Everyone has a favorite spot to get in the holiday spirit, and no one is wrong.
Still, we at the Register cover Orange County – with its 34 cities and 3.2 million people – and have some ideas to share in case you’re stumped or simply looking for a new spot to check out.
We asked our local reporters, columnist and editors to share with you, our readers, the places they go to get festive. They came up with a wide range of options – everything from Santa’s Village to a bar, but lights almost always were involved – and two of our folks insisted on giving you two options.
The keys were finding things that didn’t require exclusive access or great expense, though how much you choose to spend at a couple of these spots is on you. They also needed to be available to check out moving forward, so nothing that wrapped up earlier in the month is included.
And, yes, we almost certainly missed your favorite because there are so many options in the nation’s sixth-largest county.
Here are our selections, from north to south. Click on the links if you want to learn more about each spot:
OC holiday tip: Jingle Bar in Laguna Beach has spirits aplenty
Lighted balls hang from trees in a neighborhood in Fullerton in 2021. Drive under the Sparkleball lights around Yale and Nutwood avenues, near Fullerton College. The neighborhood display is so popular that simply typing “sparkleball” into Google Maps will direct you to streets full of lit-up balls. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Visitors ice skate at Winter Fest OC at the OC Fair and Event Center in Costa Mesa on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. Winter Fest OC runs through January 5th. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
San Clemente Pier is lit for the holidays in San Clemente in 2023. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A family has their photo taken by Santa’s helper as the Crystal Cove Conservancy hosts its annual tree lighting ceremony and holiday bazaar at Crystal Cove State Park in Newport Beach on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The “Polar Express” cocktail at the Jingle Bar, a pop-up holiday-themed bar at Skyloft in Laguna Beach. (Photo by Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Orange County Register/SCNG)
As the tree lights are turned on, hundreds of people gather around as the Christmas tree on the beach at Crystal Cove State Park in Newport Beach as the Crystal Cove Conservancy hosts its annual holiday bazaar and tree lighting ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Jini Mini store associate and media coordinator, Mikayla Trinh, stocks a display of plush items at the Orchard Hills Shopping Center boutique in Irvine on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. The store will be moving to a bigger location at the District in Tustin in February. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Chocolates are on display at See’s Candies on E. Orangethorpe Ave in Anaheim, CA on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Snow blasts the Christmas Train as it cruises through Irvine Regional Park’s Santa’s Village on Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. The Christmas Train is sold out but tickets for the Train of Lights will be available online 10 a.m. Dec. 9. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Decorated boats cruise the harbor during the 115th Annual Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade in Newport Beach in 2023. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Longtime SCR cast member Richard Doyle will return as Ebenezer Scrooge in South Coast Repertory’s very popular annual production of “A Christmas Carol,” which will have its 44th season through Dec. 24, 2024. (Photo by Jenny Graham, South Coast Repertory)
Manager Nicole McArthur served Melanie Shreve and Noel Koziel on the patio at Ola Mexican Kitchen in Pacific City in Huntington Beach earlier this year. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Visitors walk among the artist booths set amid the trees on Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach for the Sawdust Art Festival’s Winter Fantasy in Nov. 2024..(Photo by Mark Rabinowitch, Contributing Photographer)
A vintage photo showing horses on the beach with the Crystal Cove north beach cottages in the background. (Photo Courtesy Laura Davick Collection)
A little girl pauses to look a decorated house on Balboa Island in Newport Beach, CA, on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
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Lighted balls hang from trees in a neighborhood in Fullerton in 2021. Drive under the Sparkleball lights around Yale and Nutwood avenues, near Fullerton College. The neighborhood display is so popular that simply typing “sparkleball” into Google Maps will direct you to streets full of lit-up balls. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
