Are you looking for Christmas activities in San Francisco? Below is a comprehensive guide to a variety of Christmas activities in San Francisco created by a local. If you would like to expand your horizons beyond the city limits there are literally tons of fantastic Christmas events in Bay Area in very close proximity to San Francisco. The only problem is that one month of December is not enough to visit all these attractions and participate in all the activities – so don’t forget to save this article for next year! 😉
My list of Christmas activities in San Francisco is organized by the City “neighborhoods” so that when you are in the vicinity of one you can hit several attractions at the same time and make a day out of it.
Christmas activities in San Francisco – UNION SQUARE
There are several Christmas activities in San Francisco going on at or nearby Union Square, namely:
- Visit Union Square itself to enjoy an ice rink and a huge decorated Christmas tree. The opening ceremony of Union Square Christmas festivities is usually on the Friday after Thanksgiving.
- Right across Geary street from Union Square is San Francisco’s flagship Macy’s store. Macy’s Holidays Celebration is a 2 months festival starting November 1. You can find the details of various events HERE. My favorite event in San Francisco’s Macy’s is the window displays: cute puppies and kittens available for adoption are waiting for you! Hurry up!
- One block away from Union Square on Geary Street is A.C.T. Geary Theater which presents Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” from the end of November till December 24.
- The Westin St. Francis Hotel across the Powell Street from Union Square has its own unique holiday traditions. An enormous (12 feet high!) Sugar Castle appears in the Hotel’s Lobby in the last days of November created by Westin St. Francis Executive Pastry Chef. Though the Sugar Castle is off limits in terms of tasting you can satisfy your sugar cravings at the Hotel’s holiday Sweet Boutique offering holiday cookies, gingerbread men, shortbread, macaroons and much more. For a complete Christmas package try St. Francis Holiday Tea – traditional English High Tea with a holiday flare.
- Five blocks away from Union Square there is another San Francisco’s famous hotel – Fairmont San Francisco. Fairmont presents its own edible wonder – two stories high life-sized gingerbread house made from more than 6000 gingerbread bricks. Fairmont also hosts holiday tea called “Gingerbread Tea” during the month of December. One thing to note about visiting Fairmont: if you plan to get there from Union Square it will be an uphill battle, literally. This hotel sits on top of a huge hill and walking 5 blocks up at a rather steep incline was a long and painful endeavor. I strongly suggest either taking a cable car on Powell Street (bonus fun ride but it may be crowded) or any other means of transportation if you are walking with kids.
- Two blocks to the West from Fairmont Hotel is the fabulous Grace Cathedral, one of the biggest and most beautiful cathedrals in San Francisco. It has many great Christmas performances lined up for the month of December. Families should not miss “Sing you a Merry Christmas” Christmas carols sing-along.
Christmas activities in San Francisco – CITY HALL
There are multiple Christmas activities in San Francisco in the vicinity of the City Hall (also called Civic Center)
- The entire building of the City Hall itself is traditionally illuminated with 220 powerful red and green lights every evening during the Christmas season. It is a view to behold! The park across from City Hall is transformed into Winter Park. Winter Park will have dozens of illuminated trees and two ice skating options: a traditional ice rink and a skating track that winds through the illuminated “forest”.
- Davies Symphony Hall is a home of San Francisco Symphony and it is located just across the street from the City Hall. Its December calendar is full of various holiday performances (in 2019 there are 11 different performances scheduled). You can watch a holiday movie classic accompanied by the orchestra or sing along to carols or enjoy some treats and crafts at the annual family event, “Deck the Halls” and much more. Some of the performances are annual traditions like Charlie Brown Christmas screening or the aforesaid “Deck the Halls” event. Others are unique to this specific season. Our kids favorite is “Deck the Halls”, not only you get to listen to a one hour festive concert but also meet some holiday characters, enjoy the Hall adorned with dozens of uniquely decorated Christmas trees, munch on free holiday cookies and sip hot chocolate – all included with the price of your ticket.
