Photo by @enchantsanjose on Instagram
San Francisco draws endless crowds during the holidays, and it’s no wonder why — from the Union Square ice rink to the Fairmont’s two-story gingerbread house, there’s enough holiday spirit in the air to cheer up even the grumpiest Scrooge. For those who seek some inspiration to start planning around Christmas time, we’ve made a list and checked it twice. Read on for your ultimate guide to the holidays in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Need more ideas? Read our guides for things to do this December and things to do this winter in the Bay Area.
Photo by Andrew Angelov on Shutterstock
Is it really winter without a day of ice skating at a charming local rink? See how much skill you’ve retained since last year by zooming (or hobbling) around one of the Bay Area’s most popular ice rinks.
@enchantsanjose on Instagram
Holiday spirit is already in the air and the crafters of San Francisco are working at full throttle to sell their wares! We’ve gone ahead and rounded up some of the best holiday markets, craft fairs, and more in the San Francisco Bay Area, perfect for finding some memorable and unique gifts for your loved ones.
Julie Pimentel via Flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0
San Francisco has so many gorgeous holiday trees up these days, it’s hard to keep track. We decided to round up the best ones, so you can catch them all before the season ends! Have you seen all of these glittering trees? Here are some of our favorites.
Palace Hotel – The Palace Hotel has one of the most beautiful lobbies in the city, made even more impressive with its colorful and ornate Christmas tree.
World Tree of Hope at Grace Cathedral – The largest origami Christmas tree in the world.
Pier 39 – A 60-foot live tree with shifting light patterns and colors.
See more SF Christmas tree displays here
Photo by @michaelhruska3141, courtesy of Union Square
When you think of Christmas time in San Francisco, you probably first picture Union Square. During the holidays this area comes to life with expansive holiday decorations and attractions. Look for the famous Union Square Ice Rink, the return of the multi-street Winter Walk, Macy’s SFSPCA Holiday Windows, SantaCon, the Bill Graham Menorah, and the towering Christmas tree. Read our full guide to Union Square during the holidays here.
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5. Attend a magical classical concert lit by hundreds of twinkling candles
Candlelight Concerts
Celebrate the holiday season by immersing yourself in a candlelit concert paying tribute to some of the most popular Christmas classics. Traditional carols and timeless compositions are being brought to life at SF’s International Art Museum of America. Find your seat at one of these Candlelight holiday specials and ring in the most wonderful time of the year on a festive note.
Courtesy of Thrive City
This popular holiday activation at Chase Center include a North Pole mailbox to send letters to Santa, nightly “snowfall,” and a series of special events on select days in December. Details are still TBA, but in the past they’ve hosted a “Noon Year’s Eve” celebration for kids on Dec. 31st and free ice skating.
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Via Fairmont San Francisco
One of San Francisco’s most celebrated holiday installations is the two-story gingerbread house at the Fairmont Hotel. The fascinating creation is 22 feet tall, composed of thousands of gingerbread bricks and gallons of royal icing.
A team of engineers, builders, and of course pastry chefs began planning this year’s gingerbread house back in July. Each year, the life-size Victorian structure takes 520 hours to build, light, and outfit with thousands of pieces of candy. It’s created using over 8,000 baked 12×4 inch gingerbread cookie bricks, cemented together and decorated with a mountain of royal icing which requires 150 gallons of egg whites and 1,000 pounds of powdered sugar to make.
????️ Dates: Opening Nov. 23, 2024
Courtesy of SF Parks Alliance, Photo by William Tracy
Make sure you pay a visit soon to Charles Gadeken’s Entwined, a sprawling immersive LED light installation in Golden Gate Park’s Peacock Meadow. The whimsical installation transforms Peacock Meadow into an otherworldly ecosystem of glowing trees, bushes, and other natural elements created from colorful pixel-like LED lights. The trees range from 8-20 feet tall, accompanied by dozens of glowing flower clusters and bushes to create a beautiful meadow landscape.
