A Personal Message from the Director |
|
On Saturday, December 11th, we will usher in a new era in Seabeck’s long history. That day we will dedicate the new Pines building. Due to multiple supply chain issues, it will not be totally completed, but this will still be a day of celebration. A ceremony will be held at 11:00 am with Rep. Derek Kilmer and Dr. Charles Wallace joining me in speaking. There will be an open house from 12-4 and we will be replaying the ceremony on the big screen, so feel free to come when you are able, and help spread out the crowds. I hope to also stream the ceremony on Facebook Live (more details to follow on our Friends of Seabeck site). Please be vaccinated or tested within the past 72 hours to attend and don't forget your mask.
We will be offering hamburger or hotdog lunches starting at noon. We will provide these meals while supporting the Seabeck Toy Closet, so please bring a new or gently used toy to contribute. The Seabeck Toy Closet uses Seabeck (Rhododendron Meeting Area) as the site that allows those in need to get toys for their children during the holiday season. They have had a lower than usual donation response this year, so we are asking for our guests to help.
This Pines project has really turned into an all-consuming ordeal at times. I am looking forward to dedicating the building and then getting the occupancy permits done later this month. We will put off landscaping until spring when the weather is more conducive to plant survival. I really can’t wait to see our guests enjoying this great building! I know you will love it too.
We hope to see you on the 11th.
Thanks,
Chuck
|
|
These pictures are taken by different local Seabeck residents and posted on Facebook, and some from our staff. Enjoy! |
|
December Random Acts of Kindness |
|
Here is your December Random Acts of Kindness Calendar. Make someone smile today!
|
|
December 'Unofficial' Holidays! |
|
 |
December 1
Time to deck the halls, folks, because December 1 is National Christmas Lights Day! Before the invention of electric lights, families would balance candles on the branches of their Christmas trees—a risky practice that naturally led to several house fires. Electric Christmas lights were first invented in 1880 by Thomas Edison, who promptly strung them all over the outside of his Menlo Park laboratory.
|
|
|
|
December 2
Let’s throw this day to the dogs! Not just any dog, though. Today, we toast to the mixed breeds of the world, so raise your water bowls high … because this one’s for the mutts! There’s no ifs, ands, or mutts about it — December 2 is National Mutt Day, and we’re here to celebrate. In fact, we love this day so much, we celebrate it twice year. The next National Mutt Day is July 31!
|
|
|
|
|
December 3
We love gifts that have a personal touch, and that’s why we love Make a Gift Day so much! Celebrated on December 3 each year, this unofficial holiday encourages people to create gifts for their loved ones, instead of relying on ready-made goods. This distinctive touch makes the gift all the more exclusive and adds more significance to the entire gift-giving process.
|
|
|
|
December 4
National Cookie Day is December 4 so get ready to refill your cookie jar. Maybe you prefer your cookies to have a crunchy snap, or maybe you’d rather bite into soft and chewy sugary heaven. Either way, eating cookies brings us happiness, and we should all do it more often. Just don’t tell your doctor.
|
|
|
|
|
December 5
We get to indulge our sweet tooth on Sacher-Torte Day every year on December 5. The cake is famous worldwide for its taste, and this day is set aside to appreciate this culinary delight and how it has satisfied millions of people for hundreds of years. Tortes are similar to cakes, and many regard them as a cake variant.
|
|
|
|
December 6
St. Nicholas Day on December 6 celebrates of course carries some connection to Christmas and Santa Clause, but there is much more to this holiday and St. Nicholas than that. Although St. Nicholas partially inspired the Christmas and Santa Clause that we all know and love, St. Nicholas actually derives from a different kind of tale. Let’s learn about St. Nicholas and what this day is truly about.
