She Celebrates: 4 Ways We're Celebrating the Holidays In Milwaukee
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and we can just feel our childlike enthusiasm creeping in. Our hearts are so full of joy and love that we feel like we may burst! Christmas brings a truly magical feeling to the Midwest, and we are the first ones to dive right into the celebration. We’ve been lucky to grow up among many wonderful holiday traditions but, now that we’ve both called Milwaukee home for a few years, we are adding a few more local to-dos to our holiday happenings list. Here are four ways we’re looking forward to celebrating the holidays in Milwaukee this year:
1. Christkindlmarket Milwaukee
For the first time ever, the Christkindlmarket is in Milwaukee, and we can’t think of a better way to ring in the holidays. Not only is the market itself a gorgeous collection of gifts, food and drinks, but it adds to the buzz that already surrounds the Fiserv Forum, recently opened in August of this year. Visitors to the market can experience traditional German fare in the heart of Milwaukee. Downtown Milwaukee is a sight to behold around the holidays, and the central location of the market allows visitors to take in all the lights, activities, and cheer of the city.
https://www.travelwisconsin.com/events/shopping/christkindlmarket-milwaukee-174583
2. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban™ in Concert
If you know anything about us, you know that we are HUGE Harry Potter fans. Books, movies, theme parks...anything HP-related, we are there! Now, there has often been a debate about whether Harry Potter movies are Christmas movies, Halloween movies or none of the above, but seeing as the Pabst Theater hosts a Harry Potter/Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra mash-up every year in December, we think it’s the first one. This is the third year running of the Harry Potter in Concert event, so aptly, they are showing/playing the third movie, Prisoner of Azkaban. Imagine a theater full of Potterheads sipping on butterbeer and geeking out over the incomparable Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra playing the score along to the movie. It’s impressive and we’re all about it.
https://pabsttheater.org/event/harrypotterconcertlive2018/
3. Christmas Bar Crawl
By now, you’ve figured out that we basically want to immerse ourselves in all things Christmas for the entire month of December, even when it’s not for a special event. That’s when we find some local watering holes that have decked themselves out for the season. Some of our favorites include:
Tin Widow - If you’re looking for a Christmas explosion, you gotta stop by this place to witness the “Miracle on Second Street” pop-up. https://onmilwaukee.com/bars/articles/miracle-on-second-tin-widow.html
Miracle at the Outside - Last year, the bar on top of the Journeyman Hotel hosted a holiday pop-up. No word on if this is happening again this year, but fingers crossed!
County Clare - This is not inherently a Christmas bar, but it is my personal favorite for a cozy and comforting atmosphere. With its wood burning stove, live music on Thursday nights and Irish comfort food and drinks, you really can’t beat it on a cold winter day.
4. Holiday Movie Binge-A-Thon
The holidays are great, but they can be overwhelming and sometimes you just want to curl up at home. If you’re like us, you’ve taken the time to decorate your house and put up a tree, so why not take the time to enjoy it? The only thing that makes a cozy day at home better is a holiday movie binge-a-thon. We love the classic Christmas movies, but if we’re being honest, we LOVE those cheesy, romantic made-for-TV Christmas movies that have become cult favorites in recent years. Ten actors all following the same plot in 1,000 different movies? SIGN. US. UP. The Hallmark Channel, Lifetime, the UP network and even Netflix have all jumped on this bandwagon and there are some doozies. Pour a glass of wine and settle in. Once you start, we guarantee it’ll be hard to stop.
http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/christmas
https://www.instyle.com/lifetime-christmas-movies-2018
No matter how you choose to celebrate, there are plenty of events to get you in the spirit this Christmas. We’ve also learned that it doesn’t really matter what you do; it matters way more who you do it with. In a time when it’s easy to get bogged down in shopping, travel, and parties, we hope you’re able to find a moment to celebrate exactly how you want to and share the season with those you love.
Yours in adventure (and holiday joy),
Charlotte & Mara
