Let’s kick off the bauble-adorned proceedings with one of San Francisco’s festive traditions, and a toweringly sweet one at that: the giant Gingerbread House at the Fairmont San Francisco. Each year this awe-inspiring abode takes center stage in the hotel’s lobby, built from gingerbread bricks and held together with lip-smacking royal icing. In 2018, the two-storey house will be more than 25 feet high, 35 feet wide and 10 feet deep. Chefs will have started to bake the 10,250 homemade gingerbread bricks used to build it in July (they’ll then have been frozen and stored); they’ll whip up 3,300 pounds of icing and use 1,650 pounds of candy to complete the edible magic (incidentally, many of the sweet treats adorning the house don’t make it through the season, being nibbled by peckish visitors - or hungry elves? - resulting in twice-weekly candy replacement. It should be noted here that Santa definitely does not approve of naughty nibbling on the house). To top off this merry tableaux, an electric train runs around the scene. The sight - and scent - of all this is certainly enough to make even the most humbug-y of folk feel the Christmas spirit.

The Fairmont offers ways to make the Gingerbread House central to an even more spirited experience. You could take advantage of its Private Dining Room, which accommodates up to ten guests. Available for afternoon tea, dinner or a special occasion, it of course needs booking in advance (for other less-likely places to dine, you could check out our Unique Restaurants guide, featuring Unusual Places to Eat in the USA!).

If your beloved is especially enamored of the holiday season, and you’ve been pondering on popping the question (and no, we don’t mean asking what they want for Christmas...) you could plump for a Gingerbread House Proposal. Giving you an hour of private access to the baked house, you’ll be able to enjoy your special moment (fingers crossed for a yes) in candy-surrounded privacy. This $500 package also includes a Personal Proposal Concierge to coordinate all of your wishes (crikey!), a celebratory bottle of sparkling wine, a bouquet of red roses, and a heart-shaped gingerbread cookie with couple’s names inscribed in icing (aah!).

Those aren’t the only festive treats the Fairmont has up its (Santa) sleeves. There’s the Holiday Gingerbread tea, available during weekends from the last week of November through January 1st ($119 per person, $89 for children under 12, plus tax + gratuity). And for those who won’t be able to tear themselves away from this hub of holiday indulgence, there’s the Santa Suite, available throughout December. Resplendent with Christmas decorations, it offers Santa’s ‘Candy and Hot Chocolate Bar’ (with an adult beverage for parents), a Gingerbread house kit (though presumably somewhat smaller than the one in the lobby), and use of the suite's selection of holiday classic movies. Though with prices starting at $1,599 per night, you’ll no doubt be hoping Santa leaves a large check in your Christmas stocking.

If nothing says festive cheer to you quite like thousands of Santas on the trail of Hot Toddies, then this is the event for you! Taking place at locations throughout the country (see here for other cities), the official San Francisco fandango meets at Union Square at noon on December 10th. Naturally, you’ll need to come dressed as Santa or Mrs Claus, an elf, a reindeer, a Christmas tree, Frosty the Snowman… certainly something festive (and not just a Santa hat!).

It’s free (you definitely don’t need to buy tickets, so if someone tries to sell you one, just know they’ll be ending up on the Naughty List), but you should bring a new, unwrapped toy that can be donated to the Toys for Tots program (that’s voluntary, but will be exceedingly appreciated - and how can you be a Santa and not bring a gift? Spread a little joy, why don’t you!).

Some additional handy intel: Of course, pub crawls aren’t the place for kids - it may have a Santa theme, but this is for grown-ups only! Plus the organisers cheerily reiterate that the event is about being jolly, and festive - not drunk. Drunk Santas are not welcome (as their website states, ‘Santa being drunk/disorderly in public isn’t fun for anyone and will get you into trouble. Don’t be that santa’). Full guidelines here.

The lighting of the Tree of Hope takes place in a celebration packed with personalities, performances, and good cheer. Decorated with wishes for the future of the world (and goodness, we could certainly all do with some of those about now), the Rainbow World Fund’s tree is a symbol of unity and, of course, hope. Wishes are sent from around the globe, by everyone from world leaders to school children - and you can send your own wish here! It will be printed, folded into an origami crane, and placed on the RWF World Tree of Hope. Need a little inspiration? President Barack Obama wished for "A world for our children more just, more fair, more kind than the one we know now". And 13-year old Michael from Long Island, NY, wrote "I wish it will snow in the morning so nobody does not have to go to school for two weeks!"

Plus, it goes without saying that if you don’t make it to the lighting, if you’re San Francisco-bound during the holidays, you should definitely take a look at the tree.

San Francisco is a sight to behold during the holidays (well, even more so than usual, that is) - there are plenty of lights, and plenty of jolly ways to see them. There are sightseeing double decker buses, yes, but this tour will take you around the city - in a VW ‘hippie’ bus, decorated with festive cheer! As your enthusiastic guide ensures you catch all the Christmas sights, you’ll be able to sing along to holiday tunes. San Francisco Love Tours are fun, more intimate than the big bus tours - and you’ll definitely feel the love in their reviews! Plus, if you’d like to book your own tour - a fun option to kick off the work holiday party, say - you can do that, too (private bookings can accommodate up to 18 people).

