the Sound Transit Design in Light this year for sure. Architects and engineers create this, so it should be very impressive. And you can bring your dog to enjoy this with you! Same thing for Snowflake Lane, an outdoor event with falling snow and live toy soldiers.

There are also the events at the Theatre at Meydenbauer Center, including drama, ballet, and music performances.

See? Didn’t I tell you this town rocks in December?