Victorian London fills more than 140,000 square feet of the Cow Palace at The Great Dickens Christmas Fair, pubs, lamplit lanes, and costumed characters included. Christmas around San Francisco tends to go its own way like that: Lightscape winds a one-mile trail through the Botanical Garden, Let's Glow SF projects animated art onto the Ferry Building, and Kung Pao Kosher Comedy brings Jewish stand-up to a Chinese restaurant on Christmas. Corrections and suggestions are always welcome by email, and we keep adding events until the 2026 season wraps up.
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San Francisco Holiday Light Displays
- Lightscape at San Francisco Botanical Garden
- Let's Glow SF
- Union Square Christmas Tree & Ice Rink
- Oakland Glowfari Lantern Festival
- Niles Canyon Railway Train of Lights
- Pier 39 Tree Lighting and Waterfront Lights
- Fairmont San Francisco Gingerbread House
- Holidays at Filoli
- Garden of D'Lights
- Dazzling Holiday Lights
- 36th Annual Building Lighting Ceremony & Carnival
- Castro Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony
- Santa Lights the Square featuring SF Boys Chorus
- San Carlos Night of Holiday Lights
- Christmas at Temple Hill
- Marin Art and Garden Center Winter Wonderland
- Bay Street Tree Lighting
- Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony
- It's a Wonderful Night Holiday Celebration
- Holidays at The Park
- Holiday Tree Lighting / Winter Wonderland Event
- Light Up the Night
San Francisco Markets and Shopping
- The Great Dickens Christmas Fair
- Renegade Craft Fair San Francisco Winter
- Twas the Night Fairyland's Holiday Market
- Fern Alley Music Series: Lower Polk Holiday Market
- Holiday Boutique and Artisan Craft Fair
- Mercatino di Natale (Italian Christmas Market)
- North Beach Holiday Night Market
- The Guardsmen Christmas Tree Lot
- Mission Bay Holiday Market
- Mad Hatter Holiday Festival & Parade
- Gamble Garden Winter Festival
- Redwood City Hometown Holidays
- 63rd Annual Holiday Arts Festival
- Makers Market™ Local Artist Holiday Street Fair
- Bedford Gallery Craft Fest
- Holiday Faire
- Handcrafted Holiday Sale
- 10th Annual Holiday Show
- Novato Holiday Crafts Faire
- Downtown Alameda Winter Market
- Christmas at Kohl Holiday Boutique
- Holiday Parade & Market
- 45th Annual Alameda Holiday Boutique
- Pacifica Winter Elf Market
- Holiday Arts & Crafts Sale
San Francisco Shows and Entertainment
- San Francisco Ballet Nutcracker
- The Golden Girls Live: The Christmas Episodes
- Smuin's The Christmas Ballet
- Kung Pao Kosher Comedy
- Handel Messiah
- Holidays with Bernadette Peters and the San Francisco Symphony
- Graham Lustig's The Nutcracker
- Holiday Gaiety
- A John Waters Christmas
- San Francisco Symphony Holiday Concerts
- Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir 40th Anniversary Holiday Concert
- The Nutcracker Suite
- Marin Ballet: Nutcracker
- Tomaseen Foley's A Celtic Christmas 2026
- Robin Hood of the Reservoir: A Holiday Panto
- Berkeley Rep Holiday Production
- Make the Yuletide Gay! 2026
- St Peter's Chapel Candlelight Evening Concert "Voices of Peace on Earth"
- OIYC 28th Holiday Concert: Yuletide Youth
- TheatreWorks Silicon Valley Holiday
- The Nutcracker
- Contra Costa Ballet's The Nutcracker
San Francisco Fun and Events
- Yerba Buena Gardens Holiday Tree Lighting
- Sausalito Lighted Boat Parade & Fireworks
- Holidays at the Mark: Festive Dining and Magical Tea
- San Francisco SantaCon Bar Crawl 2026
- Ice Skating at Embarcadero Center
- California Academy of Sciences Holiday
- Glow: The Art of Light
- Santa Arrives by Helicopter!
- Walnut Creek on Ice
- San Mateo On Ice
- Holiday Heroes presented by Zenni
- Winter on Solano Avenue
- Children's Fairyland Fairy Winterland
- Santa Skivvies Run
- New Year's Eve San Francisco NYE Bar Crawl - Party Pass 10+ Venues
- Holiday Crafting Like Never Before 2026
- Kristi Yamaguchi Holiday Ice Rink
- It's a Wonderful Life in Lafayette Holiday Celebration
- Santa Comes to Town
- Holiday Parade of Lights & Tree Lighting
- Dublin Annual Holiday Tree Lighting
- Hanukkah Community Celebration
- Winter at Wonderland - Tree Lighting Celebration
- Santa Claus at Shadelands Ranch
- City of Concord's Annual Tree Lighting & Mayor's Sing-Along
- Breakfast with Santa
- Holiday Tree Lighting at Lytton Plaza
- Hillsdale Shopping Center Tree Lighting
- Annual Reindeer Run-Walk 5k/10k