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The Seattle Boat Show is the West Coast’s largest boat show and features more than 1,000 recreational watercraft, seminars, and the latest accessories indoors at Qwest Field Event Center. There is an additional “Boats Afloat” show on South Lake Union with a free shuttle that runs every day between Qwest Field Event Center and South Lake Union at 30 minute intervals.
Purchase tickets online and receive freebies.
- Adults: $12.00*
- Youth (ages 11-17): $5.00
- Children (10 and under): Free.
- 5-Day BIG Pass: $24.00
*A $1.50 online processing fee is added to your TOTAL ticket order (not per ticket).
Discounts are offered for the following groups:
- Military: $2 off at the box office on single-day Adult ticket w/ ID.
- Seniors (65+): $2 off at the box office on single-day Adult ticket.
- Monday, January 30th is Women’s Day at the Seattle Boat Show. Print a FREE Women’s Day Pass, sponsored by KOMO-TV and NautiGirl Brands.
Saving some bucks can be a thrill and also a big boost to the bottom line. But did you know that a little bit of math could help you save even more? Take a look:
For the Day or the Year?
Your four kids have been clamoring to see the baby seals at the local aquarium all summer long. But dang! Those tickets are pricey! You spot an online deal: 10% off each child’s ticket. Can you do better?
Here’s where looking at an annual membership might be a better deal. Let’s look at the numbers. If an adult ticket is $25 and a kids ticket is normally $20, you’d pay $25 + $20 + $20 + $20 + $20 or $105 normally. With the discount, each child’s ticket will be $20 – $2 or $18. That brings your total down to $97. But if a family membership costs $75, you’ve saved cash without the reduced ticket price.
Fly Me to the Moon—with My Luggage, Please
You found a great deal on plane tickets online, but is the best deal? To find out, check the additional fees.
Most airlines today are charging for each bag of checked luggage. So, if your discounted ticket costs $250, but you need to check two bags (at $20 to $25 each), you could be paying up to $300 for the ticket, not including airport taxes and security fees. Another airline, without checked bag fees, could cost you less in the long run.
BOGO May Be a No-Go
By one, get one (BOGO) is always a good deal, right? Not so fast. You’ve found an online coupon for orange juice. If you buy a 64-oz container, you can get a second one at half the price. Take a look at the other options when you get the store – before you buy.
At your local Piggly Wiggly, you notice that the BOGO orange juice is $3.48. But there’s another brand on sale for $5.53 per 128-oz container. First off, the second brand is twice as large as the first. So, whether you use your coupon or not, you’re getting the same amount of juice. But how much would you pay, if you use the coupon? Half of $3.48 is $1.74. (Use a calculator, if you want!) And $3.48 + $1.74 is $5.22. Turns out, BOGO is the better deal.
You may not want to do any math, but if you’re looking for the best deal, a few calculations—and some creative thinking and common sense—can mean the difference between saving and spending.
Laura Laing is the author of Math for Grownups, a funny, easy-to-understand and practical guide to the ways we use math in everyday life. She blogs at www.mathforgrownups.com.
Using state-of-the-art radar, satellites, fighter jets, and a Santa-cam, NORAD tracks Santa’s progress around the world every year. You can follow his progress too with the free Santa Tracker app for iPhones or Android devices. Or track Santa’s progress from your desktop by going to www.noradsanta.org.
Download a free app for your Android device or iPhone, or track Santa from your desktop. The phone apps include a game called Elf Toss you can play while you’re waiting. Just make sure you’re in bed asleep before he gets to your neighborhood!
Thanks to Carolyn at Wichita On The Cheap!
Planning on a movie for Christmas week? Check out these steals and deals at Seattle area theaters.
- AMC Pacific Place is showing several family movies: Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (G), The Muppets (PG), The Adventures of Tintin (PG), and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (PG-13). First show of the day (11:25-11:30 a.m.) is just $6, a $3 discount off the regular price. Make it an afternoon of fun; check out the dining offers, like free offers, discounts, and happy hour prices at Pacific Place eateries.
