Easy Outings

The holidays are a perfect storm of clashing tastes and sensory overload. Older relatives, surly tweens, and small children with ADHD (and the parents they got it from) might struggle to find something they all can enjoy together before budget comes into play. But should a party let out a little too early, or your out of town guests have cabin fever, citywide holiday celebrations will already be well underway.

It’s hard to say which Portland holiday experience is more painful for the whole family: ZooLights or Peacock Lane. Both are intolerably crowded parking nightmares. Low on the pain scale are the Holiday Lights at Portland International Raceway, but everyone knows about them, so may this list of the least painful holiday events—with mobility or sensory accommodations considered with free and low-cost options and stuff that doesn’t sound like wastes of time—offer a headache-free starting point for you and your guests’ seasonal celebrations.

ScanFair

Nordic Northwest puts on ScanFair—a Scandinavian-style Christmas marketplace with crafts, live music, dancing, food and drink—at the Oregon Convention Center every year. Parking, therefore, isn’t a hunt-and-peck experience, the Convention Center is wheelchair and stroller friendly, there are events and food, and there’s space to go chill out if you need a break but haven’t gotten your fill of traditional Nordic Christmas magic. Oregon Convention Center, 777 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., nordicnorthwest.org/scanfair. 10 am–4 pm Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 13 and 14. $14.64, $12.51 for Nordic Northwest members, $9.85 youth ages 6–11, $5 Arts for All, free for children 5 and under.

The Great Figgy Pudding Caroling Competition

The 11th Annual Great Figgy Pudding Caroling Competition at Pioneer Courthouse Square is way less intense than the tree lighting, but you still get to enjoy festive time downtown. MAX accessible and free to attend, everyone from judgy tweens to Boomers (and those in between) get to literally judge the caroling groups. The whole thing ends with a “carol off” to declare the winner. Pioneer Courthouse Square, 701 SW 6th Ave., thesquarepdx.org/event/the-great-figgy-pudding-caroling-competition-6. 6 pm Friday, Dec. 12. Free.

Snow Day Village

Snow Day Village at Director Park—the one square city block promising Portland a white Christmas regardless of the weather—runs the full length of the holiday season and includes events throughout. Activities include Mike Bennett’s Holiday Gift Shop, fire pits, live music and goats. Three snowfalls a day are scheduled Wednesday through Sunday. Director Park 815 SW Park Ave., downtownportland.org/snow-day-village. Nov. 15–Dec. 23. Free.

34th Annual Tuba Christmas Concert

The 34th Annual Tuba Christmas Concert is another downtown activity centered around Pioneer Courthouse Square that’s a bit less well known than some other holiday events. Singing along is encouraged but not required and it’s during the day so you don’t have to push bedtime. Tubas may or may not be your idea of a sensory nightmare, but some people with heightened senses find them delightful. Pioneer Courthouse Square, thesquarepdx.org/event/34th-annual-tuba-christmas-concert. 1:30 pm Saturday, Dec. 13. Free.

Geek the Halls

Geek the Halls is a craft fair put on by PDX Guild of Geeks and is a great place to buy gifts, yes, but it’s also a fun place to wander around (inside) and point out all the references you get. My dad and my third grader can actually find something to talk about as they’re wandering the stalls, explaining the different fandoms to each other. Doubletree Portland, 1000 NE Multnomah St., pdxguildofgeeks.com/workshop-calendar. 10 am–5 pm Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 29 and 30. Free.