🌟Local Kiddo SF

Your weekend plans, handled.

Author

Jasmine Alves
December 26, 2025

📆Issue No. 48 - December 27-28, 2025

Happy Friday, friends! We're in the home stretch of 2025. The wrapping paper has been recycled (or shoved in a corner), the toys are scattered, and now we're in that glorious limbo week between holidays. The kids are home, the calendar is weird, and we all need activities that don't require too much planning. Good news, this weekend delivers.

Last chance: Panto at the Presidio closes this weekend! Boo Captain Hook, cheer for the Lost Boys in the final weekend of the performance. Also closing: Reindeer Games by the People's Circus Theatre at the Children’s Creativity Museum wraps up on Sunday, and, and SF Ballet's Nutcracker takes its final bow this weekend. Three beloved holiday shows, last weekend for all three shows.

Before we dive in, I just want to say thank you. I'm so grateful to have spent 2025 with this community of SF parents. Here's to more adventures, more discoveries, and more magic in 2026. See you in the new year.

Now, let's get into the weekend.

⚡ TLDR: Weekend Gameplan

Holiday Highlights

Saturday:

Sunday:

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✍️ FILL OUT THIS FORM ✍️

🎄Holiday Highlights🎄 

Your comprehensive guide to every festive event happening this weekend and beyond!

WINTER BREAK (DEC 27-JAN 2)

NEW YEAR’S EVE & DAY

ONGOING THROUGH THE HOLIDAYS

Weekend Highlights

Celebrate the last weekend of 2025 surrounded by light. The Exploratorium's Glow Festival brings radiant creatures, surprising artworks, and luminous activities, including bioluminescent bugs, a glowing T. rex skeleton, glowing flowers and plankton to Pier 15. This is perfect for that "we need to get out of the house but I have zero energy for logistics" mood. The museum does the heavy lifting, your kids are mesmerized by glowing dinosaur bones, and everyone leaves happy.

Worth Knowing:

  • Saturday, December 27 and Sunday, December 28 at 11:00am-4:00pm

  • Exploratorium, Pier 15

  • Tickets from $29.95-$39.95

Ever wonder what Santa's reindeer do while waiting for the big night? Turns out: circus. Now in its third year, Reindeer Games has become a Bay Area holiday favorite for good reason. It's interactive, the circus acts are genuinely jaw-dropping, and the story about inclusion and the joy of play will hit you right in the feels. Your kids will be mesmerized. Final weekend to catch it!

Worth Knowing:

  • Saturday, December 27 and Sunday, December 28 at 11:00am and 2:00pm

  • Children’s Creativity Museum, 221 4th Street

  • Tickets from $28.52-$53.07

For 40 years, the Asian Art Museum has hosted this beautiful tradition to ring in the new year. The ceremony features the ringing of a bronze bell 108 times, a Buddhist tradition symbolizing the release of worldly desires and the welcoming of a fresh start. It's contemplative, meaningful, and a wonderful way to introduce kids to cultural traditions beyond the standard NYE countdown.

Worth Knowing:

  • Sunday, December 28, 10:30am-4:30pm

  • Member Bell-Ringing at 10:30am and Public Bell-Ringing at 1:00pm

  • Asian Art Museum, 200 Larkin Street

  • Tickets from $14-$20

  • Other activities:

    • 10:30am-4:30pm Kadomatsu Craft (Japanese New Year Decoration)

    • 11:00am - New Japanese Clay Tour

    • 11:00am - Family Storytelling (ages 3–6)

    • 12:30pm - Touch Tour of the Bell for Blind and Visually Impaired Community

    • 2:00pm- Collection Tour

    • 2:00pm - Family Storytelling (all ages)

    • 3:30pm - New Japanese Clay Tour

This is the one I've been waiting for. SF Ballet's Sensory Friendly Nutcracker is specifically designed for guests who benefit from a more relaxed environment, adjusted lighting, reduced sound levels, a welcoming atmosphere for movement and noise, and trained staff throughout. It's the full SF Ballet Nutcracker magic, just more accessible. If your family has been wanting to experience the gold standard Nutcracker but a traditional performance felt like too much, this is your moment.

Worth Knowing:

  • Sunday, December 28, 11:00am

  • War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness Avenue

  • Tickets from $49-$495

✨Full List of What’s Good This Weekend✨

Ongoing:

Saturday, 12/27: 

Sunday, 12/28:

Found a spot that works for both you and the kiddos? Tell us – we read everything.

Until next week,

Jasmine @Local Kiddo — Because good taste doesn’t end at parenthood.

P.S. Forward this to a parent who is still trying to figure out what to do during their kiddo’s wake window.

P.P.S. Want to partner with us? Have an event we should highlight? We work with brands that parents actually want in their lives (you know, the ones that don't make us choose between "kid-friendly" and "still cool"). Email us at [email protected] if that sounds like you.

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