- Northwest Film Forum offers a free movie pass for two when you join, renew or purchase a gift membership. Purchase a membership during December 2011 and you’ll receive a free “Admit-2″ movie pass and a coupon for free popcorn (at $25 value!).
- Grand Illusion is showing “It’s A Wonderful Life” through Christmas Day. Regular tickets are $8. Or buy a $30 membership, and get $3 off your ticket price for an entire year. The Grand Illusion Cinema is a non-profit volunteer run theater and Seattle’s oldest continuously running theater. Help support this cinematic treasure by becoming a member or volunteering your time.
- Central Cinema features E.T. the Extra Terrestrial December 26-31. Save $2 when you purchase advance tickets (at least 24 Hours before the show tix are just $6.00. Day-of-show general admission: $8.00 ).
- Always $3 and always worthwhile, Crest Cinema Centre in north Seattle is featuring Puss in Boots (PG) and the sci-fi thriller In Time (PG-13), plus several other indie and foreign films.
Take a break from the colored lights of modern Christmas festivities and travel back in time to the candlelit world of the Middle Ages, where wintertime meant hoping for enough food to last till spring and Christmas meant some of the best music ever. Returning from their standing-room-only Early Music Discovery performance last year, the kids of Seattle Historical Arts don period costume and join their voices and instruments with grownup performers beloved by Seattle families. It’s Christmas like you’ve never heard it before!
EMG Discovery: A Medieval Christmas is an hourlong concert featuring series curator and Seattle Historical Arts for Kids director Shulamit Kleinerman, vielle; Rebekah Gilmore, soprano; and Jacob Breedlove, hurdy-gurdy. Presented by Early Music Guild. Friday, December 23, 2011, 1:00 – 2:00pm. Downstairs at Town Hall; enter on Seneca Street (Google map). Tickets are $10 (seniors/students $5).
Join Unexpected Productions funniest Christmas Show in Seattle! Get away from your family – or bring them along! First performed in 1985, A(n Improvised) Christmas Carol brings Charles Dickens’s Christmas classic to the stage with a twist! What if Scrooge owned a pet store? What if the Ghost of Christmas Past was a Film Noir detective? What if Tiny Tim wasn’t so tiny? The audience gives suggestions up front, and UP’s improvisers use these suggestions to tell an all new tale of how Christmas can (or can’t!) change Ebeneezer Scrooge’s life! This is a great show for families, shoppers, tourists, and audience members of all ages!
Tickets are just $10.00 – $15.00, available at brownpapertickets.com. Intiman Playhouse (View Venue), 201 Mercer St., Seattle, WA 98109 (Google map).
The Arboretum Foundation “Gifts & Greens Galore” holiday sale offers a wonderful selection of holiday decorations, including wreaths, swags, and fresh-cut greens. It’s also a showcase for the Arboretum Shop, which features an excellent selection of gardening and nature books, plant-themed jewelry, natural body products, tools for green thumbs, and much more. The sale features many fun activities and unique gift merchandise:
- Live seasonal music
- Free hot drinks
- Michael Michaud Silver Season botanical tableware and jewelry
- Handmade holiday cards
The sale is held at the Graham Visitors Center, 2300 Arboretum Drive East, Seattle, WA 98112 (Google map). Free parking and admission. For more information, visit Gifts & Greens Galore.
- Saturday, December 9, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Sunday, December 10, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Arboretum Foundation, a non-profit membership organization, has provided stewardship for Washington Park Arboretum since 1935. The mission of the Foundation is to promote, protect and enhance the Washington Park Arboretum for current and future generations by strengthening and building a diverse and engaged community of donors, volunteers and advocates.
Candy Cane Lane located in a Seattle neighborhood near the University of Washington, off of Ravenna Boulevard on Northeast Park road, just past 20th. (Google map)
Garden d’Lights at Bellevue Botanical Gardens through December 31, 2011. 5:00pm to 10:00pm every evening including holidays (last entry at 9:30pm). TICKETS are $5 per person; children 10 and under are free. EVENT FREE NIGHTS are November 28, 29 & 30, December 5, 6, 7, 12, 13 & 14. Advance reservation tickets are STRONGLY RECOMMENDED for free nights, as well as paid nights. Remember to bring your printed receipt with you! Bellevue Botanical Gardens, 12001 Main Street, Bellevue, WA 98005. (Directions and parking).
