San Francisco Holiday Guide 2015

Those looking for holiday entertainment and shows in the Bay Area will not be disappointed! There are a ton of things to do! We'll be doing our Frisco Kids Holiday Guide for 2015 in installments, so keep an eye out for future posts!

Conservatory of Flowers Garden Railway
Take a trip back in time now through April 10, 2016 at the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park. The garden railway display celebrates the centennial of the Pan Pacific International Exposition. Model trains make their way through the festive fairgrounds, along tracks past hundreds of dwarf plants, water features and reproductions of the Tower of Jewels, Palace of Fine Arts and more. You'll learn about the history of the exposition in a fun and visual way.
Where: Golden Gate Park, San Francisco
When: Now through April 10, 2016
Fee: yes


The Great Dickens Christmas Fair and Victorian Holiday Party
Head back in time to Dickens' era, to a gas-lit 19th-century London. The Great Dickens Christmas Fair and Victorian Holiday Party takes place at the Cow Palace on weekends through December 20, 2015. That means munching on roasted chestnuts, listening to carolers and seeing Father Christmas (a little different than today's Santa Claus). You'll find plenty to buy and something like seven stages offering live entertainment,
Where: Cow Palace
When: weekends through December 20, 2015
Fee: yes



The Velveteen Rabbit
The Yerba Buena Center for the Arts presents ODC/Dance's production of “The Velveteen Rabbit” now through December 13. This is a Bay Area tradition, telling the story of friendship and love through music and dance, with festive costumes, madcap characters and plenty of holiday cheer.
Where: Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco
When: now through December 13, 2015
Fee: yes

A Christmas Story, The Musical
If you liked the movie, you'll love the stage show! See is at the SHN Orpheum Theatre. It's a stage adaptation of a latter-day holiday classic, but now it's a musical. Get tickets soon because it has a short run.
Where: Orpheum Theater, San Francisco
When: December 9-13, 2015
Fee: yes

California Academy of Sciences
Experience  'Tis the Season for Science, the museum's annual holiday exhibit exploring the science behind winter's most famous phenomena. Meet a pair of live reindeer, brave an indoor snowstorm, compete in quiz shows and enjoy live performances.
Where: California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park, SF
When: now through January 3
Fee: yes

Chanticleer Christmas
If you can't see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir or get to Carnegie Hall, you're lucky to have Chanticleer in the Bay Area. The famed all-male vocal a capella ensemble is bringing “A Chanticleer Christmas,” its take on Renaissance music with traditional carols and Gregorian chants, to seven major churches across the Bay Area,
When: Now through December 23
Fee: yes acoustics alone are warm enough to chase away any winter chill. www.chanticleer.org

A few date-night opportunities:

The Golden Girls: The Christmas Episodes
What better way to say “Thank you for being a friend” this holiday season than “The Golden Girls: The Christmas Episodes,” an annual pageant in which four of San Francisco's biggest drag queens play Dorothy, Blanche, Rose and Sophia for 12 performances (Dec. 3-20). They take a few liberties with the scripts, but it all serves to make Christmas in Miami even merrier. Best of all, you can line up to have your picture taken with them after the show.
Where: 2961 16th Street, SF
When: now through December 20
Fee: yes

Beach Blanket Babylon
You've seen the ugly Christmas sweaters. Now see the world's largest Christmas hat - at Beach Blanket Babylon's seasonal extravaganza. The long-running North Beach revue combines topical humor, madcap sketches and enormous headpieces plays up commercial excesses with a wink and a nod (as well as some tap-dancing Douglas firs).
Where: North Beach, SF
When: now through the end of December
Fee: yes