One way to handle the holiday pressure is to lie about a business trip and watch Die Hard on repeat in a dark motel room. As it turns out, the better choice is to fully embrace the chaos of Christmas with your friends and family. And why not do so with the style and opulence of a (middle-class) royal family?

Thankfully, America’s finest city has the right spots to create such an experience, and we have put them together for you in the perfect San Diego Christmas itinerary. With extravagant decorations, lively activities, and other fanciful charms, you and your loved ones will be celebrating in full Christmas spirit.

If celebrating loudly is not your thing, then check out our low-key Christmas itinerary.

The Itinerary

Christmas Eve Itinerary

1. Brunch At JRDN Restaurant
2. Christmas Market At Petco Park
3. Christmas Dinner Cruise On A Yacht

Christmas Day Itinerary

1. Brunch, Igloos And Jazz At Hotel Del
2. Dinner At Animae
3. Head Home For A Long Slumber

Christmas Eve Itinerary

Get Christmas Eve Brunch At JRND Restaurant

JRDN Restaurant, located inside Tower 23 Hotel in Pacific Beach, offers a lovely oceanfront dining experience and Executive Chef Jerry Ranson does not leave his patrons hungry during Christmas Eve, offering a delectable brunch including raw oysters, shrimp ceviche, breakfast tacos, cinnamon French toast, and biscuits and gravy.

The view from the restaurant is nothing to sneeze at. Overlooking the vast pacific ocean, you can relish in the joy of combining the beach with Christmas while you sip prosecco and start to feel warm and bubbly inside. Once you’ve had your fill from brunch, take a stroll on the beach.

Explore The Christmas Market At Petco Park

Every holiday season, Petco Park transforms into one of the best Christmas Markets in San Diego. Here you will find brilliant Christmas lights, a massive Christmas tree decorated to the gills, nightly smowfall (not a typo, not real snow), and plenty of handcrafted trinkets and last minute gifts for that neighbor you forgot about. Of course there are plenty activities for the kids like Christmas train rides or getting photos with Santa and his reindeer.

Tickets are $20 and are timed entries so get them early. But the staggered times makes for a much more enjoyable experience as you cam move about without being overwhelmed by other groups looking to quench their thirst for Christmas charms. Grab a warm Bavarian pretzel and a hot cider while you soak in the holiday spirit in a baseball stadium.

Extra: Check out nearby Seaport Village for a few extra Christmas activities and views into the bay.

Take A Christmas Eve Dinner Cruise

Why not enjoy your Christmas dinner on a yacht, cruising through the beautiful San Diego Bay? Run by Flagship Cruises, you can sip on a festive cocktail and enjoy views of the glittering San Diego skyline while your Christmas feast is prepared. The dinner is prix-fix which you select when making your reservation and includes a starter, main, dessert, and some additional appetizers.

If you have not expended your Christmas spirit just yet, the yacht continues the party after dinner with an open dance floor and classic Christmas tunes. Otherwise, you can grab another festive cocktail and continue enjoying the views San Diego’s skyline from the deck.

The cruise is from 6:30PM – 9:00PM (boarding is 30 minutes earlier at 6:00PM). Tickets are ~$127 per adult, and you can pay $35 for an unlimited drink ticket (highly recommended). Reservations can be made on their website here.

Christmas Day Itinerary

Head To Hotel Del Coronado

Reservations are required for most of these activities – make them here.

Built in 1888, the Hotel Del has been host to many former Presidents, royalty, and Hollywood celebrities, with a history of filmmaking at the hotel itself including pictures like “Some like it hot” with Marylin Monroe. Attracting guests with it’s luxurious amenities and beautiful natural splendor, the Hotel Del has also become a staple for celebrating Christmas in style, which is exactly why we’re bringing you here.

We recommend getting there early on Christmas Day, not only because it makes it easier for us to write this itinerary, but for you it means less time battling holiday traffic and more time exploring the huge range of Christmas activities and celebrations at the Hotel.

Get Brunch In The Crown Room

To be in full Christmas spirit your belly must also be full from a Christmas feast. And the Christmas Day brunch buffet in the historic Crown Room is an ideal way to satisfy this need. For an fancy price you will get the fanciest of holiday fixings to enjoy – check out the 2024 brunch menu on their website (to be announced this fall!).

As you and your family gather around the table on Christmas Day and break fast together, you will be treated to a view of the beautiful Coronado beach through enormous floor to ceiling windows. Take your time here and enjoy the laughter and love shared around your meal – no amount of “fancy” can replace that.

Get An Igloo By The beach

They say San Diego has the best igloos. But of all the San Diego igloos the ones at Hotel Del are the perfect cozy Christmas nook for you and your family to relax. Each igloo is situated right on the beach and is adorned with comfy lounge furniture, a heater, and a fire pit in the sand where you can roast unlimited free s’mores (other drinks and food are available to order separately). The igloos can fit 8 people total (4 inside the igloo and 4 outside around the fire pit), and each reservation is for two hours. They say if you stare long enough into the ocean on Christmas Day, you may catch a glimpse of the elusive Christmas squid.

All That Jazz Lightshow Spectacular

Not everything fancy has to come with a fancy price or reservation. In fact, the ten-minute “All The Jazz Lightshow Spectacular” is free to the public and plays every 30 minutes from 5PM – 9PM. Located on the main lawn, guests will be surrounded by a tall canopy of Norfolk pine trees while Christmas lights sync with classic Christmas jazz and holiday music for an extraordinary Christmas light show that ends with a flurry of snowflakes drifting down from above. Guests can walk about the lawn or enjoy the show from a seat near the bar.

Fun fact: The featured Norfolk Pine tree on the lawn was the world’s first electrically lit outdoor Christmas tree in 1904.

Other Activities At The Del:

Ice skating rink
Frost Bite Lounge
Jingle Roast s’mores and fire pit rentals

Christmas Dinner At Animae

With all that eating you must have worked up quite an appetite, which is why we recommend a Christmas dinner at one of San Diego’s most unique restaurants, Animae. With an opulent atmosphere and a menu to match, this Asian-fusion steakhouse in the Marina District offers an exceptional Christmas dinner to treat you and your Christmas guests.

More than your standard steakhouse, Animae offers a more delectable and adventurous menu including items like crispy pig ears, hamachi crudo, and the rarely served Japanese A5 wagyu beef. Put on your more elegant Christmas attire and indulge in a more sophisticated take on Christmas dinner this year. Reservations can be made on Animae’s website.

Head Home For The Long Christmas Slumber

It has been a couple of wonderful days shared with family and friends, filled with joy and laughter. Say goodnight to your friends and loved ones, wish them a Merry Christmas, and take a long Christmas nap to seal in these wholesome memories.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, San Diego.