Weekend Fun For Everyone (December 8-10)
Friday, December 8
Winter Fest, 5-7pm, photos with Santa, music, arts & crafts, face painting, bouncy house and more, Marinwood Community Center.
Bolinas Winter Fair, Bolinas Community Center.
Mayflower Chorus Holiday Show, Showcase Theater, San Rafael
Holiday Lights: The Presidio's Traditional Tree-Lighting Ceremony, 5:30-7pm, San Francisco.
Holiday Movie Night, 6pm, How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Enjoy complimentary hot cider or hot chocolate from Fisher's Cheese & Wine, DIESEL, A Bookstore, Larkspur.
Stuffed Animal Sleepover at the Library, drop off your doll or stuffed animal and find out what mischief happened overnight, Sausalito Library.
Family Movie Night: Despicable Me 3, 6pm, Sausalito Library.
The Velveteen Rabbit, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco.
Elephant and Piggie's "We Are in a Play!" Children's Creativity Museum Theater, San Francisco.
Annie, Berkeley Playhouse.
The Night Fairy, Berkeley.
Aladdin, SHN Orpheum Theatre, San Francisco.
Pop-Up Holiday Boutique, Marin Center.
Saturday, December 9
SMART Holiday Express Toy Drive
Holidays Along the Farm Trails, Sonoma County.
FREE Family Fitness Class, 9-10am, Mill Valley Community Center.
Holiday Festival at the Mart! visit from Santa and The Grinch, decorate holiday cookies, indulge in free hot chocolate, enjoy fairy storytime, plus a few BIG surprises that you and your little ones will not want to miss! Marin Country Mart, Larkspur.
BLOWOUT SALE FUNDRAISER: All Holiday Decorations ONLY $2, 10am-4pm, 115 Del Casa Drive, Mill Valley.
Make It, Take It Wrap It, , 10am-2pm, ocal artisans will instruct easy crafts for youth and adult to make and take home. The event features crafts to make and purchase, live music, photos with Santa, holiday dress-up with local theatre company, cookie decorating and more! Mill Valley Community Center.
Dickens Christmas Fair, 10am-7pm, every weekend, over three acres of vintage exhibition halls into lamplit lanes, pubs and theatres, dance floors and music halls, tearooms and shops. Hundreds of costumed characters from genteel to boisterous bring the town to life and interact with patrons, Cow Palace, San Francisco.
First Act: Hansel and Gretel's Adventure, 10am & 11:30am, ages 3-6, explore music, rhythm, visual arts and movement, Wilsey Center for Opera, San Francisco.
Fish For Crabs, 10 am & 1 pm, Learn about crab anatomy with our crab dress-up costume. Look and touch real live shore crabs and sand crabs. Use crab traps to fish for rock and Dungeness crabs off of our classroom pier. Contact Courtney Buel @ courtney.buel@noaa.gov.
Gingerbread House Workshop, 10:30am-12pm, Ages 8-12, Gingerbread house masters John and Megan Lorenzen will be here to help you create a gingerbread dog house or a gingerbread kitty condo, Marin Humane Society.
Opera in an Hour Film Screening: The Magic Flute, 1pm, ages 5+, for lovers of music, adventure and magic! Wilsey Center for Opera, San Francisco.
DIY Pet Ornament Workshop, 1-3pm, design personalized ornaments in the likeness of your pet in this fun, interactive workshop, San Francisco SPCA.
Chanukah Art & Light, 3-5pm, create nature art in the art studio, take a magical redwood forest walk, and conclude with havdalah and Chanukah lights, O’Hanlon Center for the Arts, Mill Valley.
Parol Lantern Festival, 5-9p, Yerba Buena Gardens.
The Moon and Stars: Family Night Hike and Campfire, 5:30-8pm, Using binoculars, a spotting scope, and telescopes, we’ll study the face of the moon and learn more about constellations and the night sky, Sausalito.
Cirque de Bohème presents Freedom, Cornerstone Gardens, Sonoma.
Mayflower Chorus Holiday Show, Showcase Theater, San Rafael.
San Rafael Lighted Boat Parade, 5:30pm, along the San Rafael Canal.
Winterfest, 6pm, Lighted Boat Parade, Sausalito waterfront.
The Velveteen Rabbit, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco.
Elephant and Piggie's "We Are in a Play!" Children's Creativity Museum Theater, San Francisco.
Annie, Berkeley Playhouse.
The Night Fairy, Berkeley.
Aladdin, SHN Orpheum Theatre, San Francisco.
CRAFT FAIRS:
- Bolinas Winter Fair, Bolinas Community Center.
- Holiday Bake Sale, 10am-2pm, Pixie Park, Ross.
- Fairfax Craft Faire, 11am-5pm, The Pavilion, Fairfax.
- Spirited Marin Holiday Marketplace, Studio 333, Sausalito.
- Marin Indoor Antique Market Christmas Show, Marin Center Exhibit Hall, San Rafael.
