If you live Downtown and would rather pick your crowds than walk into them, Dec. 12 and 13 is the weekend to plan around. It has a pet parade in the Gaslamp, a makers fair on Broadway Pier, a film concert at The Rady Shell, a Saturday market in Little Italy, the snow hill at Petco Park and the first Bay Parade of Lights, all within about 36 hours.
The rest of the season is spread out more evenly. It opens inside the ballpark the week before Thanksgiving, moves to India Street on the first Saturday of December, and closes on the waterfront three days after Christmas. If you know the order, you can choose the corner and the night.
November Starts in the Outfield
The season's first event is a golf course built inside Petco Park. The 12th annual Links at Petco Park, presented by Lexus, runs Nov. 18 through 25, 2026. That's eight days, Wednesday to Wednesday, ending the day before Thanksgiving. The San Diego Tourism Authority's listing describes a new nine-hole layout with themed tee boxes in different spots around the ballpark, so golfers hit onto the playing field. Tickets are listed from $31 to $278.80.
A few rules are worth knowing before you book a tee time. Callaway clubs are provided at every hole, and golfers can't bring their own. Left-handed clubs are available, and children under 10 may bring one iron. The Lexus Club becomes the Links Clubhouse, with a full bar, food for purchase and a retail shop. Spectator tickets get you into the clubhouse, which looks out over the whole course, plus one drink ticket. Spectators can't walk the course. If you'd like a seat at the bar more than a scorecard, the spectator ticket covers it.
The waterfront gets one early date before December. On Saturday, Nov. 28, two days after Thanksgiving, Surfin' Santa arrives at Seaport Village with a boardwalk parade, music, performers and photo opportunities. It's the one November event on the bay. The water doesn't get busy again until mid-December.
Dec. 4 and 5: Gallagher Square, Then India Street
The ballpark hosts a second event the following week. Holiday Wonderland returns to Gallagher Square at Petco Park for select dates between Dec. 4 and 23, with Christmas light displays, nightly snowfall, a 40-foot tree and a sledding hill with real snow. Admission covers Santa and other holiday characters, the carousel, the Christmas train and carnival games. Drinks, seasonal treats and the local artisan shops are paid separately. The listed dates are Dec. 4 through 6, Dec. 8 through 13 and Dec. 16 through 23. It's dark on Monday, Dec. 7, and for two nights on Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 14 and 15. The Padres also book the space for company and group holiday parties, so some nights may feel more like a private event than a public one.
Wonderland opens on a Friday. The next day, the season's center moves northwest to Little Italy, and Saturday, Dec. 5 fills a whole day there:
- 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Little Italy Mercato runs as it does every Saturday, year-round and rain or shine.
- 4 p.m. The Little Italy Tree Lighting & Christmas Village opens on India Street between W. Cedar and W. Grape streets. It runs until 8 p.m.
- 6:30 p.m. The tree-lighting ceremony takes place at the Piazza della Famiglia.
Since the market closes two hours before the village opens, you could make a full day of it without moving your car.
A new stop has opened farther up India Street. Swells Sourdough held its grand opening at 2254 India St. on Oct. 1, after a soft opening the weekend before, as the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. The Union-Tribune names Pamela Peraza and Erik Hobbie as co-founders. This is the family-owned bakery's first permanent shop after its farmers market start. It makes naturally fermented breads with organic ingredients and has a dough room where guests can watch the baking. According to the Union-Tribune, Swells is also keeping its Saturday stand at the Little Italy Mercato, so on Dec. 5 you can buy its bread at the market in the morning or at the shop later in the day.
On the same street, Juliette at 2400 India St. appears on a There San Diego roundup of 2026 openings as a late-fall prospect, without a firm date.
Dec. 12 and 13: The Weekend Everything Overlaps
Until mid-December, each part of Downtown gets its own date. On the second weekend of the month, the calendar stacks up instead. Holiday Wonderland is still in its first run, Saturday is a Mercato day, and four more events fall on the same two days.
Saturday, Dec. 12
- 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Little Italy Mercato.
- 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Makers Arcade Holiday Fair opens on Broadway Pier.
- 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Gaslamp Pet Parade & Pups in the Pub Party takes over the Gaslamp Quarter.
- 6 p.m. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, Live in Concert at The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park.
Sunday, Dec. 13
- 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Makers Arcade fair's second day on Broadway Pier.
- 5:30 p.m. The 56th San Diego Bay Parade of Lights leaves on the first of its two nights, passing the Embarcadero and Seaport Village.
- Holiday Wonderland's first run ends that night, before the Monday and Tuesday break.
For anyone who lives Downtown, this is the weekend when restaurant reservations, parking and sidewalk room are all in demand at once. If you plan to host, Friday, Dec. 11 is the quieter night. If you want to be out in it, Saturday afternoon puts the pet parade and the pier fair within the same five hours.
Zuma is a new dinner option for that Saturday. The Japanese izakaya opened Aug. 10 at 500 W. Broadway in The Guild Hotel, according to Eater San Diego, with Francisco "Poncho" Troncoso as culinary director. This will be its first holiday season Downtown, so it's sensible to book early for the Dec. 12 weekend.
After the 13th, the Water Takes Over
From mid-December on, most of the calendar is on the bay.
The Parade of Lights returns Sunday, Dec. 20, again at 5:30 p.m. on the same route past the Embarcadero and Seaport Village. The same weekend, The Rady Shell stages Noel Noel on Dec. 18, 19 and 20. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Friday, 6 p.m. Saturday and 4:30 p.m. Sunday. The Sunday matinee starts an hour before the boats leave, so Dec. 20 is the one evening when both events can fit into the same night out. Holiday Wonderland's second run continues back at Gallagher Square through Dec. 23.
The season's last Downtown events come in the quiet days after Christmas, built around the Holiday Bowl. According to the San Diego Tourism Authority's holiday calendar, the Snapdragon Bowl Bash fills the Gaslamp Quarter on Sunday, Dec. 27. The next day, Monday, Dec. 28, the Port of San Diego Holiday Bowl Parade runs along the Downtown waterfront.
One Gaslamp address will still be under construction that weekend. Copper Cowboy, a restaurant, saloon and hat shop at 820 Fifth Ave., is slated to open in January 2027, as San Diego Magazine reported. Alessandro Minutella is co-founder and chef James Montejano leads the food program. That puts it just after this season's Bowl Bash.
If family is coming in for the Parade of Lights or the days between Christmas and the Holiday Bowl Parade and needs somewhere to stay near the waterfront, YJ Luxury Realty can arrange discreet introductions to short-term luxury rentals that fit these dates. Request a Private Consultation, and we'll plan around the calendar, not just the address.
