Things to do in Portland on Christmas Day (2009)

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Some shops and activities and bars and restaurants do stay open on the holiday – you just need to know which ones.

Here are some places to drink, shop, and enjoy yourself Christmas Day 2009* out of the clutches of your overbearing family! . . .

[Of course this list is far from comprehensive – if you know of additional restaurants, bars, etc. that are open on Christmas Day please leave a comment and refer to the comments for more!]

SHOPS

Powell’s Books (1005 W Burnside). The downtown Powell’s is open 10am to 6pm on Christmas Day (9am to 7pm Christmas Eve).

ACTIVITIES

This doesn’t happen every year, but the Trailblazers are playing on Xmas day. They take on the Denver Nuggets at 7:30 on December 25th at the Rose Garden. There are plenty of tickets available too.

Bowling. Grand Central Bowl (SE 8th and Morrison), and many other bowling alleys, remain open Xmas day.

Movies. Catch a movie – many movie theaters are open on the Holiday.

Peacock Lane. Check out the holiday lights on Peacock Lane in SE Portland from 6pm to 11pm on Christmas Day (for a preview of this year’s lights, visit Mile73!).

Ghost Christmas Ride. Ride your bike on nearly empty streets with your fellow bicycle merrymakers. Ride starts at 9:30am at the SE Lucky Lab (915 SE Hawthorne).

BARS and RESTAURANTS

Rialto (529 SW 4th). This downtown institution is open 365 days a year. Play some pinball or pool, while enjoying your beer. Watch basketball on the ginormous TVs.

Basement Pub (1028 SE 12th). Formerly the smokiest bar in town®, the Basement is open 3pm to 2am.

Cheerful Tortoise (1939 SW 6th). Opens at 5pm on Christmas Day [thanks commenter Kirsten!]

Prost! (4237 N. Mississippi), the newish German pub on North Mississippi at Skidmore will be open normal hours on Christmas Eve, and opens at 8pm on Christmas day for the 1st annual Prostmas!

Red and Black Cafe (400 SE 12th) is open both Xmas Eve and Xmas Day, 10am to 7pm.

Last year PDX Pipeline confirmed that the following bars were open; many of which may very well be open this year too (I’ll update as I learn more):

• BOG (4801 SE Hawthorne)
• Tanker Bar (4825 SE Hawthorne)
• Jolly Roger (1340 SE 12th)
• Chopsticks Express (2651 E Burnside)

Update: And some more (via the Bar Pilot blog at Portland Monthly):

House of Louie (331 NW Davis).

My Father’s Place (523 SE Grand).

Yamhill Pub (223 SW Yamhill).

Update: The Lions Eye (5919 SE 82nd) is open Christmas Day 7pm-2:30am.

Also try truck stops (seriously! Jubitz, for example), Chinese places, hotel restaurants.

OTHER RESOURCES

TriMet’s Christmas Day schedule: TriMet buses and MAX trains will run on Sunday schedules. Portland Streetcar will use a modified Sunday schedule, running with one less train [download PDF schedule here].

And make sure to check out PDX Pipeline, Bar Fly, and PortlandFood.org for more bars and restaurants open on Christmas Day.

*The information in this post is compiled through a combination of hearsay, website perusals, assumptions, and direct contact – please do not take it as gospel; if you don’t want to make a fruitless trip out, give the place a call first!