This year we decided to mix things up and spent the evening of Black Friday in downtown Seattle. Normally, on Black Friday we have a tradition of doing a little shopping in the morning and then heading home to a local nursery to pick out our Christmas tree. Then we spend the rest of the evening decorating the tree and listening to Christmas tunes. Instead of our usual tradition, we jumped on the bus downtown armed with an overnight bag and eagerly anticipated our weekend adventure in the city. Although we spend a lot of time downtown in general we have not stayed at hotel in the city for over ten years.

Upon checking in to our hotel we were greeted with the kindest note, toiletry set and stuffed animal for Jasper. In all the places we have stayed with him, this was a first. This thoughtful gesture meant the world to me; because the way to a parent's heart is by making their child feel special and not like an inconvenience.

After settling into our room we headed out for an early lunch at Palomino followed by a little shopping and then a nap before dinner. We enjoyed a delicious dinner at Purple which was conveniently located across the street from our hotel. With our bellies full we went and rode the Holiday carousel and then met up with friends staying at a neighboring hotel.

While we were downtown we did a lot of window shopping, a little shopping and Jasper even got a friendly wave from Santa Claus. Although, we were uninterested in the three hour wait to see him, we are looking forward to coming back during the week when there are no lines. Most notably, we bought Jasper his first pair of big kid shoes from Nordstrom and he was most delighted by his red balloon. I will always be a fan of buying shoes at Nordstrom, because I can buy with confidence knowing if there is ever a problem they will make it right and because it takes me back to fond memories of my childhood.

Between the beautifully decorated trees in the lobby to the Teddy Bear Suite, we enjoyed a festive start to this Christmas season at the Fairmount Olympic.

Jasper could not get enough of the Teddy Bear Suite. He hugged the bears, hid amongst the bears, climbed on the bears and was very delighted with himself on all accounts. He enjoyed himself so much we made certain to visit twice during our stay.