The Menashe Family display in the 5600 block of Beach Drive in West Seattle (Google map). Pictures and videos are available on the West Seattle Blog:
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Metro Employees Historic Vehicle Association (MEHVA) SANTA’S LIGHTS TOUR on Saturday, December 10. A 3-hour tour of Seattle’s best Christmas lights. Buses depart at 7 p.m. from 2nd Ave. S. and S. Main St.. Fares are $5 for everyone, children age 5 and under are free. ORCA, Metro transfers, tickets, or passes are not accepted. Please, no food or beverages onboard the historic buses.
Olympic Manor neighborhood at NW 85th St. and 21st Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98117. (Google map)
Tacoma Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium Zoolights through Jan. 1, 2012 (open every night except Dec. 24.) from 5-9 p.m. Prices (not including tax): $8.25 at the Zoo’s front gate, $7.00 at Fred Meyer. Children age 2 and younger are free. Bundle up and stroll the Zoo as it comes aglow with more than a half-million lights!
A Northwest tradition for 60 years, the Christmas Ship Festival brings Seattle and Eastside communities together to celebrate the holiday season. From the flotilla of ships to the crowds of people who gather onshore, this celebration is one of the gems of the holiday season.
- Each night, from Saturday, November 26 through December 23rd, 2011 the Argosy Christmas Ship™ sails to different Puget Sound waterfront communities, over 45 in total. Choirs onboard sing 20-minute performances to these communities, all broadcast via state-of-the-art speaker system.
- View the 2011 the Argosy Christmas Ship™ schedule to find out when the boats will be visiting a park near you.
On shore, thousands of people gather around roaring bonfires anticipating the arrival of the Christmas Ship™. You can join Argosy on board the Christmas Ship™ or one of the Parade ships that follow, or join with friends and neighbors on shore to gather together for your own caroling tradition. If you own your own boat, feel welcome to add lights to your vessel and join in the flotilla!
Seattle Center sets the scene for five weeks of FREE, affordable, and fun-filled family activities, soulful festivities, and so much more. Take a break from the seasonal frenzy and visit Seattle Center, a 90-second ride away from downtown Seattle aboard the Seattle Center Monorail at Westlake Center Mall (Fifth Avenue and Pine Street, Google map). Step off the monorail and discover an enchanting miniature Winter Train and Village, and trees dressed in sparkling lights. Center House will be decked out in good cheer as it prepares for The Next Fifty; honoring the 50th anniversary of the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair. Enjoy the Winterfest Ice Rink, Saturday afternoon ice sculpting and performances by more than 100 student groups. Then return to watch the fireworks at a New Year’s Eve Celebration featuring live music from The Rhythm Nation. Seattle Center Winterfest is part of Holidays in the City, and is sponsored by the City of Seattle, Seattle Center Foundation and KOMO 4 TV.
- Seattle Center Winterfest 2011 runs from November 25 – December 31
- Extended dates for the Winterfest Ice Rink: November 25 – January 1, 2012
Most of the events are free at the Center House, including carolers, concerts, comedy, ice sculpting, and the crowd favorite, turn-of- the-century Winter Train and Village (suggested donation $2; cash only)–take a turn at driving the miniature locomotive between 10:30am – 12 noon, 1pm – 2:30pm and 3:30pm – 5:30pm daily. The Winterfest Ice Rink for novice or Olympiad ice skaters, offers fun for all (Admission: $7 for adults, $5 for children ages 6– 12, $2 children ages 5 and under. Admission fee includes skate rental. Cash only.)
Find your way to Center House, Winterfest Ice Rink and all your favorite Winterfest festivities; feast at the Food Court; and locate convenient parking by viewing this (PDF) Seattle Center Activities Map or visit the Seattle Center Transporation page.
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