I have a lot of East Coast and even Canadian clients. OK, we don’t get a “real” winter here in San Francisco. I get it! But we do have the same seasons of the year as you do in terms of holidays, and Christmas time is one of them. We may not have snowmen and snow and ho ho ho (as Lucy would say), but we do have shopping and even ice skating and other fun things to do. So, for those visiting San Francisco during the holidays, here are some fun things to do in San Francisco during Christmas / the holiday season If you also need ideas on how to keep your fitness levels up take a look at beginner tennis lessons san francisco.
- Shopping! I’m not a big shopper, but when I do shop, I shop Union Square. For something unique and different try Winter Walk SF. According to the promoters, “Each night from 5 pm to midnight on the half hour a whimsical light art show will be projected on the Macy’s Men’s Building. This year’s feature is a snowy 3D adventure throughout San Francisco. The show is created by Immersive SF and their team of local artists, including Mike and David Dutton, who co-created the first animated Google Doodle.”
- Ice-skating. OK folks from Vancouver or Montreal, we don’t have “real” ice. We have man-made ice. Or as we would say here in politically correct San Francisco, we have “people-made” ice. Safeway corporation sponsors ice-skating in downtown San Francisco, beginning November 4, 2015 and running until January 18, 2016 from 10 am to 11:30 pm in Union Square Park. Find out more, here. Take that, Rockefeller Center!
- Christmas Lights. San Francisco (despite being named for Saint Francis) is not world-famous for its religiosity. Let’s face it. But, it the San Francisco Bay Area as a whole does have some amazing Christmas lights fanatics. CBS San Francisco published this handy list, here. If you can make it down to San Jose, their own “Christmas in the Park” is a kind of wonderful kind of campy Christmas event. I am particularly fond of the plastic snow. Really, you New Yorkers and Canadians have to see it, to believe it.
- Christmas Eve on Bart. Nothing spells Christmas eve, like taking a dirty, late BART train to or from the East Bay to San Francisco on Christmas eve. NOT. BART is so busy these days in the booming San Francisco economy to have reached new lows of service – dirtier and later than ever. It’s still a great transit system for connecting the East Bay to the City but on my Christmas list this year is improved BART service.
- In the East Bay, the Niles Canyon Railroad Train of Lights is not to be missed. Another holiday festivity not far from San Francisco.
- Theater, theater, theater! San Francisco has many wonderful theater events, of course they have the Nutcracker but other things such as the American Conservatory Theater‘s “A Christmas Carol.”
- Music, music, music. Check out the San Francisco Symphony, which has productions of many Christmas classics, including Peter and the Wolf (my personal favorite).
Among fun things to do on Christmas day, the Contemporary Jewish Museum is open, while Kosher Comedy will have a funny presentation of Jewish comedy and the idea of having Chinese food on Christmas. Ah, Christmas in San Francisco – celebrate the diversity of it all!