NUTCRACKER:
- Marin Ballet's Nutcracker, Marin Veterans' Memorial Auditorium, San Rafael
- Nutcracker Sweets, Cowell Theatre, Fort Mason, San Francisco
- Dance-Along Nutcracker, Nutcrackers of the Caribbean, Yerba Buena Gardens, San Francisco
PHOTOS WITH SANTA:
- Visit Santa at the Mart! Marin Country Mart, Larkspur
- Photos of Furry Friends with Santa, 12-3pm, Throckmorton Theatre, Mill Valley
- Saturdays with Santa, 12-4pm, Bon Air Center, Greenbrae
Sunday, December 10
Holidays Along the Farm Trails, Sonoma County.
Winterfest, Jingle Run, Fireworks, and children's activities, and more, Sausalito waterfront.
Home Depot Menorah Workshop, 10-11:30am, RSVP required, San Rafael.
Marine Science Sunday, 10am-5pm, Seal and Sea Lion Superstars, Marine Mammal Center, Sausalito.
Nature for Kids: Blackstone Canyon, 10am – 1pm, This secluded valley below the rugged east end of Big Rock Ridge is a great place to look for animals that are attracted to the creek. We’ll take a slow walk to the wet places in the canyon to see who’s hiding there. Remember to bring lunch. Meet at the end of Valleystone Dr in San Rafael.
Dickens Christmas Fair, 10am-7pm, every weekend, over three acres of vintage exhibition halls into lamplit lanes, pubs and theatres, dance floors and music halls, tearooms and shops. Hundreds of costumed characters from genteel to boisterous bring the town to life and interact with patrons, Cow Palace, San Francisco.
Family ArtBash Sundays: Spinning Tales of Light and Magic, 10am-3pm, a day-long festival, accessible for all families, celebrating Hanukkah and folktales, and filled with art-making, shadow puppets, dreidel playing, dancing, storytelling, and more, Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco.
Dissect Salmon, 10 am & 1 pm, Learn about the unique life cycle of salmonids and create your own fish prints using a real Chinook salmon. Participants will also get to know salmon both inside and out during our naturalist-led dissection. Contact Jean Alupay @ jean.alupay@noaa.gov.
Marin Country Mart Holiday Events, San Domenico Day at MCM with AXE Pancake Pop-Up Pancake Breakfast, San Domenico School Glee Club Carolers, Melting Snowman Cupcake Making, Holiday Jug Band 11-2, and Tutu School Recital under the Big Tent at 4pm, Larkspur.
Hands-on Chanukah, 11am-1:30pm, dreidel spinning contests, marshmallow-dreidel decorating, menorah crafting, children’s book fair, Chanukah lights with PJ Library, free gift raffle, and more. Octopretzel offers engaging music, inspiring curiosity, wonder and appreciation for the world we live in, Charles Schultz Museum.
Festival of Lights, 11:30am-2pm, food, music and Hanukkah fun, Osher Marin JCC, San Rafael.
Holiday Wreath-Making and Caroling, 2pm – 5pm, Santa arrives by fire truck to greet all the children! Then sit around the cozy fireplace where traditional carols will be sung! Visit the outdoor deck to make a homemade wreath! Decorations and wreath rings will be provided. Please bring a delicious dish to share with your friends and family! Women's Club, 46 Park Road, Fairfax.
Peter & the Wolf, 2pm, Prokofiev’s timeless musical narrative of a boy and his animal friends’ bravery is brought to life by the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra. Then, stay for a holiday sing-along featuring your favorite Christmas songs, Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco.
Pop-Up Studio: Miniatures, 2-4pm, free, learn how to create miniature cardboard dioramas that can be used as decoration in your home, The Walt Disney Museum, San Francisco.
Grand Menorah Lighting, 5pm, latkes, donuts, music, dancing, raffle and more, Whole Foods, Novato.
Cirque de Bohème presents Freedom, Cornerstone Gardens, Sonoma.
A Merri-achi Christmas, 8pm, Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco.
The Velveteen Rabbit, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco.
Elephant and Piggie's "We Are in a Play!" Children's Creativity Museum Theater, San Francisco.
Annie, Berkeley Playhouse.
The Night Fairy, Berkeley.
Aladdin, SHN Orpheum Theatre, San Francisco.
CRAFT FAIRS:
- Spirited Marin Holiday Marketplace, Studio 333, Sausalito.
- Marin Indoor Antique Market Christmas Show, Marin Center Exhibit Hall, San Rafael.
- Sunset Mercantile, SF County Fair Building.
NUTCRACKER:
- Marin Ballet's Nutcracker, Marin Veterans' Memorial Auditorium, San Rafael
- Nutcracker Sweets, Cowell Theatre, Fort Mason, San Francisco
- Dance-Along Nutcracker, Nutcrackers of the Caribbean, Yerba Buena Gardens, San Francisco