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Courtesy of SantaCon SF
Grab your red coat and reindeer because SantaCon is coming to town. Celebrating its 28th year, SantaCon is hosted in 70+ cities around the world, with the vast majority of them taking place around the US. The goal of the event is to bring together fun-loving Santa enthusiasts and revelers for a holiday bar crawl across SF. SantaCon is free and open to all adults over 21 and is not a kid-friendly event.
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Flux by Collectif Scale. Photo by Ricardo Nunes, courtesy of the Exploratorium
The Exploratorium’s visitor-favorite GLOW light art exhibition always wows visitors with compelling sculptural pieces that manipulate light and darkness in creative ways. Last year’s exhibition expanded the showcase with artworks that allowed visitors to compose music with light, play experimental LED dungeon crawlers, discover hidden crystals, and more.
????️ Dates: Nov. 21, 2024 – Jan. 26, 2025
Courtesy of the San Francisco Ballet
Nutcracker is a classic holiday ballet that is beloved by audiences all over the world — in fact, it’s the most performed ballet in the country. Every year, the SF Ballet’s Nutcracker draws large crowds who want to partake in the holiday festivities, and you can reserve your tickets now.
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12. Look out for Christmas activities, events, and decorations at Ghirardelli Square
Photo by Ghirardelli Square on Facebook
One of the coziest escapes in the city is Ghirardelli Square, which is a must for shoppers on any day of the year, but turns up the charm during the holidays. In December get ready for special events at the square including a menorah lighting and Santa visits throughout the month.
Photo courtesy of The Westin St. Francis
The Westin St. Francis is known for its enormous sugar castle on display during the holidays, an extravagant sweet creation towering 12 feet above the lobby. Watch a miniature train circle the castle, which is surrounded by a giant pile of presents and glimmering holiday trees. Last year the castle introduced an AR experience in which you can explore the enchanting “inside” of the sugar castle using your phone.
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Courtesy of Chase Center
There are so many holiday activities happening in and around San Francisco that it can be hard to know where to start. We did a deep-dive into the best kid-friendly holiday and Christmas activities so you can make the most of this time of year with the kids in your life.
Courtesy of SF Symphony
Don’t forget to get tickets to the best upcoming holiday and Christmas concerts in San Francisco. Here are a few we have our eye on.
Candlelight concerts – These stunning classical concerts by candlelight are excellent, especially during the holidays.
Grace Cathedral performances – Grace Cathedral is bringing a great lineup of musical performances, both Christmas-related and not.
SF Symphony – You can’t go wrong with a performance by SF Symphony, and their lineup for the holidays is unparalleled.
Deck the Halls Bar
The holidays have arrived and bars across SF are dressing up for the occasion. These holiday pop-up bars capture the joy, nostalgia, and celebratory atmosphere of the holiday season, plus lots of tasty cocktails.
Miracle at PCH – SF’s beloved holiday pop-up bar returns with even more exciting cocktails and thousands of colored lights.
Deck the Halls bar – Another popular holiday pop-up bar on Union Street with fiery Krampus shots.
Glowfari 2021. Photo courtesy of Oakland Zoo
Glowfari is Oakland Zoo’s immersive light show of epic proportions featuring dozens of stunning lantern displays in a totally unique holiday light experience. Glowfari is a local favorite for both kids and adults, and we look forward to seeing it every single year.
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Photo by Stan Davis, courtesy of Christmas in the Park
Each year Lake Cunningham Park in San Jose is decked out with 2 acres of sparkling holiday lights decorated by local schools, businesses, and community groups.
You can explore the displays via their beloved drive-thru experience which invites guests to take a trip through a glowing winter wonderland; or via the Downtown Park Walk-Through with plenty of exhibits and more at Cesar Chavez Plaza.
