The best Christmas events in Los Angeles

Stroll through a garden illuminated by celestial-inspired lights during this year-end event at South Coast Botanic Garden. There’s admittedly nothing Christmassy nor even wintry about this hour-long Palos Verdes trail, yet its nine stellar installations are the most cosmically mesmerizing of the budding after-dark botanical garden shows that’ve come to blanket L.A. toward the end of the year.

The annual L.A. Kings ice skating rink once again returns to L.A. Live. Skate around the dazzling Christmas tree that stands in the middle of the outdoor rink, and take in an LED holiday light show on the huge screens around the plaza.

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Tanaka Farms is opening up its Irvine fields for this after-dark wagon ride and walk-through. Hikari—which means “light” or “shine” in Japanese—has set up a long trail of lanterns, plus some festive theming that’s overtaken the farm’s scarecrows, tractors and trees. You’ll be able to explore the lantern field by both tractor and foot, and afterwards you can peruse a petting zoo, games, crafts and photo ops. While you’re there, you’ll also find the farm’s produce stand, a holiday market and a Christmas tree lot.

Any crafter worth their weight in cashmere yarn knows that Renegade Craft Fair is the fair all other fairs aspire to. Held in urban epicenters around the country, Renegade is a locally-focused marketplace showcasing work from hundreds of the best contemporary indie craft artists. Aside from the wares, Renegade offers all sorts of homemade DIY fun and festivities: think classes and demos, free photo booths and tons of tasty food trucks. Renegade hosts an epic spring fair, along with a supplemental holiday fair in wintertime that helps you check everyone off your gift list—including yourself.

Located just blocks from the ocean, Ice in downtown Santa Monica brings a bit of winter to the comfortable coastal city. The 8,000-square-foot outdoor rink runs daily from November to mid-January on the corner of Fifth Street and Arizona Avenue (less than a 10-minute walk from the E Line). Tickets for an hour-long slot ($22) include skate rentals, and you can book private parties and cabanas if you’re looking for something a bit more premium. Look out for treats for sale, plus themed nights on Wednesdays.

Stroll across the grounds of King Gillette Ranch as the Santa Monica Mountains hideaway is illuminated during Holiday Road, which returns with a nearly mile-long walking trail. The event, which comes from the same team as Nights of the Jack, includes festive decor like a treetop canopy of icicle lights, a small Christmas village, freestanding oversized decorations and archways of lights. Look out for food trucks and a holiday bar while you’re there.

Long Beach Ballet’s The Nutcracker is one of the only area productions of the holiday classic that includes not only a live full orchestra, but a horse, flying sleigh and pyrotechnics. Sure, the story may be the same, but this production pulls out all the stops to entertain audiences year after year.

Uplit trees and over a dozen illuminated installations dot the roughly mile-long pathway at the second edition of Lightscape at the L.A. County Arboretum. Whether or not the cost admission is worth it will largely come down to just how badly you want to pose for photos inside of the cathedral-like light tunnel.

This December, shop the annual Unique holiday market for clothes, accessories, art pieces and more from 150 designers, brands and artists. Browse local products at the California Market Center and rub elbows with the different designers and artists showcasing their work. Plus, save yourself some time this holiday season and take advantage of the gift wrapping perks. VIP tickets add in two drink tickets and some unique items.

Riverside’s stunningly beautiful Mission Inn is bathed in 4.5 million twinkly lights during the annual Festival of Lights. The free seven-week-long holiday tradition runs from mid-November to early January and typically features more than 400 animated figures.

Even the grumpiest of list-makers at yuletide has to include a production of Dickens’s most beloved tale of becoming a better person. Geoff Elliott and Julia Rodriguez-Elliott direct this production, with costumes by the imaginative Angela Balogh Calin, starring Elliott and his fellow resident artists of A Noise Within theater company—all ranking among L.A.’s best classical actors—staged in ANW’s spacious house with perfect sightlines from every seat, even for the kids.

West Hollywood’s ultra-chic restaurant and rooftop bar, E.P. & L.P., hosts outdoor screenings of holiday classics starting around Thanksgiving and into December.

Strike the electrified, amped-up harp and join the chorus: the KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas lineup is here. Don’t let its dainty Christmas name fool you—the annual concert is most definitely a plugged-in affair featuring some of the year’s top mainstream, alt-rock radio staples. The lineup includes the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Offspring, Garbage, Portugal. The Man, Bleachers, Cannons, Lovejoy, Bakar and the Beaches.

The American Contemporary Ballet returns to the holiday stage with their fantastical take on the tale from author E.T.A. Hoffmann. Experience the seasonal classic on a snow-shrouded stage set within an immersive space on the 28th floor of DTLA’s Two California Plaza. The hour-long production includes live musicians performing Tchaikovsky’s iconic score, as well as an artist reception following the show.

This season, we’ll leave the singing to the pros. Join the Los Angeles Master Chorale for all of your favorite holiday carols in concert at the iconic Walt Disney Concert Hall. Sixty two singers will belt out classics from around the globe (and traditional fixtures like “Silent Night,” “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “We Need a Little Christmas”) to get you in the festive spirit. Pulling out all the stops, the Disney Hall’s pipe organ will also participate in the magical concert—and you never know when Santa might make an appearance.

Get ready for the ultimate holiday treat with Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical. With a record-breaking Broadway history and glowing reviews, this heartwarming classic is back to charm audiences. Max the Dog narrates the story of the Grinch, who hatches a plan to steal Christmas from the festive-loving Whos in Whoville, featuring beloved hits like "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch" and "Welcome Christmas." The 2023 production, directed by Matt August, choreographed by Bob Richard, and inspired by the original choreography of Tony Award-winner Jack O'Brien, is a fresh take on this timeless tale.

Have a crafty start to the Christmas shopping season at Craft Contemporary’s annual holiday marketplace. If you’re making a list and checking it twice, consider this shopping event for unique handmade gifts and an opportunity to buy directly from the emerging and established makers behind them.

A performing arts staple of Los Angeles for over 40 years now, the GMCLA brings holiday cheer in its annual holiday musical extravaganza while raising awareness for important LGBTQ+ issues. This year, the chorus performs a cinema-themed show at the at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills—expect a cappella of all kinds, plus a guest appearance by Wayne Brady.

This musical adaptation of the 1983 holiday movie recreates its best-loved sequences (tongue stuck to frozen flagpole, the kitschy leg lamp and a cynical department-store Santa) but ladles on too much schmaltz. Still, the direction is bouncy and the show is fairly painless.

Ah, the joys of Christmas in a Mediterranean climate, where boat owners can deck out their ships in holiday lights and set sail without the impediment of icy weather. For the 115th year, the Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade is doing just that as over 100 decorated yachts and ships parade around a 14-mile circuit in the Newport Harbor. You can see the parade for free during each of the five nights from any bay-facing point along the harbor (Marina Park, which also hosts a holiday market, is the go-to spot), but there are also reserved seats, dining packages and cruises available for purchase.