Looking for something kid friendly to do this weekend?
Here’s our weekly guide to South Sound area fun with activities for kids in Tacoma, Puyallup, Olympia, and Your South Sound home!
You’ll find a list just like this-just for the South Sound-every Friday morning!

You can say hello to the reindeer at Watson’s Nursery. Santa will also be on hand select days. Photo courtesy of Watson’s Nursery
Ongoing Holiday Events
Reindeer at Watson’s nursery, holiday events at The Old Cannery, Santa at the fairgrounds, Skating at the Polar Plaza in downtown Tacoma-See our holiday events guides for all the details.
Fantasy Lights at Lake Spanaway
Zoolights at Point Defiance Zoo
Friday
Got Princesses? Tree lighting, stories, and special guests at A Simple Wish in Puyallup Tickets $20/person. Call for reservations. Also enjoy “Christmas with Belle” on December 13th. Events sell out, so get tickets in advance if this is a must do for your princess! As of this posting, there are still tickets.
Tree Lighting in Edgewood-Santa and more!
Bridge Lighting and holiday fun at The Old Cannery in Sumner
Saturday
All Over
AMC theaters offer a sensory friendly showing of The Good Dinosaur
South King County
Visit the HCC Mast Center at Redondo The center and its touch tanks of sea critters are free and open to the public every Saturday from 10-2
Greater Pierce County
Reindeer at Watson’s nursery, holiday events at The Old Cannery, Santa at the fairgrounds, Skating at the Polar Plaza in downtown Tacoma-See our holiday events guides for all the details.
Act I presents A Charlie Brown Christmas in Sumner
Got Princesses? Tree lighting, stories, and special guests at A Simple Wish in Puyallup Tickets $20/person. Call for reservations. Also enjoy “Christmas with Belle” on December 13th. Events sell out, so get tickets in advance if this is a must do for your princess!
Manestage Theater presents A Christmas Story Ongoing
Tacoma
Reindeer at Watson’s nursery, holiday events at The Old Cannery, Santa at the fairgrounds, Skating at the Polar Plaza in downtown Tacoma-See our holiday events guides for all the details.
Play and Grow storytime at Wheelock Library 10:30 stories, rhymes, and fun for young children and their grown-ups
Gingerbread Jamboree at the Hotel Murano with the Children’s Museum of Tacoma 40.00/family of four, includes one house and candy buffet for trimmings. Various time slots both Saturday and Sunday. I find this kind of spendy, but I have friends who say it’s totally worth it to get the gingerbread experience without the mess all over your house! Online registration is now closed, but you can get tickets at the door.
Tree Lighting at the Pantages in Downtown Tacoma with carols and Santa arriving 5PM You can also still grab tickets to the awesome Stunt Dog show before or after
Stunt Dog Show in Tacoma! Watch rescue dogs perform amazing feats in a great show for the whole family! Tickets still available. Free tree lighting at the Pantages in between.
Bilingual Block Party at the Parkland/Spanaway Library 10 Young children are invited to drop in for block play and building fun. Open to all, with a special invitation to Spanish speakers on 4th Saturdays.
Santa Wonderland at Bass Pro Shops See this post and look under Tacoma/Pierce County
Visit Jozee Rooz Indoor Petting Zoo Do you still need a cute pic for your Christmas card? You could get some serious cuteness with your little animal lovers here!
Keep reading-there’s so much more!
Lacey/Olympia
Visit the Kennedy Creek Salmon Trail and see salmon returning to spawn. Boots are a must! If weather looks questionable, check their fb page before you go. The 29th is the last day.
Nutcracker Fun at Olympia Barnes and Noble 3-5PM Characters from the Nutcracker as portrayed by Studio West dancers, face painting, and more fun.
Tour the Tugboat Sandman at Percival Landing
See the Gingerbread Village at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts
Visit the South Sound Estuarium open 11-4 weekends
A Charlie Brown Christmas at Olympia Family Theater various show times for the next four weeks
Gig Harbor
Scrooge! The musical at Paradise Theater various times through the 11th
Holiday Photos at Sophie’s Touch Pet Store. I believe you can bring your pets? You may want to call first, as it sounded like they were still working on finding Santa.
PenMet Parks Presents the musical, Holiday Toy Camp. Ongoing event-tickets are just 3.00!
Winterfest at Peninsula High School
Indoor/Outdoor Farmer’s Market a the old Peninsula Gardens site on Wollochet. Santa on hand select hours on Saturdays.
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You may also want to check the Kitsap Macaroni Kid.
Sunday
Visit the South Sound Estuarium open 11-4 weekends
Downtown for the holidays in Olympia full day of holiday fun with trolley and horse drawn carriage rides, gingerbread house viewing, a holiday parade, and the tree lighting in Sylvester Park!
Visit the Kennedy Creek Salmon trail and see salmon returning to spawn
Be sure to also check, “Ongoing Holiday Events,” at the top!
Know something great I missed? Want publicity for your group or advertising for your family friendly business? Just let me know! Got a great tip we missed? Let us know!
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I appreciate what you do, but we had to wait until Saturday for the list so why include the stuff we missed Friday 🙁
Hey, Heather, This list was actually up Friday mid-morning. I forgot to take down the, “Coming Soon,” post, so you may have missed it!
So sorry about that!
I do always have the list up Fridays, but sometimes email subscribers have to come directly to the site as emails are set to go out at 11AM. I do appreciate your input and apologize for any fun you missed. I hope you find something great today! We are also actively working on launching a newsletter to go out earlier in the week to help with your advance planning.