🚘😭 Get ready for tomorrow's traffic

🥡 For the past 11 days, we’ve been dropping daily DoorDash deals. And now, we’ve put them all in one place for you to peruse. Think: $8 off $30+ at Sonsie, Back Door Donuts, and more. Bon appétit! 

🎉 And happy (early) birthday to Lyric Scott! Not only is Lyric an OG B-Sider, but we literally attended her wedding! Name another B-Sider who can say that (besides this one).

🥳 Want your own B-Side b-day shoutout? We’re officially collecting birthdays from our B-Side Members for 2026 (we’ll be checking!). Sign up to become a member here to get yours. 

👀 What’s on tap today:

Up first…

🎁 On the 12th day of B-Side, the newsletter gave to me … $800 of freebies! Including: a 30-minute facial from Demma Aesthetics, a one-hour coaching session for up to four people at PickleBOS, a $100 gift card to Bootleg Special, a $150 gift card to Prezza, a $150 gift card to Post 1917, a $100 gift card to Karma Asian Fusion, a birthday party at any Momentum Enterprises-owned Launch Family Entertainment or My Gym Location, and a $50 Snacks Box gift card. 

🤯 Yes, ONE person gets all of this! To enter, fill out the form that’ll hit your inbox TODAY at 10 a.m. We’ll randomly draw a winner at 5 p.m.  

Now, onto our regularly scheduled programming …

Thought Thanksgiving traffic was bad? Just wait ‘til we tell you about Christmas. AAA projects a record-breaking 122.4 million Americans will travel over 50 miles from Dec. 20 through Jan. 1.

Here’s what to know:

🚘 All signs point to a record-breaking travel period. Despite our ~economic uncertainty~ and rising prices, more and more people are finding room in their budget for travel, said AAA Northeast spokesperson Mark Schieldrop. That 122.4 million figure is up 2.7 million from 2024, and up 3.1 million from 2019. 89% of travelers will be on the road, including 2.35 million trips in Mass. alone. The good news? Christmas falls on a Thursday, so folks will have more travel days to pick from, which = congestion will likely be more spread out across the week than usual, Schieldrop said.

😮‍💨 The absolute worst time to drive? Saturday, Dec. 20 at 3:30 p.m. on I-95 North, according to AAA, which will see — brace yourself — a 126% increase in traffic. Schieldrop also pointed to Dec. 22 and 23 as potentially rough travel days given commuters and travelers will be out. 

🌅 The best time to drive? Early. No matter the day you hit the road, your best shot at avoiding traffic will be before 10 a.m., except on Dec. 20, when traffic will be terrible pretty much all day long. Check out all the best and worst times to drive here.

🪫 Pro tip: Check your battery! AAA has seen an uptick in calls for dying batteries thanks to all the cold snaps we’ve been dealing with. Schieldrop’s advice: Get yours tested, and check on your tire pressure before it’s time to leave … especially if your car has seen better days.

✈️ Things won’t be much better at the airport. Air travel is up 2.3% over last year, too. So get to the airport early, and check in on your flight in the days before you leave, especially if there’s questionable weather. “Even major snowstorms in the middle of the country … could have ripple effects here in the Northeast,” Schieldrop said.

🕹️🍜 Choose your fighter: the gamer, the foodie, the karaoke menace, or the friend who’s just here for the vibes. At Malden Gaming District, you don’t have to pick just one. This rare spot combines gaming, rock climbing, escape rooms, karaoke, and a stacked lineup of restaurants and bars — all within a few easy blocks. Add in Orange Line access and blessedly cheap parking, and you’ve officially solved the hardest puzzle of adulthood: planning a night out everyone actually agrees on. Pick a location or adventure and bring your most chaotic friend group. They will love it here. 

A high-end Italian dinner without leaving the house? Now that’s holiday magic. Lean into the season by enjoying a warm meal inside without lifting a finger. Using the code ENZA25 for $8 off any order of $30 or more, Bar Enza will bring the tastes of Tuscany, like handmade paccheri, right to your doorstep.  

❤️‍🩹 Update: The Brown shooting suscept was found dead. The six-day manhunt ended after authorities found 48-year-old former Brown student Claudio Manuel Neves Valente dead by suicide in a storage facility in Salem, N.H. Also new: Officials linked Neves Valente to the killing of an MIT professor earlier this week. And while the manhunt is over, officials are still searching for his motive. There’s more to come, so keep up with the latest here.

📈 National Grid’s fav hobby: Raising prices. The company is gearing up to ask the Department of Public Utilities to hike natural gas rates come 2027. In Greater Boston, bills would rise by 8.4% in the winter, and 9.8% for a full year (they plan to spread out the increase to reduce winter sticker shock). That would translate to ~$24/month. That said, the DPU could nix the plan, especially considering Gov. Healey has made it clear she’s not a fan. Either way, we probably won’t know until late 2026.

