2022-2023 Winter Guide – 'Tis the Season for Celebrations
My Funny Valentine
Winter Wonderland
Winter Traditions & Celebrations
New Holiday Traditions
Home for the Holidays
- Make a family keepsake. Stamp your kids’ handprints on a piece of fabric and build a quilt. Save your children’s letters to Santa in a photo album. If you’re musically inclined, write an original song to sing each year. It doesn’t matter what it is, as long as it’s something that lasts year after year.
- Learn about the holiday. Whether you choose to focus on particular stories from your religion, learn how it’s celebrated in different parts of the world, listen to stories from older family members about their childhood memories, or choose an entirely new religion to learn about, find ways to connect your kids with the larger spirit of the season.
- Write holiday cards together. Instead of laying the burden of mailing cards entirely on yourself, find ways for the whole family to pitch in, even if it’s licking the envelopes. (Milk and cookies are excellent motivators)
- Elf yourself. Everyone will get a kick out of seeing themselves as animated elves, and it couldn’t be easier to do.
- Read books along with Rosie and print out the fun activities like the Gingerbread Activity Workbook.
- Track Santa. Starting December 1, the NORAD website has an official Santa tracker, so your kids can keep tabs on the big guy all the way through Christmas Day. If the North American Aerospace Defense Command can get into the Christmas spirit, then anyone can.
- Plan visits from the holiday fairies. Leading up to the main holiday events, plan something fun to do with your kids each day. Have your kids open an envelope from the “fairies” each morning with a special activity for the day. It doesn’t matter what it is, as long as it’s something planned to do together (and you won’t have to look much further than this list for your inspiration).
- Decorate the house. Have your kids make an ornament each year to hang on the tree (plus extras to give to grandparents). String popcorn and cranberries for garland. Cut out paper snowflakes. There are so many ways this can be a family affair, all while listening to holiday music, of course. To wipe down presents and surfaces for decorating, we use Arm & Hammer Essentials Disinfecting Wipes.
- Make food together. Whether you love to bake, make gift bags of spiced nuts, or cook latkes each year for Hanukah, doing it together makes it more special, and the smells of those foods will stick with your kids through adulthood bringing them right back to your kitchen.
- Watch old movies. Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube make it possible to watch even the most obscure movie from your childhood. Find your favorite and share it with your kids.
- Write a letter. The old standby recipient of letters is Santa, of course, but it’s also fun to have your kids write to themselves to open the following year. Pre-writers can dictate to you what they want to say, and you can write to your child if they’re not yet verbal. Store the letters with your holiday decorations, so it’s easy to find next year. Or, choose another relative to write to. In this electronic age, keeping the tradition of written letters alive feels perfect for the nostalgia of the holiday season. For e-correspondences, we love Smilebox for personalizable greetings and slideshows.
- Give your child a special present on their first holiday. Maybe it’s their very own menorah or a special ornament, but having something that you pull out each year, prompting the story of when they were little, will make them feel special.
- Wear matching family pajamas. If at least one of your holiday traditions isn’t making someone in your family roll their eyes, then you’re not doing it right. Check out Pat Pat for a picture-perfect family jammy fest.
Out & About
Santa
- Santa’s Tree Farm and Village (Peninsula)
- Santa Photo Experience (Peninsula)
- Fairy Winterland (East Bay)
- Luminary Walk (East Bay)
- Visit to North Pole (East Bay)
- Santa Photo Experience (East Bay)
- Christmasville in the Woods (Easy Bay)
- Santa Drive-Thru Meet and Greet (East Bay)
- Santa at Macy’s Court (East Bay)
- Santa on Solano (North Bay)
Attractions
- ‘Tis the Season for Science (SF)
- Joy at SF Zoo (SF)
- Fort Mason Flix (SF)
- West Coast Craft Market (SF)
- Night of Lights (Peninsula)
- Holidays at Filoli (Peninsula)
- Drive In Movie (Peninsula)
- IlluminOdyssey Outdoors (Peninsula)
- Walking in a Winter Wonderland (Peninsula)
- Glowfari (East Bay)
- Fairy Winterland (East Bay)
- Mistletoe Mission (East Bay)
- Garden of d’Lights (East Bay)
- Walk Through Wonderland (East Bay)
- Telegraph Avenue Holiday Street Fair (East Bay)
- Christmas in the Park (South Bay)
- Fantasy of Lights (South Bay)
- Holiday in the Park Lights! (North Bay)
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Holiday Lights Drive-Thru (Santa Cruz)
Christmas Trees
- Find your perfect Christmas tree [MAP]
- Clancy’s Christmas Trees (SF)
- The Guardsmen Tree Lot (SF)
- Santa’s Tree Farm and Village (Peninsula)
- Webb Ranch (Peninsula)
- Rancho Siempre Verde (Peninsula)
- Speer Family Farms (East Bay)
- ABC Tree Farms (East Bay)
- Smith Family Farm (East Bay)
- Castro Valley Christmas Tree Farm (East Bay)
- Black Road Christmas Tree Farms (South Bay)
- Battaglia Ranch (South Bay)
- Larsen’s Christmas Tree Farm (North Bay)
- Frosty Mountain Tree Farm (North Bay)
- Celesta Farms (North Bay)
- Little Hills Christmas Tree Farm (North Bay)
- Reindeer Ridge Christmas Tree Farm (North Bay)
- Pronzini Ranch (North Bay)
- Grandma Buddy’s (North Bay)
- Graton Fire Christmas Tree Farm (North Bay)
- Cousins’ Christmas Trees (North Bay)
- Applehill Farms (El Dorado)
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Winter Wonderland Culinary Arts
Tips for Pie Baking with Kids
Festive Popcorn Treat-Crafts
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