By Tony Bravo
In some places the first snowfall is a harbinger of the holidays, but growing up in San Francisco, I found it was always the first taste of an amaretti cookie from North Beach’s Victoria Pastry Co. that let me know Christmas and Chanukah were just around the corner. The Victoria only makes their melt-in-your-mouth almond cookies with candied fruit coated in sugar in December. Cavities aside, they’re my perfect San Francisco holiday memory. This year, as you’re making your way through the maze of shopping, parties, and family dysfunctions (don’t pretend your family isn’t included), take some time to enjoy some of what San Francisco has to offer during the season. From the classics (the Fairmont Gingerbread House and the Bill Graham Menorah) to the nouveau (The Golden Girls: The Christmas Episodes drag show and the Reindeer Romp at the San Francisco Zoo), my holiday neighborhood guide shows there’s something for children, adults, and adults who become children during the month of December.
Union Square
Get a visit to Union Square out of the way early – the closer you get to Christmas, the more desperate and grasping the holiday shoppers become. After you take in all the holiday windows (Barneys usually wins for highest concept, while Macy’s annual SPCA puppies-and-kitties exhibition always wins for cuteness), pop in to see the 12-foot-tall gingerbread castle in the Westin St. Francis Hotel lobby, but beware: the gingerbread is up to seven years old on some parts of the construction, so if you try to Hansel-and-Gretel yourself a snack, the joke’s on you. In the square proper you’ll find the season’s pivotal outdoor ice skating rink. There’s just something about doing a triple toe loop in the shadow of Mrs. Spreckels on her monument that no other rink can beat. The Macy’s tree gets a lot of attention, but I’m more into the Bill Graham Menorah (named for the legendary rock promoter), which, in 1975, became the first public menorah-lighting ceremony outside Israel.
Civic Center
Here’s a fun fact about Tchaikovsky’s TheNutcracker: the first full-length American production was staged in 1944 at the War Memorial Opera House by the San Francisco Ballet. Because of fabric rationing for the war, costumes were creatively recycled and even constructed from discarded theater curtains. In the years since, the production has gotten more sophisticated (Helgi Tómasson’s 2004 redesign sets Act One in a San Francisco Victorian and Act Two at the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition), but the spirit remains the same. If you’re looking for a place to be on Christmas Day, services at the always riveting Glide Memorial Church become even more so on a holiday. Glide is also a great place to volunteer for those of you who are looking to give more than just presents. If all that ballet and church gets you thirsty, drop into Absinthe in nearby Hayes Valley for a burnt sugar buttered rum, which, like amaretti cookies, is best in December.
Embarcadero
If you can’t get to the Union Square skating rink, there’s always the one at Justin Herman Plaza in the Embarcadero. There’s also a lot of stuff your out-of-town in-laws will like at Pier 39, including majestic views of the downtown lights from the water and every conceivable holiday treat at the Ferry Building (if you’re looking for the best Christmas goose in the land, this is likely where you’ll find it). My recommendation: get a Blue Bottle cappuccino and Mariposa Baking Co. biscotti, and enjoy a peaceful view of the water side of the Ferry Building.
Nob Hill
Yes, the Westin St. Francis has their gingerbread castle, the Palace has their designer gingerbread competition, and every mall from here to Daly City has some homage to gingerbread in their food court; but if you see only one gingerbread confection this December, go see the two-story Victorian gingerbread house at the Fairmont. You could even take a holiday-decorated cable car up the hill. There’s something about the Fairmont’s gingerbread house that makes it the gingerbread house: maybe it’s knowing that it’s freshly baked every year, or maybe it’s the resemblance it has to the famed Alamo Square Painted Ladies. If you plan the day right, swing by the Top of the Mark for a holiday martini (tell them to put some mistletoe in it) and watch the Christmas lights come on around the city at twilight. Conclude your day with a performance at Grace Cathedral. It doesn’t matter if you’re religious; you’ve never heard carols until you’ve heard them echoing through Grace’s chambers.
Castro
Christmas in the Castro has much to offer, whether you’re admiring some of the neighborhood’s over-the-top decor (Tom and Jerry’s Santa’s workshop–themed decorations on 21st Street between Church and Sanchez are always a treat), getting reindeer antlers for your you-know-where at a novelty shop (they actually make these, by the way), or camping out at the Castro Theatre. On December 20 the theatre will show a Midnites for Maniacs “Horrific Holidays” screening of Home for the Holidays and Love Actually. And on Christmas Eve, the theatre will give the stage over to the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus for its annual holiday extravaganza. If you have time, jump over the hill to Noe Valley on a Saturday and see if the guy with the horse-drawn carriage is giving rides on 24th Street.
Mission
One of my favorite places to shop for holiday cards and artwork is the fantastic Creativity Explored. The organization exhibits and sells art created by the developmentally disabled, so every purchase not only is one of a kind but also benefits a worthy cause. Alternately, if you’re a fan of high camp, The Golden Girls: The Christmas Episodes drag reenactment of the beloved sitcom runs through December 22nd at the Victoria Theater. Even though it’s not officially recommended, we suggest you go in costume for that too. In recent years Shotwell Street and some of the other streets off the main Mission thoroughfares have put up great lights and holiday decorations on the jewel-box houses in the neighborhood.
North Beach
Since you’re already going to North Beach for those amaretti cookies (they’re good, right?), you should also pick up some Christmas panettone (a sweet bread with candied fruit) at any bakery. Visit the National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi (you were going to go anyway, but now you have to go since the sex scandal was exposed), check out the decor in Saints Peter and Paul Church on Washington Square (light a candle if you’re a believer), and stay for a mass in Italian or old-church Latin. Beach Blanket Babylon’s holiday shows are worth checking out. You’ve seen the regular hats they wear; now imagine what they do to top that at Christmas.
Sunset
Aside from having a large number of Christmas tree lots (just go stand in the middle and take a deep, piney breath; it doesn’t matter if you’re going to buy one), the Sunset District is also home to the San Francisco Zoo and its Reindeer Romp. Four real-life reindeer will be on display through January 1 for kids and adults who want to get up close to the mythical creatures. Call ahead to find out when they’ve had their baths – just a tip.
Chinatown
If you’re in Chinatown for some traditional nonbeliever Christmas dim sum, swing by the New Asia Restaurant for the 21st Annual Kung Pao Kosher Comedy, running December 24–26. Twenty-one years of comedy by Jewish comedians (this year with headliner Gary Gulman) makes this an alternative to Christmas institutions. You can even go if you’re a gentile sick of all the holiday tailspin.
What are some of your favorite holiday traditions in San Francisco? Have any of you found a good live nativity you can recommend or a Kwanzaa celebration you want to invite us too? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
And as always, happy New Year.