Fun Things to Do in Winter in Seattle Southside

Family Fun Winter Itinerary

When you’ve got a whole crew to entertain, you need an agenda that's easy, exciting, and filled with variety.

MORNING: There’s something about breakfast at a homey, classic diner that lends itself to warm family memories. Start your day by taking the fam to Pancake Chef in SeaTac, which has been serving up delicious American breakfast staples for more than 60 years. In addition to eggs, bacon, pancakes, and other comfort foods, the restaurant is known for its German Pancake, a baked breakfast dish (also known as a Dutch baby), large as a plate, that’s crisp around the edges, with a tender, eggy center. Your crew won’t leave hungry!

AFTERNOON: Take a short drive to Family Fun Center, where you’ll find all the fun of an amusement park indoors, so you don’t need to worry about the weather. Challenge your friends or family to go-kart racing, bumper cars, or laser tag, compete to win the most arcade prizes, or test your swing in the batting cages. Kids will love it, and adults will find themselves feeling like kids again. There are even a few rides (adrenaline junkies will love taking a plunge in the Drop Tower to experience the rush of free-fall). For lunch, grab a burger or pizza without leaving the building at Bullwinkle's Restaurant, a laid-back, casual restaurant perfect for groups.

EVENING: By dinnertime, you might be ready for a calmer scene. While a sushi restaurant may not seem like the most kid-friendly option, Miyabi Sushi in Tukwila is a welcoming spot with enough options to please everyone, including delicious Bento Boxes that you can mix and match with options like teriyaki and katsu. An adorable Kids Bento comes in a box shaped like a Japanese bullet train.

Festive Holiday Itinerary

There’s so much going on during the holiday season that it can be hard to decide what to do. This itinerary simplifies your plan, with the right balance of hubbub and rest time.

MORNING: Start the day with coffee or hot chocolate at Paris Baguette in Tukwila, which you can pair with your choice of sweet and savory baked goods. This French-inspired always has different seasonal treats on the menu. It's also set up differently from most bakeries, making it more fun and interactive. Rather than ordering at the counter, you grab a tray when you walk in and browse dozens of different pastries, pulling out anything that calls out to you.

AFTERNOON: Head to Westfield Southcenter Mall, which is decked out during the holiday season. Take photos with Santa, admire the decorations, and start working through your holiday shopping list. With more than 140 stores to choose from, you’ll have no trouble finding what you need. For lunch, you can find nearly any cuisine you’re craving. We suggest checking out the new spots at Northside Restaurant Row, such as Mr. Dim Sum. Dumplings make a great mid-shopping lunch!

EVENING: The holidays aren’t complete without a festive meal with the people you care about. The Seawolves are known for their fierce loyalty to each other, which means celebrating together on and off the field. Gather the teammates in your life for a memorable dinner at Copperleaf Restaurant & Bar SeaTac’s Cedarbrook Lodge, where you’ll enjoy a farm-to-table feast in a cozy, refined setting, complete with a crackling fire. The menu features seasonally inspired Northwest cuisine made from locally sourced ingredients. For the ultimate experience, spend the night at Cedarbrook, which was ranked by Travel + Leisure as one of the 10 Best Resorts in the West in 2024. And when you wake up, book yourself a spa treatment (call it a gift to yourself).

Winter Itinerary for an Action-Packed Day

There's more to winter adventure than skiing and snowboarding. Right near Seattle, you can find fun ways to get fresh air and an adrenaline rush.

MORNING: Grab breakfast and coffee to-go at Auntie Irene’s in Des Moines, a charming spot locals love for its breakfast bagels and signature paninis. You can also choose from fresh baked goods such as scones, muffins, croissants, and gourmet sweet breads. Then, take a walk at nearby Redondo Beach in Des Moines. Whoever said beaches were only great in summer clearly hadn't been to this spot, where the waterfront views of Puget Sound and the forested shoreline are just as gorgeous in the cooler months.

But if you want to experience the sight like a real Seawolf, you’ll have to enlist a few adventurous friends to start the new year off with a splash…right into 40-degree water! After all, cold plunging is all the rage. Whether you believe in the benefits or not, you’ll certainly be invigorated by the challenge. If you can handle freezing ocean water, you can take on whatever 2025 throws your way.

AFTERNOON OR EVENING: If you haven’t seen the Seattle Seawolves play at Starfire Stadium in Tukwila, it’s definitely worth adding to your list. The atmosphere on match days is electric, as the 4,000-person stadium fills with cheers and chants from the team’s lively fans. Rugby is a fast-paced, exhilarating sport to watch, and we’re lucky to have one of the best teams in the country to root for. Since kicking off their first season in 2018, the Seattle Seawolves have won two Major League Rugby (MLR) Championships. In 2022, the team brought home the MLR Western Conference Championship trophy. 2025 is poised to be their best year yet, and you can see it all up close at a match.

A Flavorful Winter Itinerary

Winter is the perfect time to practice the art of savoring life slowly, and we planned an entire day around sampling different tantalizing flavors.

MORNING: Have brunch at Neighborhood Cafe in Tukwila, where there are so many fun, experimental drink flavors to choose from you'll have a hard time deciding what to order. We're talking about drinks like the Biko Pandan, made with black tea, coconut milk, black sesame, and brown sugar, topped with pandan cream. Or the Mint Mojito Coffee made with Fulcrum cold brew, mint syrup, and heavy cream. The best strategy, if you ask us, is to order a coffee flight so you can sample four different drinks, which are artfully prepared and served with beautiful toppings and garnishes. The food, which puts a unique spin on Filipino cuisine, is no less exciting or surprising. You can't go wrong with The Neighborhood Plate, a Filipino classic with eggs, garlic rice, and your choice of rich, savory breakfast meat.

AFTERNOON: Take a tour of Seattle Chocolate Factory and have the ultimate flavor adventure. Whether you’re looking for a cute date idea, a kid-friendly outing, or a group activity, a tour of the 60,000 sq. ft. factory is the way to go. During this hour-long guided experience, you’ll get an insider’s look into how they make all those enticing, creative flavors like Sip Sip Hooray, which contains popping candy to tickle your palette like champagne bubbles. You'll feel like you're in a Willy Wonka movie!

EVENING: You've had pizza, and you've had Indian, but have you had Indian pizza? If not, continue your culinary adventure at Tandoori Slice in Des Moines, where classic Italian meets vibrant Indian flavors. People rave about the Paneer Tikka and Butter Chicken pizzas. Enjoy how flavors like ginger, garlic, green chili, and Tandoori red sauce punch up the mozarella cheese base and completely change how you think about pizza. There are also unique drinks, like a Spiced Chai Cocktail, to toast to a great day of expanding your palette.

Whether you choose to follow one or all of these itineraries (or mix and match activities to suit your own tastes), you're sure to have a memorable time this winter. So, bundle up, bring your adventurous spirit, and experience all that Seattle Southside has to offer in the cooler months. And don't forget to grab a limited-edition Seawolves calendar to inspire even more adventures!