Paris Bakery is now offering freshly baked Christmas cookies, which they're selling individually, in bags of 6, and in larger numbers on platters. These decorated cookies are a bright bit of delicious fun for the holiday season that's perfect for a gift or for a stay-at-home treat.

The bakery also has a full complement of special holiday baked goods including Stollen (German fruit bread), Pannetone (Italian sweet bread), candy cane shaped bread, and Buche de Noel (Yule log cake). Buche de Noel are available in four different flavors: chocolate, coffee, hazelnut, and Grand Marnier.

All of these items are available daily until Christmas Eve at Paris Bakery, a family-owned business located at 271 Bonifacio Place in Old Monterey, but ordering items in advance is always recommended so you don't miss out on your heart's desire. Just call the shop at 831-646-1620.

Rosine's Restaurant is happy to offer Family Style Holiday Meals To-Go. Order now for pick-up any time through Thursday, December 24 at 3pm. View our special menu, featuring minestrone soup, lasagna, chicken parmesan, Italian sausage caprese pasta, and prawn pesto pasta, plus a selection of our customers' favorite desserts, including our new line of liquor cakes. We also welcome special requests - we'll do our best to accommodate you. (Please order desserts at least 24 hours in advance so we can be sure to have your cake, cheesecake, cookies, or brownies ready for you.)

Please note: Rosine's will be open 11am-4pm on Christmas Eve and closed on Christmas Day. The rest of the time, we're now open Monday-Friday, 11am-8pm, and Saturday and Sunday, 9am-8pm serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner and dessert for take-out.

Rosine's Restaurant is located at 434 Alvarado Street in Downtown Old Monterey. To pre-order, please call us at 831-375-1400 or email us.

Spellcraft just got in these carnivorous plant kits. They're a perfect gift for an adventurous planty friend!

Parker-Lusseau Pastries and Cafe, located at 539 Hartnell Street in Downtown Old Monterey, now has fresh stollen on our shelves from now until Christmas. This holiday favorite is so popular you should probably place your order in advance just to make sure it's there when you want it, 831-641-9188.

What is stollen? A traditional German fruit bread with candied orange rind, raisins, and sliced almonds macerated in rum...plus it features the amazing flavors of cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, and a hint of tellicherry pepper.

Slice it, toast it, smother it with butter, eat it...Repeat! Bonus feature: it makes your house smell like Christmas.

Revival Ice Cream's honeycomb candy is crunchy, sweet, and pure - we make it here in the shop and it's a customer favorite! Pick up a bag when you're here, or add some to your delivery order. It's the perfect stocking stuffer for all the candy-lovers on your list. Sweet and satisfying, but without any fillers or artificial ingredients, this delicious treat is dairy-free and gluten-free.

Revival Ice Cream is located at 463 Alvarado Street in Downtown Old Monterey.

This holiday, leave the cooking to Montrio Bistro. Our chef has created a scrumptious dinner menu for the upcoming December stay-at-home festivities. Please place your order no later than December 20 - phone us at 831-648-8880. Montrio Bistro is located at 414 Calle Principal in Downtown Old Monterey.

MONTRIO'S CHRISTMAS TAKE-OUT MENU
Two sizes:
Serves 4 people: $200
Serves 8 people: $400
(Upgrade your holiday dinner with select wines and hand-crafted cocktails!)

SALAD
Family Style Caesar
Herb Croutons, Grana Padano Cheese

ENTREE
Choice of:
40 oz. Prime Bone-in Rib Eye Steak (Seasoned and Seared). Heating instructions included.

Duck Fat Roasted Marble Potatoes

Local Market Vegetables in Red Wine Sauce and Bone Marrow Butter

Or

Alaskan Halibut en Papillote with Champagne and Herb Compound Butter

Duck Fat Roasted Marble Potatoes

Local Market Vegetables served complete in parchment paper, cooking instructions included.

DESSERT
White Chocolate Bread Pudding, Passion Fruit Ice Cream

Venture Gallery presents a show by Carole Klein and Vanessa Martin, our featured artists for December. We invite you to come view their beautiful exhibit of paintings entitled Changing Landscapes.

Venture Gallery is now open for in-store shopping Thursdays - Sundays, 10am-6pm plus December 21-23 for last-minute holiday shopping. There will be an opportunity to meet Carole and Vanessa in person at the gallery on Monday, December 21 at 2pm.

Carole and Vanessa's artwork will be featured through December 2020. Venture Gallery is located at 260 Alvarado Street in Downtown Old Monterey. Visit our website to shop online for work by our local artists.

For the holidays, Grace Lifestyle Boutique has beautiful, 100% soy candles by Capri Blue, hand-poured in the U.S. Selections include the silver Mercury Hexagon candle, the Glitz Signature Jar, and the Gilded Faceted Jar, in which the lid can be used as a stand while the candle burns. Each of these containers can be used on its own after the candle is done with its lifespan.

