Get your fuzzy socks and hot cocoa ready, Seattle. From light displays to holiday performances and festive parties, winter is where the Emerald City thrives.

Gather the family and friends and celebrate what makes the holiday season special with this guide featuring winter events happening between December and February.

Festivals

SantaCon has gotten a bit mellower in recent years, but is still a party and a half. | Photo by SEAtoday staff

Holiday parties and events

Holiday markets

Light displays

Visions of sugar plum faeries will dance in your head. | Photo by Angela Sterling

Holiday performances

George Balanchine's "The Nutcracker" | Friday, Nov. 24-Wednesday, Dec. 27 | Various times | McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer St., Seattle | $27-$206 | Winter magic comes alive as the Pacific Northwest Ballet’s sugar plums, candy canes, and flowers dance across the stage.

"Wonderland: A Carnival of Winter Wonder" | Thursday, Nov. 16-Sunday, Jan. 7 | Various times | Can Can Culinary Cabaret, 95 Pine St. | $69-$195 | The sultry performance group will whisk you away into a frosty world of musical numbers, acrobatics, and lots of flirtatious dancing.

"Black Nativity" | Tuesday, Dec. 12-Saturday, Dec. 30 | Various times | Broadway Performance Hall, 1625 Broadway | $5-$115 | This play, written by the late and great Langston Hughes, blends powerful vocal performances from a gospel choir with sharp dance moves.

Seattle Men's Chorus Presents: A TREEmendous Holiday | Saturday, Dec. 9-Saturday, Dec. 23 | Various times | Benaroya Hall, 200 University St. | $44-$104 | This holiday performance is pretty fruity — it bills itself as the "Pacific Northwest's gayest sing-a-long."

Georgiana and Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley | Wednesday, Nov. 22-Saturday, Dec. 30 | 10:30 a.m. + 7:30 p.m. | Taproot Theatre Company, 204 N. 85th St., Seattle | $27-$41 | This Jane Austen-inspired play imagines a holiday extravaganza among the Darcy and Bennet fams.

New Year's Eve celebrations

Countdown to Elegance: A Glamorous New Year's Affair! | Sunday, Dec. 31 | 7 p.m.-1 a.m. | Columbia Tower Club | $330-$510 | Nothing says glamour quite like celebrating in the tallest building in Seattle. Enjoy cocktails, a three-course dinner menu, dancing, and some funny celebration hats.

Black Tie New Year's Eve in the Penthouse | Sunday, Dec. 31 | 11 p.m.-12:30 a.m. | Hotel Sorrento | $150 | End 2023 with a tasty dinner at the hotel's restaurant STELLA before heading up to the seventh floor for a champagne toast, light snacks, a live pianist, and stunning views of downtown.

Rhythms and Resolutions: A Music-Infused New Year | Sunday, Dec. 31 | 9 p.m.-1 a.m. | Block 41, 115 Bell St., Seattle | $150 per person | You can do good while partying it up — this event benefits local radio station KNKX with live jazz from Lee Oskar & Friends and Duende Libre. There's a champagne toast and light bites.

"Moulin Rouge!" New Year's Eve Sing-along | Sunday, Dec. 31 | 6-8 p.m. | SIFF Cinema Uptown | $13-$14 | What better way to start a new year than by learning how to love and be loved in return? And don't worry, you'll be out of the movie in time to enjoy any other festivities.