With a few of our favourite Bay Space traditions again on provide this yr—plus a number of new treats—we’re already checking a number of needs off of our vacation listing.
If you happen to’re feeling fancy, don your vacation most interesting and spherical up your loved ones for a vacation tea in a complicated lodge. Searching for one thing extra informal? Seize drinks at an over-the-top Christmas-themed bar, go ogle some vacation lights and, in fact, revisit the Fairmont lodge’s iconic gingerbread home.
Blissful holidays!
Magical Lights + Shows within the Bay Space
(Courtesy of @__filoli)
Holidays at Filoli
Picturesque Filoli’s 16-acre gardens are made just a little extra magical with all kinds of bells and whistles. Meander by through the day, or bundle as much as see the backyard illuminated with vacation lights after darkish. Make advance reservations for personal events of as much as eight company by the hearth pits (mulled wine and sizzling whiskey ciders included), or cease by for pics with Santa on weekends in December.
// 10am to 9pm every day by January 8 with Santa appearances from 10am to 4pm on Saturdays and Sundays December 3-18 and Friday December 23; tickets ($33-$42/adults, $23-$28/youngsters over 5) can be found for advance buy on-line; Filoli Historic Home & Backyard, 86 Cañada Rd. (Woodside), filoli.org
Tom & Jerry Home
For many years, Tom Taylor and Jerry Goldstein have decked out their twenty first and Church Road digs with what simply could be the town’s most spectacular Christmas show. Regardless of the 2020 demise of Tom, a longtime LGBTQ rights activist, on the age 77, the show nonetheless goes up—full with a towering tree, bigger than life stockings, and all kinds of baubles that you want to see for your self. Keep tuned for particulars on this yr’s show. // 3650 twenty first St. (Castro)
Entwined in GGP
Golden Gate Park’s pandemic-born lights show “Entwined” is returning this yr with towering timber and bushes illuminated with twinkly LEDs and a contemporary sequence of performances twice every week. Bundle up for a night stroll by Charles Gadeken’s sculptures. // 5pm to 10pm nightly, December 1 by March 12, 2023; Peacock Meadow, 240 John F. Kennedy Approach (Golden Gate Park), sanfranciscoparksalliance.org
Christmas Cocktail Bars in SF
(Courtesy of @miracleatpch)
Miracle Pop-Up Bar
All issues are merry at Miracle, the beloved Christmas-themed cocktail bar that is returning to the Bay as soon as once more for festive cocktails like boozy (non-dairy) eggnog, beers snuggled in vacation sweater cozies, and possibly even some faux snow. Decide to go to P.C.H. Pacific Cocktail Haven in SF, the Double Customary in Oakland, Napa Yard at Oxbow, or Brewsters Beer Backyard in Petaluma to get in on the enjoyable.
// Numerous places with openings beginning November 21, miraclepopup.com
Sippin’ Santa
If tropical Santa is extra your jam, head to P.C.H.’s sister bar Kona’s Road Marketplace for the sandy winter wonderland that’s Sippin’ Santa. Spherical up a bunch, don your Santa hat—and maybe a Hawaiian shirt—and imbibe with a tiki cocktail or two. Plus, search for Sippin’ Santa pop-up at Lazaway on the Flamingo in Santa Rosa (Nov. 23 by Jan. 1.).
// Open 5pm to midnight,Tuesdays by Saturdays beginning November 25 by New Yr’s Eve; 32 third St. (SoMa), konastreetmarket.com
Deck the Halls
‘Tis the season for getting tipsy off of ‘nog. Head to Deck the Halls pop-up bar the place the elves have been onerous at work adorning the inside to appear like one thing out of your North Pole goals (or nightmares). Speciality drinks embody Yellow Snow (a tequila and lemon slushie), a Snow Globe (vodka, bubble rose water, aperitif wine, citrus), a Krampus shot (stout, egg, sherry, rum, and fireplace), and extra. Deliver a brand new, unwrapped toy to donate to the SF Firefighters Toy Program and you will get a free glowing or sizzling cider. // Open every day November 25 by Christmas Day; 1787 Union St. and 1979 Union St. (Cow Hole), deckthehallsbar.com
Vacation Teas in San Francisco
(Courtesy of @ritzcarltonsf)
Kids’s Magical Tea at Prime of the Mark
Festive tea and treats are served with epic San Francisco views at Prime of the Mark. The child-focused enjoyable features a ballon artist, face portray, a gingerbread adorning station, and visits with Santa within the foyer (between 1pm and 4pm). Come hungry for a decadent buffet of smoked salmon, cucumber tea sandwiches, DIY sliders, and a drool-worthy desert bar. If limitless bubbly’s extra your factor, do not miss Christmas Eve dinner or Christmas Day dinner or brunch as a substitute.