Join the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus for a joyful evening of holiday song. The Holiday Spectacular concert will see the chaps all dressed up in holiday attire to entertain the masses. They’ll fill your musical Christmas stocking with a delicious mix of songs, from Jingle Bells and Sure on this Shining Night to a holiday-themed Cher medley.

Witty, wondrous and always heartwarming, catch one of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus Christmas shows and feel your spirits soar.

Since 1944, the San Francisco Ballet production of Nutcracker has been adding its own sugarplum wonder to the holiday season. The Ballet’s Artistic Director, Helgi Tomasson, created this production in 2004, setting it in San Francisco in 1915 at the time of the Panama Pacific Exhibition. As the San Francisco Chronicle noted, this Nutcracker ‘glitters with timeless charm’. And Time Out enthused ‘this magical event will delight your family and set the tone for beautiful festivities to come.’ So essentially: it’s unmissable.

Group discounts are available (for parties of 20 or more), and to add a little extra to your experience, you could opt for the VIP Box Experience, or Passport Performance. For those fretting about taking little ‘uns to the theatre, the Ballet’s website sweetly states that ‘families who need to step outside the auditorium during a Nutcracker performance’ there’s a viewing area on the Dress Circle, with the performance streamed, so you don’t miss a moment (phew!).

An annual experience which began back in 1982, the Great Dickens Christmas Fair is a chance to immerse yourself in the world of Victorian London, partaking in pubs, theatres and music halls, as well as bustling shops which are bursting with handmade holiday treats. It’d be borderline impossible not to fill yourself with Christmas cheer here (as well as roasted chestnuts and other delicious festive fare).

There’s much entertainment for your merriment and delectation, at venues including Fezziwig’s Warehouse, the Victoria & Albert Bijou Music Hall, and the Piccolo Playhouse. You can visit the London Constabulary at the Gaol, pop into The Adventurers’ Club, perhaps lean in to the Dickens Family Parlour for a knees-up, and of course, you’ll most likely fancy a thirst-quenching tipple at Mad Sal’s Dockside Ale House!

Also, do keep your eyes peeled as you gander these winding Victorian streets, because there are many notable folk who’ll be passing through, too, including Ebenezer Scrooge, the Ghost of Jacob Marley, and all three Christmas Ghosts; the Cratchit Family, including Tiny Tim (maybe buy them a bag of chestnuts if you spot them); Oliver Twist, the Artful Dodger, Nancy, Bill Sykes and Fagin; their Royal Highnesses Queen Victoria and Prince Albert (bows and curtsies at the ready, everybody!), not to mention Charles Dickens and Father Christmas!

Located in downtown Union Square, this is where you’ll find the Macy’s Christmas tree - and the perennially popular ice skating rink. Open daily from 10am until 11.30pm, their ninety minute sessions start on every even hour (so 10am, 12noon, etc). Don your skates for that most merry of winter activities (I have to say, as I write this I’m thinking of John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale on the ice in that exemplary and festive romantic comedy, Serendipity).

There are special events at the rink to tickle your fancy, too. In addition to the Icebreaker Opening Ceremony, and free weekend skating lessons (places are limited and you need to sign up in advance), there are monthly Flashback Fridays - an 80s dance party on ice (legwarmers, crimped hair and padded shoulders optional), Silent Skate Party, where revellers wear headphones which can be tuned to a trio of different music stations, and then - ta dah - the fierce and fabulous Drag Queens on Ice. Which clearly no sensible festively-minded person would want to miss...

New for 2022, we're excited to add the Santa Cable Car Photoshoot to our San Francisco Christmas Guide.

Can you think of anything more magical than joining the main character of Christmas for a San Francisco themed photoshoot? This experience utitilises a Bay Area icon (the cable car, of course) and decks it out for the festive season in tinsel and lights, ready for a one-of-a-kind photoshoot.

Santa and his decor-adorned cable car will be posted up in Fisherman's Wharf for any inquisitive families to check out. There's no fee to hang out with Santa - but registration is required, so make sure you book in advance! You can then show up on the appointed day to have a festive photoshoot with the man himself, making a Christmas memory to look back on for years to come.

Looking to get responsibly 'merry' this festive season?

Immerse yourself in a cosy Christmas wonderland at Deck The Halls Holiday Pop Up Bar. Boasting three different Union Street locations, this unique watering hole returns for its annual tradition of keeping the SF masses very well quenched during their holiday shopping trips.

You'll feel like you're entering a novelty snowglobe (in a good way) as you step into the bar adorned with whimsical decorations and order yourself a drink with a name like 'Yellow Snow' (tequila, agave, lemon) or 'Tinsel Spritz.' (gin, aperol, sparkling cider, luster dust.) Cheers!