Make the most of this holiday season with local experiences that will inspire your family all year long at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). Visitors 18 and younger are always free at SFMOMAExplore 7 floors of modern and contemporary art, plus amenities like onsite dining and the SFMOMA Museum Store with unique toys and learning tools for your family to discover.

Time is running out to see Diego Rivera’s Americaon view through January 3, 2023. Step into larger-than-life works with immersive projections of Rivera’s iconic murals, and enjoy original paintings, drawings, frescoes and more. Then experience Bay Area landmarks through a new perspective with the art of local legend Joan Brown. Enjoy over 80 colorful paintings and sculptures at the intersection of fantasy and whimsy. On view starting Saturday, November 19, 2022.

Art is for everyone. There’s plenty to see and do with your child at SFMOMA! Learn more to prepare and make the most of your visit.

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
151 3rd St
SF, CA 94103
Online: sfmoma.org/

Christmas in the Park has been helping families make memories in downtown San Jose for over 40 years at Plaza de Cesar Chavez. With more than 30 displays, over 300 decorated trees, free visits with Santa, rides for the little ones, and the best hot chocolate in town – there’s something for everyone. And it’s free. (The wine and beer in the new Park Tavern isn’t free. Sorry.)

We are a non profit, producing what many say is the largest holiday event in Northern California. We keep it free in part by funds raised from our Drive Through experience around Lake Cunningham. Tickets are only $30 per vehicle for over a mile of lights programmed to classic and not so classic holiday songs.

Wanna have breakfast with the Big Guy? Visits with Santa are guaranteed at our Breakfast with Santa on Dec. 10. More information about our Park, our Drive Through experience, and Breakfast with Santa can be found here.

The Park is open downtown the day after Thanksgiving to Jan 2. Santa is in the Park most every evening. Check our website for Santa’s hours. And don’t forget to buy a ticket for the drive through!

Christmas in the Park
Email: info@christmasinthepark,com
Phone: (408) 271-9627
Online: christmasinthepark.com/

Evenings in late December sparkle with the return of Fairy Winterland at Children’s Fairyland in Oakland. This magical multicultural event brings families together to share in the season’s festivities and explore decked out halls gleaming with thousands of twinkly lights.

Flying in from the North Pole, Black Santa is coming to the Town. Visitors have the magical chance to visit Black Santa before his big night or say “thank you” the days following Christmas. After sharing holiday wishes and snapping photos, children receive a special treat and can join him each evening at 6:30 p.m. for the Festival of Lights Parade. While at the park, drop your child’s “Letter to Santa” in the mailbox at the Chapel of Peace. We’ll make sure he sees every single one.

While you walk through Fairy Winterland, enjoy a culturally-inclusive holiday scavenger hunt, special performances, and a snow flurry in the Old West Junction. And, yes, you’ll be able to cozy up with a complimentary cup of hoto cocoa or cider.

Tickets go on sale November 10: fairyland.org

When to visit: 

December 16 to 30, 2022

4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Park closed December 24 and 25

General admission: $18

Members: $9

Children’s Fairyland
699 Bellevue Ave
Oakland, CA 94610
Email: marketing@fairyland.org
Phone: (510) 452-2259​
Online: fairyland.org

Photo by: Kevin Berne

“The best Christmas Carol ever . . . a guaranteed good time”—KCBS Radio

New for 2022: Special pricing for kids 17 and under. A Christmas Carol is the perfect show for all ages!

It’s been a long time since you last experienced A.C.T.’s celebrated production of the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol. Featuring a lively cast of dozens, delightful music, gorgeous costumes, and those deliciously spooky ghosts, the Bay Area’s favorite holiday tradition returns home. This version of A Christmas Carol—adapted by Paul Walsh and Carey Perloff—stays true to the heart of Dickens’s timeless story of redemption and brings a playful sensibility to his rich language. A Christmas Carol is a decades-long cornerstone of the A.C.T. repertory and has become a holiday tradition for families all around the San Francisco Bay Area. This acclaimed holiday event is finally back and we can’t wait to see you there!

American Conservatory Theater
415 Geary St
SF, CA 94102
Email: tickets@act-sf.org
Phone: (415) 749-2228
Online: act-sf.org/

‘Tis the season for LEGOLAND® Discovery Center Bay Area’s family favorite, Holiday Bricktacular event! Come explore an indoor playground filled with all kinds of LEGO® holiday-themed creations made up of thousands of LEGO bricks. We’ve got one-of-a-kind bricktastic holiday activities that you can only enjoy at the attraction!

  • MINILAND Bay Area Holiday Transformation – Discover the Bay Area created completely out of LEGO and spot the holiday magic spread throughout the place just for Bricktacular.
  • The Search for the LEGO Gingerbread Man – Have you seen the Gingerbread Man? We hear that the Gingerbread Man is hiding around the attraction… Can you tell us where he is? One day he was hanging out at NINJAGO and then someone saw him by the 4D Theater! Post a picture when you see him and you may just get a reward!
  • Do you want to build a Snowflake? – Come to the Creative Workshop and join the play makers create a LEGO snowflake.
  • Gingerbread Dance Party – Put your hands up, wiggle your feet, and dance with the Gingerbread Man at the Build Challenge Circle!

Experience these and more! Celebrate the most wonderful time of the year with you family and friends at LEGOLAND Discovery Center Bay Area!