// Midday to 3pm Saturdays and Sundays,December 3-18; reservations ($99 and up per individual with $5 low cost for a toy donation) will be made by calling 415.616.6940. Prime of the Mark, 99 California St. (Nob Hill), holidaysatthemark.com
*UPDATE: Prime of the Mark’s Magical Tea is offered out for 2022.
Nutcracker Vacation Tea on the Correct Lodge
Put on one thing stylish to get pleasure from a complimentary glass of Champagne or sizzling chocolate inside the trendy foyer of the Kelly Wearstler–designed Correct Lodge the place the Nutcracker Vacation Tea affords festive bites and sips for youths and adults alike. Each ticket grants attendees a raffle ticket.
// 2-5pm Fridays and Saturdays within the lounge and midday to 5pm Sundays within the lounge and eating room all through December; reservations ($65/adults, $35/youngsters) could also be made on-line; SF Correct, 1100 Market St. (Civic Middle), properhotel.com
Teddy Bear Tea at The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco
Children will likely be delighted by The Ritz-Carlton’s annual vacation tea service, full with candy goodies, sizzling cocoa, and sandwiches plus a playful vacation present that includes an elf, a gingerbread fairy, and a teddy bear, in fact. Every child will obtain a vacation card–worthy pic with an enormous teddy bear and a stuffed teddy to take dwelling. Deliver wrapped toys for donation to UCSF Benioff Kids’s Hospitals. Plus, two {dollars} from each ticket will profit Kids’s Miracle Community and Make-A-Want Higher Bay Space. (Ahem, mother and father, Champagne will likely be out there for buy.)
// 10am and 1pm Saturdays and Sundays, November 26 by December 23; tickets ($172 per visitor) can be found on sevenrooms.com. Ritz-Carlton, 600 Stockton St. (Nob Hill), ritzcarlton.com
Vacation Gingerbread Homes in San Francisco
The dazzling gingerbread mansion on the Fairmont San Francisco)
(Courtesy of the Fairmont)
Victorian Gingerbread Home on the Fairmont San Francisco
It would not be a real San Francisco Christmas and not using a go to to the Fairmont’s larger-than-life gingerbread home—it stands 22 ft tall and 23 ft extensive. Housed contained in the lodge’s foyer, this twinkly home has all of the sweet gildings and layers of frosting you’d anticipate, however actually pulls out all of the stops with a splurge-y personal eating expertise. Or, you would simply make a res for vacation tea within the Laurel Courtroom.
// Opens November 26; tea ($149/adults, $19/kids) at 1-4pm Fridays by Sundays, November 25 by January 1, 2023; Fairmont Lodge, 950 Mason St. (Nob Hill), fairmont-san-francisco.com
Waterbar’s Annual Gingerbread Creation
Yearly, Waterbar goes all out with a not-so-average gingerbread home created by pastry chef Erica Land. Previous years’ sugary takes on the Painted Girls and Sutro Baths have blown us away, so we will not watch for the reveal of her Grinch-inspired rendition this yr.
// Waterbar, 399 The Embarcadero (Embarcadero), waterbarsf.com
Sugar Citadel + Candy Boutique on the Westin St. Francis
Princes and princesses will gasp after they see pastry chef Jean-Francois Houdré’s royal Sugar Citadel on show within the Landmark Foyer as of November twenty third. The adjoining Candy Boutique is providing a collection of freshly baked treats together with gingerbread “Citadel Bites.” Plus, the Westin’s fancy, festive decor is value a gander alone.
// 11am to 4pm Saturdays and Sundays, November 26 by December 18; Westin St. Francis, 335 Powell St. (Union Sq.), marriott.com
Vacation Ice Rinks within the Bay Space
(Courtesy of @unionsquarerink)
Union Sq. Ice Rink, San Francisco
What higher means to take in the commercialism of Christmas than with a activate the Union Sq. ice rink, sandwiched by a few of San Francisco’s toniest retail shops on Union Sq.. Too Grinchy? Properly, we do love the looming vacation tree, plus annual particular occasions like Flashback Fridays, Drag Queens on Ice (Dec. 1), and the Polar Bear Skate (Jan. 1).
// Open 10am to 11pm every day by January 16; tickets ($20 contains skate rental) can be found for advance buy at unionsquareicerink.com.
Merry Meritage, at Vista Collina Resort in Napa
Snow in Wine Nation? You betcha. The Merry Meri_tage winter village is your one-stop vacation wonderland with an ice skating rink, Santa visits and story time, vacation tea with princess appearances, VIP igloos serving bottles of bubbly, s’mores by the hearth pits and even, actually, snow on garden daily at 6pm. The vacation tree lighting is Friday, November twenty sixth with carolers, an artisan market, and a go to from Santa.
// Open by January 8 at Vista Collina Resort, meritagecollection.com
