With two days to go until December Nights, activity in Balboa Park was in high gear today!
I enjoyed another walk through the park with my camera, catching much of the action. There isn’t much time to finish the immense preparation.
December Nights, one of the largest holiday festivals in the United States, will take place Friday December 5th from 3 to 11 pm, and Saturday December 6th from 11 am to 11 pm.
Make sure to give yourself extra time for traffic and to find parking. Better yet, use public transit or one of the free shuttles. You can find the “Getting to December Nights” webpage by clicking here.
Festive red ribbons are now on the Cabrillo Bridge lamp posts.A sign and wreath bids Welcome to December Nights at Balboa Park’s west entrance.Huge crowds will stream into December Nights by foot, passing the Museum of Us and the archways of the California Quadrangle.Workers getting strings of holiday lights ready in the Plaza de Panama.Cheerful lights will be strung everywhere!Sadly, I suppose San Diego’s Community Christmas Tree encircled by its historical fence will be forgotten again. (I’ve spoken to multiple people about this over the years, but nobody seems to know or care.)The Community Christmas Center’s traditional Nativity scenes are set up already. They must have done that during the last couple days.I saw the enormous Christmas tree on the Spreckels Organ Pavilion stage being assembled!One might say the Organ Pavilion will be at the center of December Nights, with many special holiday performances.Barricades being readied in the Palisades area of Balboa Park, where there will be plenty of December Nights activity, too!Signs are up at the various parking lots.San Diego Parks and Recreation workers were all over the place, cutting grass and making everything perfect.I noticed one of the fences on the west side of the Lily Pond has been removed, now that this section of the new Central Gardens outside the Botanical Building is ready.Getting the annual San Diego Floral Association Festival of Trees ready in Room 101 of the Casa del Prado. There will be a special free preview on Thursday December 4, from 4 to 7 pm!These smiling Balboa Park Garden Stewards were on their way out to beautify the park when I happened by with my camera!Hanging stars at the Museum of Photographic Arts inside the Casa de Balboa!
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The Holiday Season is upon us and the Village of Carlsbad is ready!
I rode the Coaster train north to Carlsbad a few days ago for a pleasant walk, and this is what I found!
Festive decorations everywhere one turns: at storefronts, in windows, on street banners and signs. I saw Christmas trees, Santa, elves at the North Pole, candy canes, wreaths, Frosty, snowflakes, poinsettias, Rudolph, gingerbread houses…
A free Musical Kickoff to the Holidays will take place this Friday, December 5th, from 4 to 7:30 pm. It will be at the Carlsbad fountain parking lot at 2898 State Street.
You can expect middle and high school student musicians, hot cocoa and more!
A smiling Steven Blake was playing Happy Holidays music at the Carlsbad Village fountain! (His Instagram is @deverb.band.)
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Balboa Park is “decking the halls” in preparation for December Nights! Families visiting the park this coming Friday and Saturday will enjoy cheerful holiday sights and sounds and tastes, and yesterday I saw how preparations are underway!
That’s a big wreath in Spanish Village above. Below, ornaments already hang from the trees around the patio…
Spanish Village Art Center will host Holidays in the Village during December Nights. There will be hot cocoa, crafts, Junior Theatre performances, and jolly Santa, too!
There’s a festive wreath on the rear of the Balboa Park Miniature Railroad train…
The stage inside the Casa del Prado courtyard is being resurfaced in preparation for youth performances during December Nights…
Big candy canes have appeared in the House of Hospitality courtyard…
The San Diego History Center has multiple Christmas trees and many poinsettias. Their “Bataan Café” will be serving AleSmith Brewing Company beer during December Nights.
There will be food galore at the International Cottages during December Nights. Many of the cottages are already decked out for the Holiday Season.
Here’s a Christmas tree among piñatas in the House of Mexico cottage…
An angel in the House of Mexico cottage…
Christmas tree in House of Panama cottage…
A small Christmas tree in House of USA cottage…
A tiny winter scene inside the House of Germany cottage…
In the House of Finland cottage, a member was creating Sydänkori heart baskets, perfect for hanging on Christmas trees…
Most Balboa Park museums will be open free to the public in the evening during December Nights.
