In depth · Christmas & New Year
Christmas in California: boat parades, Disneyland and the Rose Parade
California’s Christmas is lit by the Pacific. Yachts in lights circle Newport Harbor, Sleeping Beauty Castle turns to winter in Anaheim, San Francisco dances The Nutcracker, and the new year begins with the flower floats of the Rose Parade in Pasadena.
Updated October 2026
The Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade
For five nights, from 16 to 20 December 2026, the 118th Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade circles 14 miles of Newport Harbor from around 6.30pm, with yachts and sailing boats dressed in thousands of lights, according to the organisers. Waterfront homes compete in their own Ring of Lights, and Marina Park is the first public viewing point.
Our advice: watch from a harbour-front restaurant, or book a dinner cruise and join the parade on the water.
Disneyland at Christmas
The Disneyland Resort in Anaheim celebrates the holidays from 13 November 2026 to 6 January 2027, according to its announcement, with Sleeping Beauty’s Winter Castle glittering with lights, A Christmas Fantasy Parade and World of Color – Season of Light at Disney California Adventure. The weeks around Christmas are among the busiest of the year, so book park reservations early.
Christmas in Los Angeles and San Francisco
In Los Angeles, Hollywood Boulevard hosts its Christmas parade on the Sunday after Thanksgiving and Olvera Street walks Las Posadas from 16 to 24 December. In San Francisco, skaters circle the rink in Union Square and San Francisco Ballet dances The Nutcracker, the first full-length production in America, staged on Christmas Eve 1944. Our sister guides cover both cities in depth.
Christmas in Los Angeles Christmas in San Francisco
New Year’s Day: the Rose Parade
The year begins in Pasadena with the 138th Rose Parade on Friday 1 January 2027: flower-covered floats, marching bands and horses on a 5.5-mile route along Colorado Boulevard from 8am, followed by the 113th Rose Bowl Game. Then head up the coast: Santa Barbara and Big Sur are at their most peaceful in the quiet first days of January.
Questions and answers
When is the Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade 2026?
From 16 to 20 December 2026, from around 6.30pm each night.
When does Disneyland celebrate Christmas in 2026?
From 13 November 2026 to 6 January 2027.
When is the 2027 Rose Parade?
On Friday 1 January 2027 in Pasadena.
Join the conversation
Spent Christmas in California? Share your favourite parade, lights or New Year’s Day.
- Loading the conversation…
Dates are from the organisers’ and official tourism sites, read in October 2026. Where a 2026 date is not yet published we describe the tradition only. Check the official sites before you travel.