December offered all the typical craziness of years past, with the added twist of still moving into our new place to add an extra level of insanity to the holiday season. As usual, we survived and thrived, getting up to a few shenanigans here and there. Here’s how the month played out:

My work Christmas lunch this year took place at Joey Shipyards. There, I had the very good Ahi Tuna Club. Although we were allowed to order adult beverages, providing we pay for them ourselves, a scan of the two tables showed no one else was willing to make this bold move, so I declined as well.

Days later, we were off to Grand Mound, Washington, for a three-night stay at Great Wolf Lodge (GWL). En route, we stopped at Red Lobster in Olympia for a meal to celebrate Ma Sip’s birthday. I had my usual Sesame-Soy Salmon Bowl and Blue Moon Belgian White combo, which just hits the spot. I wish there was a closer Red Lobster than two-plus hours away, so I could enjoy the meal more regularly.

Also before arriving at GWL, we stopped at Costco and Walmart to do some provision shopping. I decided to try the Kirkland Hard Seltzer (with flavours of lime, grapefruit, mango and black cherry) as you just couldn’t beat the price. It was $10 cheaper than the similar White Claw offering, although that pack has six different flavours. I also grabbed some Spiced Rum and Dr. Pepper (Costco offers a 30-can case – excess at its finest!).

We had one sit down meal at GWL, dining at Fireside. There, I tried the Chili-Lime Chicken Bowl, paired with a pint of Talking Cedar Juicy IPA. While I wouldn’t rank this Mexican-inspired bowl up with the Asian ones I typically enjoy, it was not a disappointment either.

Later in the month, we attended Mrs. Sip’s office Christmas party at The Boathouse. My drinks over the course of the evening included the Herb’N Soda and Smoke & Bourbon. As for my meal picks, from the set menu, I went with a Caesar Salad, the Grilled Salmon and the Mocha Ice Cream Pie for dessert. Everything tasted great, but the salmon could have used some sort of glaze or sauce.

The next night, Mrs. Sip and I were out again, offered a date night by the visiting Ma and Pa Sip. I surprised Mrs. Sip with a visit to the PoMo Express, a festively decorated heritage train at the Port Moody Museum. The event was only being run on a few selected nights in December, complete with food a drink offerings. Our food selections included the Beef and Pork Polpette, Arancini and Albacore Tuna Crudo. For drinks, we tried a couple of their select cocktails, while I also ordered a Parkside Humans IPA.

Following our train experience, we decided to travel some of the nearby Brewer’s Row. Our first stop was at Moody Ales, where we shared a flight, consisting of their Gingerbread Ale, O Christmas Tree IPA, Holiday Party Punch Sour and Hazelnut Honey Brown Ale. While the Christmas-themed beers were good, it was a prime example of my issue with flight costs. We shelled out $14 for four five-ounce servings (totalling 20 ounces of suds), while for only $8.50, we could have had a 20-ounce pint of any of those beers. Colour me confused…

Next, we dropped into Parkside Brewing, where I tried the Orange You Glad Orange Cream Ale, while Mrs. Sip went with the cask offering Hot Frosty Pale Ale. We completed our evening out at Twin Sails Brewing, sharing a pint of the Frozen Banana Double Dipped Chocolate Banana Stout.

Right before Christmas, we met with friends we hadn’t seen in a long while at Steel & Oak Brewing. After trying samples of both the Sunglow Hefeweizen and You Party? Blackcurrant and Cherry Pale Ale, I went with the hef, but also enjoyed the pale ale.

Christmas Day finally arrived and a gift of note I received from Mrs. Sip was the Mixology & Murder book, combining two of my greatest loves: drinking and true crime.

Christmas dinner brought my annual Christmas cocktail menu to life, with this year’s theme being holiday music. The drink recipes included: Fairytale of New York (Jameson Orange Irish Whiskey, Apple Juice, Club Soda), Do They Know It’s Christmas (Amarula Gold, Pomegranate Juice, Lemon-Lime Soda), Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree (Southern Comfort, Raspberry Iced Tea, Lemonade) and Little Drummer Boy (Bacardi Dragonberry Rum, Raspberry-Lemon Ginger Ale, Orange Bitters).

Following Christmas, I met with a group of guys for a night out. We began with beers at both Hops and Kelly O’Bryans, followed by a great dinner at El Santo. My meal consisted of Pastor and Barbacoa Tacos – after trading with a friend, so we could get a greater variety – along with drinks of the Magdalena cocktail (pisco, vanilla and mandarin syrup, lemon, egg whites, cinnamon) and Steel & Oak Festbier.

With New Year’s Eve plans falling through on the day of, we decided to have a quiet, relaxed night. It was a great way to wrap a wild 2024 and start thinking ahead to what will hopefully be a calmer 2025!