I found this beautiful Christmas tree inside the San Diego Automotive Museum…
Fill up the Toys For Tots box at the San Diego Automotive Museum!
Jewels of the Season has again filled the Timken Museum of Art with hand made jewel-like ornaments and bright, twinkling splendor!
The Whoville General Store featuring oodles of green Grinch merch is now open at the Old Globe!
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If you’d like to see San Diego through my lens, find the “Follow” box in the sidebar to receive new posts in your email, or bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
(If you’re viewing Cool San Diego Sights on a phone, you can open my website’s sidebar by tapping those three parallel lines at the top of the page.)
One week to Thanksgiving and a little more than a month until Christmas. The year has flown by and the holidays are almost upon us!
Walking around San Diego the past few days, I’ve noticed that preparations are well underway for the Holiday Season.
Santas and Christmas trees are popping up. Signs and banners around downtown anticipate festive events. Balboa Park is beginning to ready for December Nights…
JOY has returned to the Broadway Pier.Jingle Jets begins on the flight deck of the USS Midway on November 28.Seaport Village is decked out for the holidays.Alamo Flags is ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas.Holiday programming is coming up at the Rady Shell, including Noel Noel.Happy Holidays and Season’s Greetings banners in the Gaslamp Quarter.Santa Claus is riding a motorcycle at the Hard Rock Hotel.Mannequin in Gaslamp shop is dressed for a Christmas party.Museum of Illusions has a Christmas tree and fun North Pole photo op!Santa and reindeer are practicing landings in Balboa Park.Celebrate the holidays with local artists at Balboa Park’s Spanish Village.The San Diego Civic Youth Ballet will perform The Nutcracker in December.Getting the Balboa Park Miniature Railroad ready for the holidays!
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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.
People are already getting ready for the Holiday Season in Coronado! And it’s still over a week until Thanksgiving!
Today I enjoyed a long leisurely walk from the Ferry Landing down Orange Avenue to the Hotel del Coronado and beyond.
What’s the first thing I saw? Red bows, wreaths, candy cane signs, festive banners, and a Christmas tree at the Coronado Ferry Landing!
Proceeding down Orange Avenue, I spied more holiday things (often in shop windows)…
The big landmark Coronado Rotary Club Christmas Tree is already strung with colorful lights!
Continuing my walk…
When I arrived at the beach near the Hotel del Coronado, I found workers setting up The Del’s holiday Beachside Igloos!
The magic of Oz is coming to The Del from November 21, 2025 to January 4, 2026!
(As you might know, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz author L. Frank Baum has deep ties to the Hotel del Coronado. The beach resort’s grand Victorian architecture is said to be his inspiration for the Emerald City.)
That magic will include ice skating!
The holidays are nearly here in Coronado!
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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.
It’s late October. Early mornings and late evenings in San Diego have become chilly.
Walking through Balboa Park this afternoon, I noticed certain preparations are already underway for the Holiday Season!
The Old Globe’s annual “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” Tree is going up in their outdoor Copley Plaza. I’m told the tree’s assembly began yesterday. In addition, nearby banners are being replaced and holiday lights are being strung.
The 20th annual Globe Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony will take place on Sunday, November 9 at 6:00 p.m.
Meanwhile, in the center of the Botanical Building, a very beautiful harvest display full of Autumn color and pumpkins has been erected by the City of San Diego Parks and Recreation Department.
Thanksgiving will be here before we know it!
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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.
It’s hard to believe another year has sped by. We’re almost a quarter of a century into the 2000s! How did that happen so quickly?
I think I’ll take the next couple weeks off from blogging. To relax a bit, recharge. After the New Year, Cool San Diego Sights should be back–in its 12th year–with more cool photographs from more walks! That’s the plan!
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! May our adventures next year be better than ever!
I was considering what photographs to post here, and I decided to share old Christmas photographs taken about ten years ago with a lesser camera. But these half dozen photographs somehow made it into a great book written by historian Bill Swank: Christmas in San Diego!
Bill Swank for many years played Santa Claus at Balboa Park’s Spreckels Organ Pavilion during Christmas on the Prado and December Nights. He’s an award-winning author and leading authority when it comes to the history of the San Diego Padres. Learn a little more about him and his many merry endeavors here!