LEGOLAND Discovery Center Bay Area
870 Great Mall Dr
Milpitas, CA 95035
Email: BayArea@LEGOLANDDiscoveryCenter.com
Online: LEGOLANDDiscoveryCenter.com/BayArea/

Nestled in the scenic Marin Headlands of Sausalito is the world’s largest marine mammal hospital, The Marine Mammal Center. This holiday season, you’ll want to bring your friends and family to visit this non-profit’s ocean-view center where you can dive into all things ocean.

Watch animal care experts give rescued seals and sea lions life-saving care so they can be released back to the wild, peek into our laboratory to learn more about our scientific research, explore interactive exhibits that give you a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to rescue hundreds of marine mammals every year and hear inspiring stories of marine mammal survival on a Guided Tour. Plus, you’ll discover how you can take action to protect marine mammals and our ocean.

You can also shop for the perfect present at our Gift Store. You’ll find ocean-friendly gifts for all ages from one-of-a-kind apparel to sustainable goods, with all proceeds supporting this life-saving work. You can even go home with your very own marine mammal – symbolically of course! When you adopt a released patient through our Adopt-a-Seal® program, you’ll give the next sick or injured animal a second chance at life.

Don’t wait! Book your tickets today!

The Marine Mammal Center
2000 Bunker Rd
Sausalito, CA 94965
Email: info@tmmc.org
Phone: (415) 289-7325
Online: marinemammalcenter.org/

Explore, test, tinker, and create with over 150 interactive exhibits focusing on the sciences, humanities, arts, nature, and health. The Purple Museum sparks learning through play and provides endless hours of family fun, whether it’s creating an enormous bubble in Bill’s Backyard, blasting objects with air pressure in Amazing AirMaze, igniting scientific inquiry in Mammoth Discovery!, or splashing around while sending balls soaring on jets of water in WaterWays. Outside adventures are a plenty in the half-acre nature space where your kids can scale the tree climber, scoop and shovel gravel in the Dig Pit, build a fort, and climb the lookout tower. Just follow Discovery Duck back to the happiest place in San Jose!

Cultural Celebrations this winter include Dia De Los Muertos on November 5th, 2022, Menorahs and Miracles Jewish Celebration on Dec 4th, 2022, and El Dia De Los Tres Reyes Magos on Jan 7th, 2023. We will have special performances and hands-on art activities related to each of our cultural celebrations for the whole family to enjoy!

Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose
180 Woz Way
San Jose, CA 95110
Phone: (408) 298-5437
Online: cdm.org

Celebrate the season where inspiration glows during Holidays at Filoli. Every day November 19, 2022- January 8, 2023, from 10am-9pm Holidays at Filoli visitors are invited to make special memories, bask in the vibrant landscape, and spend time together. Step into the magic of Filoli’s historic House adorned in Holiday cheer and explore the winter Garden, where 16-acres of Garden glitter from day till night.

Nestled in the luminous landscape, the Woodland Court beckons with mulled wine, hot cider, coffee, and crackling firepits. This perfect spot to warm up in the winter chill is framed by glowing lights and festive decor, where groups of friends and family can be found snuggled close. On select Santa Days in December, Father Christmas sits in his golden throne in the Woodland Garden ready for you and your little ones to snap a photo and meet the big man himself. Experience the wonder during Holidays at Filoli!

Filoli
86 Cañada Rd
Redwood City, CA 94062
Online: filoli.org

Photo by: CuriOdyssey

CuriOdyssey announces the return of a family favorite event entitled IlluminOdyssey’s Science of Light exhibition. In its sixth year, the immersive installation will feature several classic exhibits along with all-new offerings. This beloved annual tradition historically attracts over 40,000 visitors during the holiday season. Inspired by the science of light, this amazing exhibition will thrill guests with fascinating works of interactive luminosity and kid-friendly glowing art.

All facets of this family-friendly exhibition focus on the beauty and characteristics of light with four levels to explore. The exhibit will include opportunities for families to learn how filtering creates opportunities to blend colored light like paint.

IlluminOdyssey offers visitors multiple chances to become scientists for a day. Create luminous line drawings. Use hands as stencils to freeze shadows. Observe complex glowing wave patterns. Create a surprising mosaic or animate a three-dimensional sculpture. Learn about light, photoluminescence, color, additive light mixing, waves, fluorescence, fluid dynamics, subtractive color mixing, and geometry.

Admission includes IlluminOdyssey.

Mention this ad to win a free membership.

CuriOdyssey
Online: https://curiodyssey.org/

Photo by: Peter Marcus

Sing along with your favorite holiday carols as the toys of St. Nicholas’s workshop lead you on an extraordinary journey, filling children, young and old, with the joys of the season. Festive for families!

Since 1947, Christmas at Grace Cathedral has offered an ideal way to ring in the season, with magnificent music, a majestic setting, and astonishing acoustics. Experience the deep connection between spirit and art at Grace Cathedral this Christmas.

Presto! Interactive Opera was created in 2009 by Jennifer Ashworth and Kristen Jones, with the goal of bringing performances for children (and adults!) off the stage and into the community. Bringing together a talented cast of professional musicians, Presto!’s ensemble hails from theater, opera, and cabaret, working together to create unforgettable performances filled with music, energy, and fun. Sing You a Merry Christmas was commissioned by the Ghiberti Center for Culture at Grace Cathedral in 2011.

Find out about our  Christmas Services  and other Christmas concertsA Cathedral Christmas, Brass and Organ Christmas, and  Soulful Joy.

Grace Cathedral
1100 California St
SF, CA 94108
Online: gracecathedral.org/