|
|
|
|
|
December 7
National Cotton Candy Day is celebrated on December 7 to our sweet tooth’s joy and our dentists’ dismay. But did you know dentists actually invented it in the first place? It was even called fairy floss back in the day. Now, it’s the go-to at county fairs and a must-have when riding a Ferris wheel. Most of our childhood memories wouldn’t have been complete without the sugary cloud that is cotton candy.
|
|
|
|
December 8
National Brownie day is on December 8. Every year brownie lovers come from far and wide to celebrate National Brownie Day. Warm, chewy, and rich, a nice chocolate (or blondie) brownie is the perfect dessert to end your night with. Indulge in gooey goodness and let the real world melt away with you for a delectable moment.
|
|
|
|
|
December 9
Ho ho ho! And a merry Christmas Card Day, on December 9, to all! ’Tis the season for spreading cheer and joyful greetings, so why not grab a recent family photo, a box of cards, or even a tastefully designed e-card and get to writing! Christmas cards have been around for centuries, so there’s no time like the present to send ’em out and keep your loved ones up to date on your life while you wish them good tidings.
|
|
|
|
December 10
Dewey Decimal System, December 10, honors Melvil Dewey and the library classification system he created to efficiently maintain our libraries’ inventory of books. With over 1 billion people visiting public libraries every year, it’s vital to have an easy-to-read system for us to find the exact location of the books we hope to read.
|
|
|
|
|
December 11
The most magical time of the year brings with it Christmas Jumper Day which will be celebrated in the UK on December 11 this year. From ugly sweaters to cozy mock necks, we can’t think of a more fun way to get into the spirit of the season than wearing your favorite Christmas jumper. Better yet, celebrate the joy of giving by raising funds for a great cause on Christmas Jumper Day.
|
|
|
|
December 12
That pop of floral color in everyone’s home means the holidays are right around the corner. National Poinsettia Day on December 12 also forms a cultural bridge between the U.S. and Mexico. Poinsettias, known as Euphorbia Pulcherrima, come in hundreds of beautiful colors. Even if you have a limited holiday decorating budget, strategically placed poinsettias can enhance your home in a variety of ways. Bottom line: What’s a holiday party without a gorgeous poinsettia plant on the mantle?
|
|
|
|
|
December 13
National Cocoa Day is celebrated on December 13 every year. Hot cocoa is typically made with cocoa powder, heated milk or water, and sugar. However, some also call it hot chocolate, which causes a bit of confusion. Hot chocolate is made by using ground chocolate containing cocoa butter. We can also make chocolate liquor by fermenting, drying, roasting, and grinding cocoa beans. After this, the cocoa butter is removed, and we are left with only the cocoa powder. This cocoa powder is used to make hot cocoa. It is a relatively healthy drink with very little fat and calories, depending on what you add to it.
|
|
|
|
December 14
It’s time to honor the humble chestnut on Roast Chestnuts Day, December 14. As it’s the season to be jolly, Roast Chestnuts Day comes at a perfect time for the holiday season. Roasted chestnuts often fill the air with their earthy scent as they’re cooked by street vendors during December. Not only this, but the delicious snack keeps the cold away for those in the northern hemisphere. While the day is a relatively new celebration, the tradition of roasting chestnuts has been around for a long time. When they are roasted, the natural sweetness of the nut is revealed, delighting our taste buds!
|
|
|
|
|
December 15
Swirled with frosting, covered in sprinkles, dipped in ganache, or drizzled with chocolate, cupcakes are a one-of-a-kind dessert that are whimsically versatile for any occasion. They have evolved far and wide from just chocolate and vanilla to fulfill almost all of our dessert dreams and fantasies. Luckily, today is National Cupcake Day, recognized annually on December 15 to commemorate these compact yet delectable sweets. Indulge all you want in your favorite cupcake treats today—you’ll probably want seconds. Actually, make that thirds.