❄️ Dreaming of a white Christmas? Keep dreaming. Boston has a 20-40% chance of a white Christmas in any given year, per the Globe. But this year, our odds are sitting under 10%. Six days out, it's looking like Boston will have a cold, dry Christmas Day, with temps forecast in the single digits (but ofc, that could still change). And while we’re talking weather: Today’s forecast is looking pretty crummy, with heavy rain and high wind gusts — though temps will hit a balmy 57 degrees(!). Keep up with the latest here.

🛍️ Boston’s vintage shopping scene is about to get REAL. Translation: The RealReal is opening a store near Boston! ICYMI: The RealReal is a trendy luxury resale website, where folks can shop current and vintage designer pieces at huge discounts (see: a Gucci bag for $80, a Reformation dress for $63). They also have over 15 brick-and-mortar stores, where you can shop the same discounted pieces IRL. We still don’t have a ton of deets about the new location, but it’s slated to open in summer 2026 at The Street in Chestnut Hill.

Enter our holiday bundle giveaway to win a $75 Shore Leave gift card and sippin' Santa mug, $200 gift card to Eastern Standard, Equal Measure, and Standard Italian, two months of free walk-in studio individual membership to Craft Loft (Jan. and Feb. 2026), and a $20 gift card to A Sanctuary Cafe. 

Enter Here!

21+. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Limit one entry per person. See Official Rules & an additional entry option here.

🕎 Say chag sameach! A Hanukkah-themed welcome drink … latke and fried dough bars … dreidel games … They’re all on the agenda at Lehrhaus’s Hanukkah party on Dec. 20.

✨ Check off Boston’s holiday lights bucket list. The Make Friends After College group is rounding up a pack of 20- and 30-somethings to go on a free tour of the city’s jolliest corners on Dec. 20.

🛍️ Squeeze in one last (local) shopping trip. The Brighton Bazaar’s final holiday market is Dec. 20 and 21, featuring all the usual small biz suspects and a $5 gingerbread house building competition.

🧖 Sweat out the Sunday scaries. Friendly reminder: $25 gets you 30 minutes in Soft Space Wellness’ sauna at Bow Market (the membership deals are pretty sweet, too). 

🧘 Skip that bougie hot yoga class. And try this $8 community yoga sesh on Dec. 20. Bonus: 50% of the proceeds will go to a local charity. <3

🤑 Visit the ultimate vintage sale. Most clothes at Found Vintage will be 50% now through Dec. 21 before it closes for the holidays, so … GET ON IT!

🥂 Cheers to a sweet holiday deal. Psst! The Greatest Winter Wonderland is giving all B-Siders 20% off its holiday movie brunch on Dec. 21. Expect a glass of bubbly, a festive Santa hat, and a hearty breakfast buffet with your ticket. Just use code BSIDE here.

🎄 Deck the halls with DIY ornaments. Missed your gift-shopping window? Make your own holiday ornament for someone you love at The Lilypad’s ornament-making pop-up on Dec. 21 — only $10 per ornament!

Name a bigger Boston flex than being married by the voice of the T. We’ll wait. 

As a pair of certified MBTA fanatics, local couple Alex Cox and Grace Atherton planned to get a Cameo from Frank Oglesby Jr. (the former voice of the T) welcoming guests to their wedding reception. Which, BTW, would make an incredible Christmas gift ...

But after a nudge from Atherton, Cox — an MBTA employee and MBTA Guinness World Record holder — decided to go big or go home and sent Oglesby Jr. a LinkedIn message asking if he’d officiate instead. Spoiler: He said yes!

The ceremony was a hit, and afterwards, guests even took the 71 and 73 buses to the reception, which were decked out with a “just married” sign.

You can read the whole wedding story here.

— Written by Gia Orsino, Emily Schario, and Claire Nicholas

🚇 Thanks for reading! Let this be a lesson in shooting your shot.

💜 Special shoutout to today’s sponsor, the Malden Gaming District, for supporting local journalism and keeping Boston nights out easy. 

💋 The results are in: With 50% of the vote, Coldplaygate is the runaway winner of the B-Side people’s choice award for wackiest story of 2025. One reader said: “I don’t think any of us were really that surprised about Tom Brady’s dog.” Honestly, fair.

📝 Programming note: This is our last (full) newsletter of the year! We’ll be back in your inbox tomorrow and later this month with shorter, things to do-focused sends, but otherwise, we’ll see you all in January. Have a great holiday!

💃 Keep up with us @BostonBSide on IG, TikTok, and Twitter. Send comments and suggestions to [email protected] or [email protected].