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Visions of sugar-plums twirling triple axels and landing perfect-10 salchows dance through your head at this time of year. On the ice at sparkling outdoor rinks, skilled skaters make it look so easy.
For the rest of us, both balance and dignity waver on ridiculously slim slivers of metal. You cling to the rail as your legs slide in more directions than anatomically possible, causing you and your equally unstable friends to collapse in a heap of laughter and frozen backsides.
But it’s fun, it’s festive, and now it’s time for a post-skate warm-up. And one thing at which we’re all definitely skilled is the art of sipping delicious hot cocoa, mitten-muffed hands caressing the cup and frosty lips pressed to the cozy elixir of comfort.
The hot melts away the cold, confirming the appeal of such opposites – you know, like yin/yang, ebony/ivory, Heat Miser/Snow Miser. And nothing goes hand-in-mittened-hand more than ice skating and hot chocolate in the winter chill.
Whether you’re skating across rinks backed by the twinkling city lights of San Francisco’s Union Square or the snow-draped slopes of Mount Shasta, it’s all about the setting and the slurp of something warm.
Magic happens
For some, holiday skating is a longstanding family tradition. At Winter Lodge in Palo Alto – smack dab in Silicon Valley – the frosty frolicking goes back decades. It began in 1954, when Duncan Williams moved to the Bay Area from Wisconsin to teach engineering and soon realized Californians were missing out on a special winter custom.
“He thought how fun it would be if families could have that same experience he grew up with, of ice skating in winter,” says Linda Stebbins Jensen, Winter Lodge’s executive director. “His engineering brain started going, and he figured out a clever system of refrigeration that could keep ice frozen, even in our mild weather. It became the first outdoor ice-skating rink west of the Sierra.”
Skating season at the Lodge, which opened in 1956, runs from late September through mid-April, with public skating and classes on both indoor and outdoor rinks. But the holidays are classic. The weather is cooler, and lights sparkle on the outdoor rink amid towering trees. Fireplaces in the clubhouse and on the patio offer glowing warmth.
And even the hot chocolate is a well-loved tradition — not by virtue of its gourmet-artisan-organic cacao, but by virtue of its vending machine.
“Lots of frosty hands have gotten warm on that hot chocolate,” Stebbins Jensen says. “It’s not Starbucks, but it’s good.”
Gourmet to go
If you do want to chill with fancy chocolate flair, San Francisco offers elegant gourmet-artisan-organic options. After skating at the Holiday Ice Rink in Union Square with its sky-high Christmas tree and glittery menorah, head over to Tratto — inside The Marker Hotel — for an Italian hot chocolate treat like the Cioccolata Calda, made with Ghirardelli chocolate and housemade marshmallows, or the Cioccolata Calda con Amaro dessert cocktail, an adult bev made with Montenegro and Orangecello. You can get one free after 11:30 a.m. on weekends (and 3 p.m. on weekdays) if you show your ice-rink ticket.
Down at the holiday rink at Embarcadero Plaza, slide over to the Dandelion Chocolates kiosk at the Ferry Building Marketplace and pile up the free marshmallows on the special holiday Gingerbread Hot Chocolate. Or try the Recchiuti Confections booth, where the seasonal go-to is peppermint thins dropped into the Recchiuti Dark Hot Chocolate mixture — pick up pistoles to make it at home — or a dollop of their burnt caramel sauce to brighten up the deep, dark flavor.
Of course, chocolate has long been a favorite holiday indulgence for chocolatier Michael Recchiuti’s family. “If he and his three siblings were good, they’d get an extra bonus of a little chocolate from his Nonna!” says Jacky Recchiuti, Michael’s wife and partner in chocolating mischief.
Can’t beat the classics
Up in Folsom, there’s classic festive fun as folks circle a doughnut-shaped rink built around the historic railroad turntable. It’s a winter wonderland of music, holiday cheer and snow. Large nutcrackers, originally part of the “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” movie set, have been turned into speakers with snow machines mounted on top. Flurries occur on a regular basis, and the rink’s Bravo Coffee bar serves pour-over coffee and, yes, fabulous cocoa.
For a true holiday-card feel, it’s hard to top colorfully clad skaters sliding beside snowy views at Siskiyou Skate Rink in Mt. Shasta, where legitimately wintry temperatures kick in and warm beverages come into play every day – but especially on Full-Moon Skate Nights and the New Year’s morning Pajama Skate. Non-gourmet cocoa can be had at the rink, but there are several places in town, like Yaks Mount Shasta Koffee & Eatery or Seven Suns Coffee & Café, where you can fill up your Thermos with something sweet and hot.
Wherever you skate and slurp, the combo lends itself to good vibes, comfort and conviviality. It’s an all-around nostalgic holiday feel for kids, adult kids and sugar plums alike.