- Right next to the Davis Hall is San Francisco Opera House which presents its own traditional Christmas performance – Nutcracker Ballet by San Francisco Ballet. There are several venues in Bay Area that stage Nutcracker production during the holiday season but none trumps San Francisco Ballet. This is a full length production (unlike some other abridged ones that are created specifically for families with small kids)
Christmas activities in San Francisco – EMBARCADERO
When I refer to “Embarcadero” area of San Francisco I mean roughly 1 mile strip of Embarcadero Street from the Ferry Building to Pier 39 and then another half a mile or so from Pier 39 to Ghirardelli Square. If you stroll along Embarcadero and then Jefferson Street you will encounter several Christmas related points of interest:
- Holiday Ice Rink at Embarcadero Center across from the Ferry Building usually opens early November. It is the biggest outdoor ice rink in San Francisco Bay Area.
- After ice skating stroll to Pier 39 to partake in their Holiday Magic. At the entrance to the Pier you can view 60 ft high elaborately decorated Christmas tree as well as 9 ft Menorah which will be lighted each evening December 12-20. Holiday landscaping will be installed along the Pier too. On the second Friday of December Pier 39 will be a starting point for the holiday lighted boats parade, a San Francisco tradition since 1994. You can watch the parade anywhere from Pier 39 to Crissy Field.
- Ghirardelli Square is home to its own giant Christmas tree and Ghirardelli’s Chocolate flagship store. Come during the holiday season to enjoy some delicious Ghirardelli hot chocolate and buy the famous chocolate, which would be a great holiday stockings stuffer for all your friends and family.
Christmas activities in San Francisco – GOLDEN GATE PARK
- California Academy of Sciences rings in the holiday season with its traditional yearly event called ‘Tis the Season For Science. Come see exhibits about the life on the Pole and learn how animals adapt to life in harsh environment, meet a couple of Santa’s live (!) reindeer and even enjoy some snow under the dome. Don’t miss daily story time for kids Monday – Friday. This events runs from late November to early January
- California Academy of Science will also have an outdoor ice rink open during the time of ‘Tis the Season For Science event.
- Conservatory of Flowers will host a Night Bloom event from the end of November till beginning of January. The conservatory will be illuminated inside and out with unique light displays.
Christmas activities in San Francisco – THE OUTLIERS
There are a couple of Christmas activities in San Francisco that are not clustered with any other activities but are still worth your full attention:
- San Francisco Zoo – in the years past, San Francisco Zoo was famous for organizing ZooLights evening event during select weekends in December. This year, as I confirmed with the Zoo, ZooLights will not take place but there will be some day time activities which are not unveiled yet to the public. Stay tuned! I will up-date this portion of the article as soon as I know the details. Oakland Zoo will be hosting its ZooLights event so you can go there instead. Here is some additional helpful information about San Francisco Bay Area Zoos.
- The Walt Disney Family Museum invites you to view the yearly special exhibition called Home for the Holidays at Carolwood. It presents a scale model of Walt Disney’s estate in Los Angeles decorated and illuminated for the holidays. To learn more about this unique place check out my earlier article about the Walt Disney Family Museum.
- The theater at Children Creativity Museum will traditionally present a Christmas themed musical for kids by Bay Area Children’s Theater. The performance usually runs on weekends through the month of December. Each year the performance is different, for instance, this year it will be “Construction Site on Christmas Night”. For details, please, visit BACT website.
Additional tips about Christmas activities in San Francisco
- Buy tickets for performances well in advance – they do sell out early.
- Weather in San Francisco can be much colder and foggier than elsewhere on the Peninsular or East and South Bay- dress warmly, especially you are planning for evening time outdoor Christmas activities in San Francisco such as ice skating.
- Parking is always an issue in San Francisco – here is a useful resource with all parking information you may need.
Are you visiting San Francisco from out of town? Check out current great deals on local hotels at Booking.com
If you are looking for great holiday travel destinations you may also find inspiration from the following articles of mine:
If you found this information about Christmas activities in San Francisco useful, please do me a little favor and share this information with others, for there’s a good chance that it will help them with their travel plans. 🙂 Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram where I post many more cool photos and videos about our trips than I could include in a blog post and organize some nice giveaways!
