Celebrating the Holidays in Ohio!
Can you all believe that December is already here? We are now wearing our sweaters, drinking hot
cocoa, burning our favorite holiday candles, and gearing up for Christmas! My the time has flown by this
year. 2021 has been an interesting one and we must say, we are so ready for the holiday season! And
we are back with our final partnership of the year with Ohio. Find It Here. to bring you some fun
activities to do during the holidays with family, friends and/or your significant other. What makes this so
fun and special is, all of the activities we share can be done right here in Cincinnati! So grab your coats,
grab a few of your friends, and let’s get active in the Queen City!
Pick up your tree and all things holidays from Findlay Market!
The tree sale at Findlay Market is a huge fundraiser for them! They have such a great selection with new
ones being regularly delivered. Whether you want big or small, they have the perfect fit for your family.
The tree/greens sale is located on the west side of the Market, at Jane’s Bar. I, Tiff D. can’t wait to pick
mine out and get to decorating!
While you are there, you can also do the following:
Pick up food for family gatherings: Findlay Market has an amazing selection of food. It ranges from fresh
pastas, spices, meat and seafood, breads and so much more. Anything that you’d make for your family
(including ethnic cuisines), you’d likely find the ingredients for here. This is a great way to support your
local farmers and vendors.
Elves on Elder: This is a magical experience that’s located in the Leader Furniture building. In the
daytime, they have transformed it into a space where your kids can enjoy Christmas decorations, color
and take pictures. In the evening, they have a pop-up lounge where there is live music and warm drinks.
They’ll also have different food merchants inside with different options, one being cheese plates for
purchase from The Rhined (YUM!!!)
Daytime event times- 10a-3p
Evening event times- 5-10p
Stop by Washington Park for Strauss Troy Winter Market!
Washington Park is offering holiday shopping weekends to shop small and support local. This will include
local artisans, crafters, and business owners. Stop by Fridays from 11a-7p or Saturday/Sunday from 11a-
6p to get your shop on! We guarantee you’ll find something for your loved ones while keeping your
favorite businesses in business! Vendors vary each weekend so be sure to visit their website to get an
up-to-date list.
In addition to holiday shopping, they are also offering Santa’s workshop where your little ones can take
a socially distanced picture with Santa Claus! Now who doesn’t love that?! All you need to do is bring
your own camera and you’ll have memories to last a lifetime!
Hours are Saturdays and Sundays from 12-4p.
Ice Skating like Kristi Yamaguchi
Did you know that you and your friends can skate at an outdoor ice arena in the middle of downtown?
Yep, you sure can! Every year, UC Health and Fifth Third Bank present an outdoor ice arena that takes
over Fountain Square. It is so much fun to get on the ice and feel like a kid again. It is even funnier when
you go with a small group of friends and everyone is out on the ice looking like babies trying to walk. LOL
Do not bother with a workout for the day because you will get the perfect leg day workout going around
the rink 3 times. Tiff B. and Tiff D. hit the ice rink like we were Kristi Yamaguchi! HAHA, more like her
students in training! Nonetheless, while we have no skills close to Kristi, we had a ball ice skating to
celebrate a friend’s birthday! Ice skating is a fun holiday activity. It brought us joy while skating around
the rink. It reminded us of being free, enjoying life’s beautiful moments. While we did it with a small
group of girlfriends, ice skating can also be enjoyed with family. There were a few families and smaller
children out on the rink as well. If you are looking for an outdoor activity that is unique and whimsical,
ice skating at Fountain Square is for you!
Try Holiday Cocktails
We loveeeee all of the fun holiday cocktails that are offered around this time of year. And there are so
many local bars that offer specialties. Of course you can get your typical holiday coffees, but we enjoy
fun spiked ones �� One of the places Tiff D. visited was Anjou, which is a super cute bar in Walnut Hills.
They’ve always had a very cute vibe that is really nice and relaxed. For the holidays, they have two
specials:
The Shandy Claus: It has aromatized wine, herbal liqueur, lemon, cranberry, rosemary, sage, hard cider,
bitters- This one was a fav!
Carver’s Secrets: It has bourbon, amaro, ginger liqueur, cinnamon, sweet potato shrub, bitters and egg
white- This was the most creative!
Be a Wax Chandler
If you know anything about Tiff Squared or watch our stories (if you do not, you should!), we love
candles! We are always trying to find the best candle companies around, plus there is nothing like a
nicely scented candle burning with a holiday scent! Tiff B. had the opportunity to take a candle making
class with Manitou Candle Co. Manitou is located approximately
10 minutes outside of downtown Cincinnati. It is the cutest candle shop that offers candles, stationery,
home décor, lifestyle, kitchen and bar, bath and beauty, prints, jewelry, children’s items, and men’s
wear. This is a super cute place to buy that female in your life the perfect gift. They offer 100 scents of
pre-made candles. They also offer candle making classes held right in their studio. The candle class is so
much fun and is the perfect holiday activity for yourself or with a friend. I went by myself but there were
a few smaller groups of friends (2-3) or mom and daughter duos. The studio and candle making room is
super picturesque. The class is 1.5 hours and walks you step-by-step through making two candles. The
class is $50. This is a great deal because each 11 oz. candle in the store is $25 therefore you are only
paying for the candles themselves, but the experience is free. That is a win in my book because
sometimes the best experiences in life are priceless. I choose two scents which were Merry Merry and
Vanilla Chai and mixed them together. This was the perfect Christmas candle for me. I name my candle
Vanilla Chai Christmas. Shelby was my class teacher, and she was awesome! They also allow you to
BYOB! Kind of like paint and sip but be a chandler and sip. What is a chandler you ask? A chandler is
someone who handles wax. If you are looking for a fun, more creative holiday activity this one has your
name all over it!
Let the Light Guide You
Every year, Ohio. Find It Here celebrates Holidays in Ohio with a campaign to support the Ohio Holiday
Lights Trail. They encourage Ohio’s 88 counties to go all out on Holiday themed decorations. From fancy
lights to full on displays, this still allows everyone to celebrate and get into the Holiday spirit. One of the
festival of lights locations is the Cincinnati Zoo. They host the PNC Festival of Lights. This is the perfect activity for families. I, Tiff B., went with my husband and two small daughters. It was the best 2-in-1 combination. You get to experience the zoo as well as see all the lights.
My 5 year-old loved being able to see some of the animals. While all of the animals are not out on
display, they do have a few. We even saw the city’s favorite, Fiona, the hippo. We went mid-afternoon
to be able to get the full effects of the lights when it got dark. It was perfect! The zoo was lit in
a rainbow of colors. It was a great experience and a fun thing to see. If you have children and are looking for a fun-family
activity to brighten up your holiday cheer, this one is for you.
We hope these suggestions give you lots to do for the holidays! We look forward to seeing what you all
plan out with your families. Happy Holidays everyone! Cheers to you!