|
|
|
|
December 16
What do BBQ potato chips, strawberries, and ants have in common? On any ordinary day, not much. But on December 16, all three of these things —and thousands of others —could all be considered key ingredients in a creative culinary confection. Because on December 16, we’ll all be celebrating National Chocolate Covered Anything Day. This is the day you’ve been waiting for. All those times when you wondered, “What would this taste like dipped in chocolate?” can now officially be answered.
|
|
|
|
|
December 17
Every third Friday of December (December 17), people all over the nation trade their casual garments for something more festive for National Ugly Sweater Day. Whether you find a hidden gem to wear, or you make your own, one things for sure — this holiday will certainly have you laughing all day long!
|
|
|
|
December 18
Bake Cookies Day is on December 18, just in time for Christmas. Cookies are more than just a baked treat, with generations bonding over it. What we love best about cookies is their versatility; crispy or soft and chewy, traditional shapes or special cookie-cutter designs, sugar, spices, dried fruit, chocolate, the list of options goes on.
|
|
|
|
|
December 19
National Oatmeal Muffin Day is on December 19 and we are eager to fill up our tummies with delicious muffins without having to worry about cholesterol or the calories consumed. Healthy muffins that look like cupcakes and satisfy our sweet cravings? It doesn’t get better than this!
|
|
|
|
December 20
Once upon a time, Christmas celebrations wouldn’t have been anything without caroling, and this is exactly what is celebrated on Go Caroling Day on December 20. It’s about nothing else but merrily singing songs from door to door in the spirit of the holiday season. Christmas carols were very popular decades ago, before there was digital entertainment to distract us.
|
|
|
|
|
December 21
Blue Christmas is a Western Christian tradition that happens on or around the longest night of the year, usually December 21 the Winter Solstice. It is about comforting fellow Christians who are grieving and struggling to find joy and hope during the season.
|
|
|
|
December 22
December 22 is National Cookie Exchange Day and the glorious occasion when festively-decorated cookie tins and boxes appear at cookie exchange parties. It’s a classic celebration where the host throws a holiday party for family and friends, to which everyone brings delicious homemade cookies to share around. The toughest decision is which cookies to take.
|
|
|
|
|
December 23
National Christmas Movie Marathon Day is celebrated annually on December 23. Get ready to snuggle in your warm blanket with a mug of hot chocolate and your favorite holiday snacks! There are so many ways to get into the spirit of Christmas and we just love curling up on the couch for a movie marathon with our favorite Christmas movies.
|
|
|
|
December 24
Christmas Eve takes place on December 24 and is probably one of the best nights of the year! Christmas has the power to reunite families and friends, warm up our hearts, and remind us that we have so many things to be thankful for. So put on your cozy PJs, light up your fireplace, call your loved ones, and top off your hot cocoa with some fluffy marshmallows!
|
|
|
|
|
December 25
Every year on December 25, we celebrate Christmas, a day for spending time with family, observing an important Christian holiday, partaking in lighthearted traditions, or just spreading some holiday cheer! Christmas has evolved over several millennia into a worldwide celebration that’s both religious and secular and chock full of fun-filled, family activities.
|
|
|
|
December 26
National Candy Cane Day is on December 26, and while that doesn’t mean it’ll keep us from munching on the sugary sticks as early as Thanksgiving, it does give us a chance to indulge as much as we can before New Year’s. With beginnings in 17th-century Germany, these sweet treats were curved to represent the shepherds’ crooks. They later made their way to the states in the mid-19th century. Now we see them everywhere, even on trees.
|
|
|
|
|
December 27
National Fruitcake Day is December 27, a day to celebrate every eccentric person you know. Wait! That’s not right. It’s a day for lovers of fruitcake to rejoice in the delights of the world’s most misunderstood fruit. A fruitcake is a boozy, chewy, rich amalgam of dried fruit, nuts, and sugar, saturated with your favorite alcohol, most commonly brandy or bourbon. That produces a dense, sweet, and textured treat generally served around the holidays.
