A True Vancouverite Holiday

From serene grey-skied melancholy (a not-unlovely experience) to laugh-filled social cosiness, here’s how to do a West Coast holiday season right.

chill out: If it snows, you go to the beach. You can go with somebody and hold hands, but our personal preference is to duck into Gastown’s Milano location for a latte, then wander to Crab Park alone with headphones and this playlist. Why? Because snow on the water (frost covered mussel shells and languorous tankers) is conducive to serene introspection, and the holidays are busy; you need "you" time. 

shop-hop: With presents to buy and window displays to take in, we like Main Street for vintage (records, books, antiques) Gastown for urban-woodsman specific gear (Lichfield, Old Faithful) and downtown for contemporary upscale (Blubird, Holts). Newcomers like Goodge Place and Hey Jude‘s pop-up shop (the latter ’till the 22nd only) are must-hits for unusual fashion and decor.

light up: Never stop taking joy in twinkly lights. Capilano Suspension Bridge allows the pure magic of traversing fairy-lit pathways between tree-tops, Carol Ships on reflective dark water are a beautiful tradition, and Van Dusen Gardens basically becomes a botanical rave. We suggest piling friends into your car and driving throughout Hastings Sunrise hunting for epic at-home light displays, then pulling over at Cho Sun Korean resturaunt for DIY barbeque and spicy tofu hotpot.

must-skate: Arguably the best available light display is seeing the whole city twinkling from the top of Grouse Mountain, where the elevation gives ice skating and hot chocolate an especially heavenly ambiance. If you can’t get out of the city, Robson Square is free and has rentals, making a couple laps of the downtown rink (while wearing mittens and a beret) a must.

friendsmas: Holiday entertaining with a major relaxation quotient: order a ton of Nook pizzas, ask everyone to bring wine. Set up a tiny Charlie Brown tree in your place and light a seance-worth of candles. Hit the fireplace, play board games, have cookies in the oven and pals cozied on the sofa with hot rum cider in hand. Catch up, hang out, laugh a six-pack out of your shortbread flub. 

Merriness abounds. —Adrienne Matei