????️ Dates: Drive-through opens Nov. 21, 2024. Downtown displays open Nov. 29, 2024
Via Ruth Bancroft Garden
Each year, the Ruth Bancroft Garden adorns the plants with multicolored lights, lasers, and more, transforming the already spectacular 3.5 acre space into an otherworldly outdoor adventure. Guests can stroll through the beautiful glowing gardens for 1-1.5 hours to discover countless photo ops and exciting displays.
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Photo by Koptervisio, courtesy of Filoli
Holidays at Filoli is one of the Bay Area’s most beautiful and lesser-known light displays, taking place at Filoli Estate & Gardens in Woodside. Thousands of glittering lights will adorn the garden’s trees, plants, and hedges for a must-see experience. One of the centerpieces at Holidays at Filoli is a 210-foot-long light tunnel where you’ll find yourself surrounded by sparkling lights on all sides.
????️ Dates: Nov. 16, 2024 – Jan. 12, 2025
Photo by @enchantsanjose on Instagram
When it comes to holiday light displays in the Bay Area, it’s hard to beat this enormous Christmas maze and ice skating rink in San Jose. Enchant San Jose will soon take over PayPal Park, and it’s the place to be if you (like us) have caught an extreme case of holiday cheer.
Enchant is essentially a massive glittering winter wonderland rife with photo opportunities and fun activities. Explore a giant glowing light maze with larger-than-life reindeer, a 100-foot Christmas tree, and endless interactive elements.
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Photo by Lucas Bierbower, courtesy of The Vault Garden
San Francisco is full of lovely romantic places to have a date, from fine dining to intimate outdoor adventures. Are you looking for cozy, fun winter date ideas in the San Francisco Bay Area with a partner? Read on to get inspired.
23. Hop aboard these festive holiday train rides around the Bay Area
Photo by @roaringcamp on Instagram
The Bay Area has a handful of seasonal train journeys that you can reserve this year.
Nov. 29 – Dec. 23, 2024: Santa Train Jolly Journeys with the Napa Valley Wine Train – Take a merry voyage through wine country with these holiday train rides that feature Santa visits, dinner experiences, and more.
Nov. 29 – Dec. 23, 2024: Roaring Camp – Speed down the coast to Santa Cruz on a vintage train decked out with holiday lights. There’s also a specialty Chanukah train ride happening on Jan. 2, 2025.
Photo by Kirk McCoy. Courtesy of Meritage Resort & Spa
Every year, Bay Area hotels fully embrace the holiday season with specialized events, decorations, and more. The wine country Meritage Resort & Spa in Napa is no exception and will be bringing back its popular winter village throughout the holiday season. The festive wonderland contains an ice rink, fire pits and s’mores, VIP igloos, Santa story time, and more.
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Courtesy of Four Seasons
The Four Seasons in Palo Alto is known to host a gorgeous pop-up winter wonderland called Après Village, which is the ultimate holiday escape every year. Some of the best attractions include semi-private chalets with roaring fireplaces, flat-screen TVs, and blankets; a holiday sweet shop; and a giant snow globe and life-size sleigh for endless photo ops. And of course, don’t forget to take a spin on the Après skate rink.
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@raredevice via Instagram
San Francisco is full of independently owned shops and boutiques where you can find the perfect items for friends and family during the holidays. Instead of heading straight to the mall, take a stroll down one of these charming SF streets that are simply packed with local shops and pleasant surprises.
Noe Valley Bakery
The holiday season calls for something sweet, and bakeries across SF are baking delicious holiday desserts and other treats just for the occasion. Ranging from rich chocolate babka to powdered sugar-dusted stollen, these treats are sure to be a hit at your next holiday gathering.
Michel Stockman on Unsplash
The holiday season is here and for many folks that means that it’s time to decorate. Whether you’re looking for a festive wreath or a full Christmas tree, here are some great Christmas tree lots around the Bay Area where you’ll find the perfect fit.
@prasannapilakaphotography on Instagram
We’re sure this list activities will help you close 2024 out on a high note. Here are a few articles to help you make the most of New Year’s Eve so you can start 2025 in style!
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