Anyway, the six photographs you see in this blog post appear in the pages of Bill’s 2015 book Christmas in San Diego. I feel very honored that they were selected.
San Diego is a city full of surprises. Here’s to more great memories!
Richard
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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.
Dozens of amazing Christmas ornaments that were created through the years for the Hotel del Coronado are now on display in the hotel’s Ice House Museum!
Beginning in 1993, the Hotel del Coronado has offered an Annual Collector’s Ornament with a holiday theme. Most of the ornaments contain a sparkling image of Coronado’s historic Victorian beach resort.
Visitors to the hotel’s Ice House Museum can now peer into several display cases and see the jewel-like beauty of these ornaments!
I was pleasantly surprised to discover the seasonal exhibit yesterday. I took a few photographs.
(The following photo is of a 2007 Commemorative Set containing interpretations of past ornaments…)
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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.
Several days until Christmas, and the holiday spirit is on full display in Coronado!
Yesterday I took the ferry from downtown San Diego to the Coronado Ferry Landing. I walked down Coronado’s central Orange Avenue, circled the world-famous Hotel del Coronado, then turned back east along the opposite sidewalk.
Look at all the festive holiday sights!
The Coronado Ferry Landing is decorated for the holidays in 2024.Tall nutcrackers on either side of the front door of Cocina 35.Santa Claus stands beside a Christmas tree at the Coronado Ferry Landing.A fun holiday display in a front yard on Orange Avenue.A beautiful Christmas tree inside the Coronado Public Library.The classic movie Christmas Vacation playing at Coronado’s historic Village Theatre.Beautiful Christmas theme plates in a shop window.A festive wreath in a shop door.Poinsettias surround the Coronado Rotary Club Christmas Tree.The enormous Coronado Rotary Club Christmas Tree rises beside Orange Avenue.A small Christmas tree and decorations inside the Coronado Historical Association museum.Historical museum display includes this Merry Christmas menu from the Hotel del Coronado in 1974.Hotel del Coronado Holidays book displayed at the Coronado Historical Association museum.Back out on the sidewalk, I meet a giant blue M&M candy in a Santa hat!Lamb’s Players Theatre is now showing Respectfully Christmas, A Musical Celebration.Frosty the Snowman and friend inside a shop window.The big red poinsettia Christmas tree outside the Hotel del Coronado.Beachside Igloos at the Hotel del Coronado.A Christmas tree at the Hotel del Coronado’s outdoor ice rink.Skating By The Sea at the Hotel del Coronado.A wreath on the historic Power Plant door at the Hotel del Coronado.Holiday lights and sights greet those arriving at the Hotel del Coronado.Fun wreath contains sea shells and a bit of Hollywood. Some Like It Hot was filmed at the Hotel del Coronado.a Christmas tree outside the hotel’s lobby entrance.The gorgeous Christmas tree in the lobby of the historic Hotel del Coronado.Back out on the Orange Avenue sidewalk, now starting back toward the ferry landing, I encounter a smiling Old Town Trolley Tours guide!Elvis in front of MooTime Creamery is sporting a Santa hat, too!Can Santa sit on this Christmas cow?No, I see Santa Claus has already found a nice seat in front of Wag’n Tails!
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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.
Jewels of the Season has returned to the Timken Museum of Art in Balboa Park. The elegant lobby of the museum is decorated with over a thousand of jewel-like ornaments, creating perhaps the finest, most dazzling indoor Christmas display in San Diego!
Take a look at these photos. I’ll let you judge for yourself.
These one-of-a-kind ornaments were hand crafted by artists Florence Hord and Elizabeth Schlappi over the course of decades. Many of these precious works of art include colorfully embroidered and sequined patches that feature the San Diego Zoo, the Padres, the Star of India and other local attractions.
Visitors might stand in the museum lobby and simply stare with astonishment at the richly decorated Christmas tree, or the ceiling from which many ornaments hang like glittering stars.
Jewels of the Season can be freely enjoyed during the Timken‘s open hours until December 29, 2024. If you love Christmas, it’s a can’t miss for the entire family!
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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.
Cool San Diego Sights! 