Come out and join your friends, families and neighbors for a fun and festive time featuring great small town holiday parades and festivals!

11/18-12/17 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.

11/23-1/3 Tis the Season for Science, 8:30am-5pm, Live reindeer, indoor snow flurries, the Snowman Theater, merry programs and performances, and more, California Academy of Science, San Francisco.

11/24-25 Parade of Lights and Winter Wonderland, snow, sledding, marketplace and more, San Rafael.

11/25 Santa's Riverboat Arrival, 11:30am and Santa & Mrs. Claus will arrive aboard the tugboat "Petaluma" around Noon. Santa will be on hand for pictures until 2pm.

12/1 Dickens Family Victorian Holiday, 6:30pm, go back in time to Victorian England and meet Charles Dickens watch his characters come alive, play Victorian parlor games, dance and sing and make traditional holiday crafts. Falkirk Center, San Rafael.

12/2 Winter Faire, 10am-4pm, a day of imagination and fun with games, crafts, musical entertainment, stories, and as many chances as you dare to steal treasure from a hibernating bear. We host a distinctive vendors market that is rich in arts, crafts, toys, and seasonal items, Greenwood School, Mill Valley.

12/2 Tiburon Holiday Festival, visit with Santa, roasted chestnuts, gingerbread house decorating, live music, horse drawn wagon rides, and tree lighting, Downtown Tiburon.

12/2 Calistoga Lighted Tractor Parade, vintage and modern tractors, antique trucks, and construction equipment bedecked with dazzling lights parade down Calistoga’s charming main street to celebrate the Christmas season. Santa himself makes a special appearance during the parade.

12/2 Union Street Holiday Event, 3pm-7pm, Fantasy of Lights Holiday celebration transforming Union Street into a magical backdrop for Santa and a team of elves to celebrate along with jugglers, live ponies dressed as reindeer, face painters, balloon artists, costumed characters, singers and live entertainment, Cow Hollow, San Francisco.

12/3 Winterfest, 11am-6pm, The annual holiday celebration – set for Sunday, December 6, 11am-6pm in the Downtown Plaza, features an awesome snow sledding hill, a full day of live entertainment and music, children's activities, amazing local food and a Tree Lighting Ceremony, drop off donations for SF-Marin Food Bank for a food drive, the Mill Valley Fire Department toy drive, and coat drive, Downtown Mill Valley.

12/3 Snow Day in the Berkeley Gourmet Ghetto, Bring Boots & Mittens to Play in the Snow, Visit with the Snow Queen, Pony Rides, Make Holiday Crafts, Arts & Crafts Vendors, Hot Cider and Cookies, 1450-1500 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley.

12/8 Winter Fest, 5-7pm, photos with Santa, music, arts & crafts, face painting, bouncy house and more, Marinwood Community Center.

12/9 San Rafael Lighted Boat Parade, 5:30pm, along the San Rafael Canal.

12/9 Parol Lantern Festival, 5-9p, Yerba Buena Gardens.

12/9-10 Winterfest, Lighted Boat Parade, Jingle Run, Fireworks, and children's activities, and more, Sausalito waterfront.

12/10 Festival of Lights, 11:30am-2pm, food, music and Hanukkah fun, Osher Marin JCC, San Rafael.

12/12 Grand Menorah Lighting, latkes, donuts, music, dancing, raffle and more, Whole Foods, Novato.

12/15 Lighted Boat Parade, Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco.