Amanda and Travis Hanshew of Coastal Occasions party supply and rental shop are the Seaside Outlet Mall’s newest tenants, opening three weeks ago in the former storefront of Bruce’s Candy Kitchen. And they are just in time for the holidays.

“We’ve only been open not even three weeks,” Amanda Hanshew told members of the Seaside Chamber of Commerce at the group’s Wednesday morning meeting. “We’re still putting it together as we go. But we’re having a lot of fun with it. It’s been a blast.”

The Hanshews hail from Yakima, Washington, where they were born and raised.

“When we decided we wanted to move away, we said, ‘Why not move to the place that makes us happy?’” Amanda said.

The couple moved here about seven-and-a-half years ago with their two children, one now a freshman in high school and another in third grade. They chose Seaside because that’s where they went on vacation growing up.

Amanda started work at the Outlet Mall, before working as a front desk manager for the Tolovana Inn in Cannon Beach.

“I was there for several years until I came back to the mall,” she said.

The store offers party supplies, housewarming gifts, gift baskets and craft items, and everything for parties. “I like to make things,” she said. “I like to be crafty, playful, I’ve always liked parties — I always go overboard on parties.”

Coastal Occasions is open seven days a week, through the holidays, during mall hours, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m; 1111 N. Roosevelt Dr., Suite 320; 503-717-5719

‘I always go overboard on parties.’

— Amanda Hanshew