A Victorian Christmas and Christmas Shopping in Leavenworth

Christmas in Leavenworth
Leavenworth, WA

Both events take place in December every year

I had my doubts about both of these events before I went. They definitely sounded more appropriate for older people, and despite their distance from one another, they sounded more or less like the exact same thing. However, I was accompanying an elderly woman to both, and she wanted to go. So I resolved to drive her, not expecting too much other than the standard craft sales.

Victorian Country Christmas is the event that they hold at the Puyallup fair grounds – only, it sure doesn’t look like the Puyallup fairgrounds./ The builds have been made over into Victorian villages. It is kind of amazing what a good job they do: if you didn’t look up every so often at lofted warehouse style ceilings, you might forget where you are. There were over 500 stands to look at (which means that you need to give yourself a whole day for this one – it takes awhile.) All the vendors are dressed in Victorian costumes, and sell a range of crafts, cards, and gifts. Some of the stuff is pretty cool. I bought a few homemade cards that I really liked, and a nice photograph of the Olympic mountains. However, some of it was definitely way too “craft-y” for my taste- there were the standard embroidered “Bless this Mess” signs, which drive me up the wall. But my senior companion found some of these napkins that she collects, which was thrilling for her (evidently, they are hard to find.) And as everyone has different tastes, there is bound to be something that every person enjoys there (there are so many stands that there would have to be.) The food is really great, and there is a lot of sampling of holiday treats, which was welcome after so much walking around and browsing.

Christmas in Leavenworth: My elderly companion grew up in Skykomish, so going to the Bavarian town of Leavenworth around Christmas is a longtime tradition of hers. I was happy to drive her, as I think that the country around Leavenworth is gorgeous any time of the year (although I prefer it in the warm season, when the roads are less precarious, I have to say.) For those that don’t know, Leavenworth is a town where every building is built with Bavarian style architecture. It is surprising, given where it is located, but is actually quite pretty. Around Christmas, the tourist friendly town is really in high gear, and for the month of December, the entire town becomes a Christmas street fair. All the tiny shops have great gift ideas. We strolled around the main drag, and bought some of the famous Dutch chocolate they sell for her grandchildren, as well as some tiny hand made dolls and a nutcracker dressed like a Washington farmer. We also stopped at a specialty food market and picked up some items for gift baskets, as well as some high quality wine hailing from a local vineyard. There were carolers out on the street, and the entire town was lit up. People were selling delicious pastries and holiday drinks, and everything was really upbeat. The Christmas tree was beautiful, and the setting against the river and the mountains was beautiful. I could definitely see why she liked to come out here every year.