A Complete Guide to All the Holidays in San Diego

If you’re looking for a unique San Diego holiday experience, check out the San Diego Santa Run. Each year in early to mid-December thousands of people clad in Santa costumes fill the streets of Pacific Beach during the annual 5k Santa Run.

As a longtime resident of Pacific Beach, this event is practically in my front yard. My family and I participate each year, 2024 being no exception, and I can tell you that it’s a huge event and an incredible family experience.

All are invited to watch the Santa Run, and if you register ahead of time, you can join in! Be sure to wear a costume if you plan on participating. If you don’t have your own, don’t worry, one is provided with each 5k registration.

The Santa Run also holds an afterparty with fun themed events and the Pacific Beach Holiday Parade following the conclusion of the run.

If you’ve got animal lovers in your family, you can’t go wrong with a trip to either the world-famous San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park or San Diego Zoo Safari Park in the Escondido neighborhood, both of which hold very festive holiday events. The party at the Safari Park, Wild Holidays, promises a wild good time with captivating lights shows, interactive experiences, and chances to meet Santa.

Exploring the park after dark is one of my favorite aspects of this event. The walk-through light shows at different trails feel like getting to walk around one of those huge Christmas light displays, which thrills my kids, as well as my inner child.

You already know that Balboa Park has lots of my favorite Christmas activities, and that includes picking out a tree! You’ll find one Mr. Jingles Christmas Trees location there, alongside two other locations in Clairemont and La Jolla.

At each lot, they sell five different species of Fir trees, including popular favorites like Douglas and Fraser Firs, plus smaller Silver Tip trees.

Mr. Jingles also offers online ordering and delivery with installation, plus flocking, ornaments, and wreaths. I really like Mr. Jingles Christmas Tree lots because they have healthy, green trees but also for all the extras they have onsite as well.

To me, they’re your one-stop shop for everything you need to decorate your home for the holidays.

I love being able to support local and family-owned businesses, especially during the holiday season. That’s why I suggest that San Diegans in Del Mar and Carlsbad get their Christmas tree at a Purdy Tree Farms location.

With fresh-cut trees all sourced from their family farm out in Oregon, Purdy Tree Farms is an excellent spot to pick up your family’s Christmas tree this year.

You’ll have just as much fun strolling through the lot as you will decorating the tree - and if you’re at the Carlsbad location, you can get a jump on Christmas gifts at The Shoppes, as the trees are sold right nearby in the parking lot.

If you want to spend the last evening of 2024 with your friends or family, head to one of my favorite Mission Hills restaurants to start your New Year’s Eve off right when you dine at Fort Oak. This restaurant is upscale with lots of fresh seafood options, so you’ll feel like you’re really celebrating a special occasion.

Reservations start as early as 5:00 pm, so this is a great opening activity before you head out to a party later - or, if you’re with the family, a fun thing to do in the early evening before getting the noisemakers ready at home.

While I know a good bit about New Year’s Eve parties from many memorable evenings in past years, honestly, my days of parties that stretch into the early hours of New Year’s Day are probably mostly behind me. If you’re like me, for the last day of 2024, a cruise around the bay might be more your style.

You can relax to the soothing sounds of live music and stunning views of the San Diego Bay’s landmarks on a New Year’s Eve Dinner Cruise. Guests on the cruise will enjoy a buffet-style meal topped off with a complimentary champagne toast for those 21 and older.

We love this cruise as a more family-friendly way to celebrate New Year’s Eve, as all ages are invited, with free admission for kids under three!

San Diego’s Little Italy neighborhood is best known for its Italian fare, but restaurants like Herb & Wood serve up Thanksgiving dinner in style too. You and your family can enjoy all the classic desserts and sides - plus turkey, of course - infused with a subtle Mediterranean flare for a truly unbeatable menu.

Herb & Wood is one of my personal favorite restaurants in all of San Diego, and my wife loves it too. Eating Thanksgiving dinner there comes with the added benefit of getting to skip out on all the tidying and washing-up of eating at home.

I say save yourself the hassle and spend the extra time with your family instead. Your stomach will also thank you!

Start a tradition of incorporating healthy habits and charity into the holiday season when you sign up for Father Joe’s Village Thanksgiving Day Run for Hope, an annual 5k Run & Walk. Not only will you work up an appetite for your Thanksgiving feast, but since the proceeds go toward feeding the homeless, you’ll get to give back too!

This is the oldest Thanksgiving run of its kind in San Diego. It’s great for families, with laid-back “fun runs” for all ages. Or come cheer on the crowd and attend the post-race festival which includes kid-friendly games.

I look forward to the Día de los Muertos activities and events that spice up Old Town San Diego each year. One of my family’s favorite things to do while visiting is to join in the procession to the El Santos Campo Cemetery which will take place this year on the evening of Día de Los Muertos, November 2nd, 2024.

The candlelight procession will start right after sunset at the Immaculate Church on San Diego Ave. The parade will feature dancers in full regalia, a live Mariachi band, and a large public altar located inside the cemetery.

Both watching the parade and participating are completely free, as well as suitable for all ages. For my family, we choose to participate each year. It’s an exciting cultural event that I can say from personal experience is well worth the time!

To learn more about the 2024 festivities before and during the celebration, including this year’s specific times, performers and more, check out our Complete Guide to the Día de Los Muertos Celebration in Old Town San Diego.

