Suggestions for holiday events for 3 year old and young toddler?

Hi there,

Our kids are 18 months and 3.5 years old with pretty good attention spans. We are looking for holiday events, shows, or activities in the east bay and SF that are age-appropriate for toddlers and preschoolers. The childhood holiday show options that come readily to mind (Nutcracker, Christmas Carol, Vienna Boys Choir, etc.) seem years away, so I would love to find something else. Are there any young-kid-friendly holiday events or activities you would recommend? Thanks!

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Definitely Berkeley Snow Day! (or any other local event where they truck in snow) Dec. 4 this year.

Go to Oakland ZooLights and SF ZooLights. Check out Xmas Tree Lane in Alameda. Look for snow day events in Berkeley, Orinda and Treasure Island. The Nutcracker Sweets is a 45-minute production in SF. Walking around Union Square to see the windows and tree is festive. The Great Dickens Faire in SF offers an amazing experience. Happy Holidays! 

Highly recommend The Great Dickens Christmas Fair  http://dickensfair.com/general
​Been going for years with our kids and always take out of town family and their kids. 
​There are lots of shows and activates your kids would really enjoy.  Warning, there' a lot for kids todo and there's no way they will be able to see all of it in one day.

The Tech Museum of Innovation is very good.  https://www.thetech.org/  
​When you go be sure not to miss ​Christmas in the Park. http://www.christmasinthepark.com/directions.aspx

Take a look at the Children's Discovery Museum in San Jose is also very good. https://www.cdm.org/visit/plan-your-visit/
​They have a holiday program going on.

Have fun.

Look up "Christmas tree lane" in Alameda. It's a street that gets totally decorated for Christmas. Some evenings a resident gets dressed up as Santa and kids line up for pictures. It's really fun! Go in the early evening when the lights turn on. It gets really crowded on weekends. It's a nice short street, perfect for walking up and down with little kids. Best of all....it's free!

Not sure about the toddler, but my preschooler was entranced by the Velveteen Rabbit at Yerba Buena Center a few Christmases ago.  I just looked at their website and it doesn't say much about the age group it's directed to, but there is a teacher's guide that might be helpful. http://odcdance.org/performance.php?param=2

Also, Children's Fairyland has a thing they call "Fairy Winterland" in December with lights, Santa, treats, etc. We went a few years ago and it was great fun.

Fantasy Forum is a wonderful theater company for little ones. They perform at Lesher Center and their holiday show is The Biggest Gift - http://fantasyforum.org/ or the Lesher Center website.

Tilden Park Merry-Go-Round with reindeer and Santa at night; East Bay Children's Theater performances; the trains at Pt. Richmond train museum and club events.   Alexander Lindsay Junior Museum in Walnut Creek---not necessarily for the holidays but year round.