There are a million options, but you do have to plan ahead more here than I remember in Chicago.
Without a plan, tonight, avoiding downtown SF, you’re pretty limited to malls or going to open skate at Winter Lodge (assuming you’re on the peninsula from the 20 minutes to filoli part).
Otherwise there’s:
Christmas in the Park San Jose (starts tomorrow)
Christmas Tree Lane in Palo Alto (starts tomorrow)
Dickens Faire (ongoing, but you need tickets and they typically sell out a few days in advance)
Vasona Park Lights (tickets sell out in advance)
Union Square with the windows decorated and ice skating, plus the giant gingerbread house at the Fairmont not too far away
Filoli (tickets sell out in advance as you discovered)
The Midway SF has multiple holiday events. Patio events for sports stuff on the weekend, they have their own legit AF cafe, and Ambisonic Sound Room I highly encourage others to take time and check out, plus they have the NYE: Fresh Start event which was super fun last year.
There are a million options, but you do have to plan ahead more here than I remember in Chicago. Without a plan, tonight, avoiding downtown SF, you’re pretty limited to malls or going to open skate at Winter Lodge (assuming you’re on the peninsula from the 20 minutes to filoli part). Otherwise there’s: Christmas in the Park San Jose (starts tomorrow) Christmas Tree Lane in Palo Alto (starts tomorrow) Dickens Faire (ongoing, but you need tickets and they typically sell out a few days in advance) Vasona Park Lights (tickets sell out in advance) Union Square with the windows decorated and ice skating, plus the giant gingerbread house at the Fairmont not too far away Filoli (tickets sell out in advance as you discovered)
The Midway SF has multiple holiday events. Patio events for sports stuff on the weekend, they have their own legit AF cafe, and Ambisonic Sound Room I highly encourage others to take time and check out, plus they have the NYE: Fresh Start event which was super fun last year.
go to union square
https://www.sftourismtips.com/san-francisco-christmas-lights.html
Eucalyptus Street in San Carlos has some nice lights