Dining out for Christmas meal in Austin
AUSTIN, Texas - Christmas has come to an end, and many families decided to trade the traditional dinner at home for local restaurants in downtown Austin.
"It's so nice. I think this is the most laid back and casual Christmas I’ve ever had," says Sarah Cooper, dining out for Christmas.
Downtown Austin was packed with residents and visitors on Christmas day, taking advantage of the option to eat at local restaurants open for the holiday.
"On 6th Street, one restaurant had live music going, so we popped in there, and we started looking around, and we thought ‘what else can we find, where else can we go,’ and we found ourselves here. It was a real treat to find places that were open and serving food and serving drinks on Christmas day," says Cooper.
Finding a local restaurant is a non-traditional way to celebrate for many that are new to town, and those visiting.
"It is definitely not a traditional Christmas this year, but we are visiting Austin, so obviously it is something new for us. Yes, we are a traditional Hispanic family, so it's different," says Yvette Valdez, dining out for Christmas.
"This is so nice, because it is so relaxing. I don't have to cook or clean, or entertain, and I get to have a whole new experience," says Donna Smith, dining out for Christmas.
A new experience and also relief from washing dishes and preparing food.
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"That's the part I like the most definitely, but I am missing the usual traditional Christmas that we've had in many years, so it's new, but I’m adjusting," says Valdez.
"We did enough dishes yesterday, so I’m really happy to go home and hit the couch and watch some Christmas movies," says Cooper.
Families in the downtown area also took the opportunity to enjoy the weather while eating on the patio and to explore.
"We weren't really sure what to expect. We kind of came downtown with no expectations really, we started at the Capitol building just to kind of look around and do some sightseeing," says Cooper.
"If you had told me even a year ago I would be doing this, I would have said ‘what’, so this has been a wonderful experience and I would absolutely do it again," said Smith.