|
|
|
|
December 28
Face it. We love chocolate. Many of us can’t help but add a bar or two while we’re checking out at the grocery store — that is, if we don’t already have a bag of fun-sized chocolates in the cart. Snack all you want on December 28 because it’s National Chocolate Candy Day. So if you missed the treats on Halloween or need a last sugary fix before the new year, spend some quality time with chocolate candy!
|
|
|
|
|
December 29
The Christmas rush is over, and you should be feeling calm. So what’s that subtle itch deep inside you? That one that’s tugging at you, haunting you, reminding you that despite all the holiday successes, you still never fixed that leaky faucet like you said you would. Lucky for you, the year’s not over yet, and there is in fact a day tailor-made for you. On December 29, don’t forget to take advantage of Still Need To Do Day, when folks across the country will use what remaining time they have in the year to make some final checks on their year-long “to do” list. In the downtime between opening presents and banging pots and pans, consider what you can get done in 24 hours this December 29.
|
|
|
|
December 30
National Resolution Planning Day is on December 30 and we are getting a headstart on setting goals for next year! Did you know that one in three people fail their New Year’s resolutions in the first month? And only 10% of people are successful at keeping their resolutions throughout the year? While there are many reasons for this, it is necessary that you set- and commit to your resolutions before the new year actually begins for a better chance at success. But how did the start of a new year become the de facto ‘fresh start’?
|
|
|
|
December 31
New Year’s Eve comes but once a year on December 31, the last day of the last month of what usually feels like the longest year ever but somehow passed too quickly.
Most of us give little thought as to why we ceremoniously say goodbye to one year and hello to a new one on December 31. Even those who don’t make special plans to greet the arrival of a new year at the stroke of midnight on December 31 pay homage to the rite with thoughts of the year gone by and hopes for the year to come.
Why do we end each year on December 31 and begin a new one on January 1 anyway?
|
|
Ways to Donate to Seabeck |
|
WAYS YOU CAN SUPPORT
SEABECK CONFERENCE CENTER
Want to help us lay the foundation for the next decade of Seabeck Conference Center?
There are many ways, not all of them involving huge disbursements of cash.
Here are some creative ideas you might not have thought about:
Cash Donation Today
Tax-deductible gifts via check, credit card, in person, or online. Please consider
upping your regular gift by another 10 percent.
Automatic Monthly Payments
Gifts can be deducted periodically from your bank account, making larger donations
easier by spreading them over time.
Low-Cost Appreciated Stock
Avoid paying the capital gains by giving full-market value to Seabeck Conference Center.
In-Kind Donation
We are always in need of furniture, lighting, rugs, and much more - the market value is tax-deductible.
Multi-Year Pledges
A great way to ensure support will be there when we need it year after year.
Designated Gifts
Donate to a targeted project or capital campaign.
Commemorative Gifts
Donate a bench or rocking chair in honor of someone or something important to you.
A Bequest in Your Will
Your gift can be a specific sum or a percentage of an estate after other bequests.
Just add an addendum to your existing will.
Life Insurance and Savings Accounts
Same as retirement plans, except those payments made to Seabeck Conference Center
are exempt only from estate taxes.
IRA's and Retirement Plans
Your estate receives a charitable deduction for the full gift amount on estate and income
taxes, while we receive full donation value. Non-charitable heirs receive only a part of
the value (since inherited assets are subject to estate and income taxes).
Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD)
A QCD is a direct transfer of funds from your IRA custodian, payable to a qualified charity. QCDs can be counted toward satisfying your required minimum distributions (RMDs) for the year, as long as certain rules are met. You must be 70 1/2 or older to be eligible to make a QCD.
All gifts are welcome. Seabeck Conference Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and your contribution may be tax-deductible. If you have any questions, please contact our Executive Director, Chuck Kraining at (360) 830-5010 or email him at chuck@seabeck.org.
|
|
Seabeck Conference Center
13395 Lagoon Dr NW
Seabeck, Washington 98380
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
