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Christmas in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
Photograph: Michael Juliano

The best Christmas events in Los Angeles

Your guide to the best holiday events and activities in L.A., from tree lightings to holiday performances

Michael Juliano
Edited by
Michael Juliano
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Sure, you won’t find snow-covered trees and below-zero temperatures in L.A., but there are still plenty of Christmas events and holiday activities to get you in the festive mood—even when it’s 70 and sunny in December. With outdoor movie screenings, illuminated walks in botanical gardens, holiday plays, festive takeovers of theme parks and Christmas lights all over town, our list of the city’s best events and things to do this season will help make L.A. a winter wonderland all month long.

RECOMMENDED: Full guide to Christmas in Los Angeles

The best Christmas events in L.A.

  • Things to do
  • Festivals

Discovery and wonder abound across the 10 or so illuminated installations in Descanso Gardens’ holiday tradition. The botanical garden’s nighttime experience masterfully mixes hands-on art installations with atmospheric, luminescent forests, all against a background of uplit trees and shimmery sound effects.

  • Things to do
  • Festivals

Feel as though you’ve escaped to a small-town fishing village during the Marina Del Rey Boat Parade. Bring a blanket and gather around Fisherman’s Village or Burton Chace Park to watch as 70 boats glide through the marina with holiday lights and decorations in competition. Categories include Best Theme, Best Animation, Best Band, Best Lights and more. The festivities begin at 5:55pm with fireworks, and the boat parade starts at 6pm, rain or shine.

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  • Movies

Street Food Cinema has put together a series of outdoor holiday screenings in the closest thing to a Dickensian town square in L.A.: Heritage Square. In between Victorian home tours, piano sing-alongs, strolls through a light tunnel and sips on hot chocolate, mulled wine and craft beer, you can catch screenings of flicks (showing twice each night, typically at 6 and 8pm) like ElfHome Alone, ScroogedThe Muppet Christmas Carol and more. Just make sure to bundle up in your best Christmas sweater.

 

  • Things to do

The L.A. Zoo is staying open after dark most nights through January during this delightful new take on its light-up holiday tradition. The event’s “Animals Aglow” edition has gone all in on oversized animal-shaped lanterns, and the result is a colorful, charming trail that celebrates the zoo’s natural inhabitants.

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  • Things to do
  • Event spaces
  • Anaheim
  • price 3 of 4

As soon as the Halloween pumpkins disappear from Main Street, the holidays take over at Disneyland. The beloved theme park turns into the merriest place on earth for a full two months (Nov 10–Jan 7), with Christmas makeovers of popular rides and holiday-themed nighttime shows. As far as Christmas lights go, you’ll spot festive decor all over the parks, from the auto-themed Americana decorations in Cars Land to icicle lights draped atop Sleeping Beauty Castle. But the real standout is the joyous facade of “It’s a Small World”. Just remember you’ll need to secure a reservation to see it all.

  • Music

Take your Christmas movie binge-watching up a notch and reserve a seat to the upcoming special screening of Home Alone at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. The Los Angeles Philharmonic is bringing the classic to life and performing John Williams’s score live to picture in an immersive experience, conducted by David Newman. 

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  • Things to do

Muggles can look forward to a bit of sorcery and magic this holiday season. The Harry Potter-themed land at Universal Studios Hollywood has been decked out in holiday decor, including lights and wreaths along the snow-capped rooflines of Hogsmeade Village and, of course, plenty of wintry goodies in the gift shops. You’ll want to hang around after dusk for “The Magic of Christmas at Hogwarts,” (Nov 24–Jan 1) a seven-minute projection show that illuminates Hogwarts Castle with dancing lanterns, colorful banners and a Christmas tree, all set to a swelling score (psst: if the land is too crowded, just come back in a half hour for the next showing). You’ll find festivities in other parts of the park, too, most notably around the Seussian Christmas tree and its Grinch-led lighting ceremony.

  • Music

Gather up your friends and family and go hear L.A.’s biggest holiday show, which includes more than 20 choirs, music ensembles and dance troupes from all over the city. The free three-hour show (you can come and go as you please) at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion celebrates L.A.’s multicultural observation of the holidays (past performanced have ranged from an all-female mariachi ensemble to a Korean dance troupe).

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  • Movies
  • price 2 of 4
  • Downtown

The masters of alfresco movie viewing are keeping outdoor screening season alive with a slate of holiday favorites. Between RCC’s three separate locations, you’ll find something festive playing at one or more of its locations (DTLA, the Arts District and El Segundo) nearly every night in November and December.

  • Things to do
  • Ice skating

L.A. doesn’t typically seem like much of a winter wonderland, until, that is, you create an ice skating rink right in the midst of Downtown skyscrapers. Come glide around and pretend there’s snow on the ground at Pershing Square’s outdoor holiday skating rink. Skate rentals are included in admission, though lockers and skating aids costs a few dollars extra.

The rest of L.A.’s Christmas events

  • Things to do

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.

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  • Markets and fairs

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.

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  • Things to do
  • Ice skating

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.

  • Things to do

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.

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  • Things to do

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.

  • Shopping
  • Markets and fairs

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.

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  • Things to do

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. 

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