San Francisco Bay Area family weekend planner
Holiday events in San Francisco Bay Area: lights, Santa and Christmas shows
Holiday events in San Francisco Bay Area for 2026: 13 listings across 8 cities — light displays, Santa visits, tree lightings, Nutcracker shows, markets and New Year's Eve, from official calendars.
The Bay Area's family calendar is unusually library-heavy: branch storytimes, craft afternoons and park-district programs run almost every weekday, and most are free. Weekends shift toward farmers' markets, shoreline paths and museum family days, but the drive between San Francisco, the East Bay, the Peninsula and the South Bay is the real constraint — pick one side of the bay per outing rather than chaining stops across it.
What's on this weekend in San Francisco Bay Area →
Light displays and lantern walks
- Holiday Lights at Filoli — Filoli Historic House & Garden, Woodside · Nov 14
- Christmas in the Park — Plaza de Cesar Chavez, San Jose · Nov 27 · Free
Santa visits and tree lightings
- Tree Lighting & Mayor's Sing-Along — Todos Santos Plaza, Concord · Dec 4
Nutcracker and holiday shows
- Performance: Nutcracker Sweets Ballet with Mark Foehringer Dance Project — Visitacion Valley, San Francisco · Nov 16 · Free
- Performance: Mark Foehringer's Nutcracker Sweets — Sunset, San Francisco · Nov 18 · Free
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas at Cinemark — Cinemark Century San Mateo 12, San Mateo · Nov 28
- Performance: Nutcracker Sweets — Marina, San Francisco · Nov 30 · Free
- Santa Arrives by Helicopter — Hiller Aviation Museum, San Carlos · Dec 5
- The Polar Express at Cinemark — Cinemark Century San Mateo 12, San Mateo · Dec 5
Holiday markets, ice rinks and fairs
- Bhangra & Beats Night Market — Great Lawn, Yerba Buena Gardens, San Francisco · Nov 13 · Free
- Great Dickens Christmas Fair — Cow Palace Exhibition Halls, Daly City · Nov 21
- Holiday Market at the Museum! — OMCA campus, Oakland · Dec 5 · Free
- Pop-Ups on the Plaza: Black Holiday Market — Foodwise Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, San Francisco · Dec 12
Holiday traditions in San Francisco Bay Area
Quick questions
When do the holiday lights start in San Francisco Bay Area?
The earliest listing on this page opens Nov 14: Holiday Lights at Filoli.
What holiday events in San Francisco Bay Area are free?
6 of the 13 listings here are free, including Bhangra & Beats Night Market, Performance: Nutcracker Sweets Ballet with Mark Foehringer Dance Project, Performance: Mark Foehringer's Nutcracker Sweets.
Where can we see Santa in San Francisco Bay Area?
1 listings include a Santa visit, at Todos Santos Plaza.