Also making a spot on our Best Things to Do in Old Town San Diego list, the Fiesta de Reyes stage hosts musical acts and dance performances all through the year on weekends. But during Día de los Muertos, the festivities truly take off!

In addition to seeing shows by Mexican bands and performers, you can also shop at vendor stalls threaded through the pavilion, where you’ll find handmade goods and specialty items.

Watching the live entertainment is free, but if you choose to dine at the Casa De Reyes restaurant, know that you’ll have a great view of the main stage from your seat!

While many San Diego celebrations have all the trappings of Día de Los Muertos - complete with face painting, sugar skulls, and Catrinas costumes - few bring the soul of the holiday to the forefront quite like the festivities in Chula Vista.

Last year, my family really liked the community ofrendas and live performances by musicians and dancers. We enjoyed walking the rows of vendor stalls and noticed that there was a family-friendly movie for kids in the evening.

Chula Vista’s Día de Los Muertos event isn’t the biggest in the city, but its wide range of activities and shows that more than make up for it!

The 2024 festivities will be held November 2nd from 3pm to 8pm in Downtown Chula Vista. Attending is completely FREE!

The Día de los Muertos celebration in Barrio Logan is an annual event that centers around Mexican culture and tradition.

For a few weeks each year, the area transforms into a depiction of the Day of the Dead that’s right out of the history books. Altars, or ofrendas, decorated with marigolds and themed painted skull decorations line the streets of the Cultural District of Barrio Logan.

Barrio Logan’s annual festivities are dubbed Espíritu de Xochimilco, or “Spirit of Xochimilco,” a name that calls back to the holiday’s roots and celebrates its Mexican origins. With two blocks of vendors, food trucks, and décor, I especially like the food selection, live musical performances and cultural art displays at this event.

I can also say that if you like tacos, Barrio Logan has the best tacos in San Diego and you can try them out when you visit this event!

The Carlsbad Strawberry Company’s Pumpkin Patch is the first to make our best of the best 2024 season pumpkin patches and that is in part due to the abundance of fall-themed activities.

Alongside being able to pick out and decorate pumpkins, there are lots of activities, from the kid-friendly petting zoo and corn maze to a spookier haunted corn maze for older kids and teens in the evenings. You’ll also find fields of marigolds and other idyllic photo spots around the farm, or you can take a tractor ride out to the pumpkin patch.

For even more fun, visit on a weekend, when the Carlsbad Strawberry Company hosts food vendors and market stalls selling locally-made goods. The pumpkin patch is pet-friendly, so you can bring the whole family! Just know that there is an entrance fee to this patch but we think that the plethora of picture spots and things to do make it worth the price.

There are lots of places to pick a pumpkin in San Diego, from farm stands to stores, but one of our favorites is the Goff Family Pumpkin Patch. No matter what kind of gourd you’re hoping to take home, the patch has a lot of variety, so you’re sure to find the perfect pumpkin to decorate or carve into a jack-o’-lantern.

Plus, with its location in Liberty Station, you’ll be right by the ARTS DISTRICT. Take some time to walk around and see the sculptures and other artwork on display - just make sure to do it before hitting the pumpkin patch if you’re planning on picking a heavy one!

There are also photograph stations with hay bales and tractors, plus a Tap Truck that serves beer and wine on the weekends for the adults!

SeaWorld San Diego may be best known for its animal shows and aquarium enclosures, but that doesn’t stop this theme park from having a thrilling Halloween celebration that kicks off in mid-September and continues all the way through early November.

SeaWorld’s Howl-O-Scream event is geared toward older kids and adults with scares that may be too intense for younger children. But if you’ve got a teenager who’s learning to appreciate all things spooky and doesn’t mind a fright or two, this is one event that’s just as fun for parents as it is for their kids.

Held Thursdays through Sundays from 7:00pm – 12:00am at an admission cost starting at $92, the event features haunted houses, live scare actors roaming around, chilling decorations, special effects, shows and musical performances. Of course, the thrill rides that SeaWorld San Diego is known for are open too!

I personally can’t wait to attend in 2024 with my teenagers to experience Howl-O-Scream’s commitment to immersive storytelling throughout the park.

Parents of younger kids who are looking for a more laid-back Halloween event can find it at the San Diego Zoo during their annual HalGLOWeen event.

Held from 5:00pm - 9:00pm on Fridays through Sundays from October 4th until October 29th in 2024, this Halloween festivity is included at no additional charge with park admission. Even better, as part of the Kids Free San Diego program held in October, kids get in free to the zoo and the HalGLOWeen event. I’d say it doesn’t get much better than that!

That said, like any day at the zoo, animal lovers of all ages are sure to find lots to enjoy here. You won’t just be chaperoning the kids, but also enjoying the festivities yourself!

You’ll notice the difference as soon as you enter the zoo in the evenings, with glow-in-the-dark decorations. True to the event’s name, the highlight to me is the new Enchanted HalGLOWeen Forest which lights up the walkways with scenes right out of nature.

It wouldn’t be a zoo event without animals, and HalGLOWeen has plenty of wildlife with its Featured Creatures show and Python Path in the reptile house. Pair that with family-friendly performances lining Front Street and all the way up to the Northern Frontier, and you get a Halloween-themed night to remember.