12 Things to Do with kids In the bay area Over Winter Break

Aladdin The Musical. Put on by the spectacular SHN, Aladdin is running through January 4th and recommended for ages 5 and up.

Ice Skating. There are a few spots to do this: Union Square, Justin Herman Plaza by the Ferry Building, Yerba Buena Gardens, and the Oakland Ice Center.

Christmas Tree Lane in Alameda. An entire street shuts down and each house is decorated to the nines. Park and walk around with the family (some refreshments sold too).

Holiday Fairyland. We love Fairyland and every year try to go to a Christmas evening here. Only through this week, the charming park and fairy book rides are decked out with lights, holiday puppet shows, hot cocoa, and dances/visits with Santa.

IlluminOdyssey. They have a really amazing light show exhibition this time of year called IlluminOdyseey at Coyote Point in San Mateo. I can’t wait to take the kids during the break, it looks incredible.

Union Square. See the huge tree, and visit the legit Santa across the street in Macy’s.

California Academy of Science. Right in Golden Gate Park, they always have a great winter exhibition for kids with reindeer and snow (and this year there’s an ice rink!).

NYE At Children’s Discovery Museum. All day long there are a series of fun activities for the whole family like hourly ball drop and parties at the San Jose Discovery Museum.

Nutcracker SF Ballet. This is one of my favorite holiday traditions. It’s an incredible production in the beautiful Opera House in San Francisco.

Christmas Train. If you’re up for a beautiful drive up the coast, the Mendocino Skunk Train is transformed into a Polar Express Magical Christmas train. We’ve done this activity a couple times. The kids dress in pjs and Santa hats and they serve hot cocoa, cookies, and Santa visits too (main image from our trip up there last weekend). I’ve also heard great things about the holiday train down by Santa Cruz called the Niles Canyon Polar Express.

Fantasy of Lights. I have friends that do this every year. A beautiful drive through the most incredible light show in the south bay city of Los Gatos.

Oakland Zoo Lights. Only on specific nights (check their schedule), the entire zoo gets a holiday makeover with a fantastic light show.  The San Francisco Zoo has a similar event going on!