Capri Blue candle fragrances are delightful. Grace's inventory includes "Volcano" (a tropical fruit and citrus fragrance), "Exotic Blossom and Basil" (a lovely, herbaceous, and clean-smelling fragrance), and "Pumpkin Dulce" (the coziest smelling holiday candle with a hint of gingersnap and vanilla).

Visit us at 459 Alvarado Street in Downtown Old Monterey for in-store shopping, call us at 831-324-4200 to place an order over the phone, or direct message us over Instagram. We are happy to offer curbside pick-up and shipping.

Don't forget about the men on your shopping list this holiday! Catalyst Consignment has high-quality men's clothing, shoes, sunglasses, and wallets at great prices available right now.

Visit us at 801 Lighthouse Avenue, Suite A in Monterey or call the shop at 831-512-9855 so the owner, Cortina, can help you find the just the right items for curbside pick-up. You can also view and purchase some of our inventory online.

Tutto Buono Eataliano, located at 598 Lighthouse Avenue in Monterey, invites you to join us online for our first virtual wine and pizza pairing with Langetwins Family Winery and Vineyards on Wednesday, December 16. Fee is $90 and reservations are limited. Please call us to register by Sunday, December 13, 831-920-1940.

Enjoy wine tasting in the comfort of your own home with some of our delicious Siciliano pan pizza paired with some of our favorite selected estate wine varietals. In an online video you can play that night at your leisure, Randall and Charlene Lange will walk you through a series of wine and pizza pairings and share a few details about their family.

For the tasting that day, you'll pick-up one pan pizza with three Tutto Buono favorites - Margarita, Tre Sorelli, and Ma Please - and three bottles of Langetwins wine - 2018 Nero d'Avola, 2017 Old Vine Zinfandel, and 2017 Petite Sirah.

Our normal day-to-day has been changed by Covid-19, but at Bamboo Reef Dive Shop we are still dedicated to sharing our knowledge, love, and excitement for diving with the world. Our shop policies regarding Covid-19 have been updated alongside the new restrictions put into place in California as of December 6, 2020.

Our shop is still open but limited to 20% capacity. Temperature checks and face masks are required for entry. Classes and tours are continuing but with limited group sizes. Group tours will be temporarily restricted to households.

To learn more, please click here and call us at 831-372-1685 if you have any questions. We're located at 614 Lighthouse Avenue in Monterey.

We at Escape Room 831 are so proud to have been nominated as one of the best recreational activities in Monterey County! We'd be honored to have your support in winning this year's Monterey Herald Readers Choice award in the Family-Youth Service Category.

Click here to vote before January 4, 2021. It would be a bright spot for a locally owned business in a tough year. We're located at 599 Lighthouse Avenue in Monterey, and selling lots of fun board games online right now if you're looking for an all-ages gift.

Welcome to Lighthouse District in the News, an occasional post featuring recent news articles on Monterey's Lighthouse District. Please click the link below to read the article.

Monterey County Restaurants and Bars Brace for SIP 2.0 [Pearl Hour]
by Raul Nava
Edible Monterey Bay, 12/08/20

Current Comics is incredibly honored to announce that we have been chosen to sell very limited edition signed prints of Colin Cantwell's original concept designs for the Star Wars spaceships. Please visit the shop at 400 Lighthouse Avenue in Monterey or visit our online store to see these awesome prints, signed and sealed and available in sizes large (12"x18") or small (8"x10" or 8"x12").

During Colin Cantwell's amazing career, he worked with George Lucas on designing the X-Wing, TIE Fighter, Y-Wing, Death Star, Millennium Falcon, and Star Destroyer for the very first Star Wars movie, “A New Hope."

In addition, Colin collaborated with Stanley Kubrick on “2001 a Space Odyssey” and worked with Steven Spielberg on “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” Other projects included “War Games,” “Buck Rogers,” “Mars, the Search Begins,” “Around the World in 80 Days,” and more.

This is what happens when MY Museum's doors are locked due to Covid - they bring the fun outside!!! This extraordinary holiday display outside MY Museum, created by Poptopia Balloons, was set up for MY Museum's "Gingerbread House Extravaganza" - an outdoor pick-up of gingerbread house kits with guest appearances by Monterey Peninsula Ballet Theatre members dressed in their Nutcracker finest. Check out the great photos!

The amazing balloon display continued Dec. 5-9 and everyone was welcome to take a selfie or a fun family pic, start a little walk on the rec. trail, or just drive by and see how magical it was. MY Museum wants to thank Poptopia Balloons for their hard work and incredible creativity.

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