Where to See Santa in San Diego: Family-Friendly Events 2025

We'll kick off our list with a Santa experience that's truly one-of-a-kind San Diego!

Surfin' Santa arrives each year in his boardshorts and favorite Hawaiian shirt to the San Diego Bay at Seaport Village right after Thanksgiving on Black Friday. Visitors can pose for a downloadable picture with the big guy riding a six-foot wave on his giant surfboard!

Our founder, Todd, says that watching Santa arrive by boat at Seaport Village is pure San Diego holiday magic. I think we all can agree that it's hard to beat the San Diego sunshine, sea breeze, and kids cheering along the bay.

If you were lucky enough to be there to welcome Santa for the season, be sure to go to the event site and download your photos!

If you're looking for what I think is the ultimate 'Santa at a mall' experience, then I'd highly recommend putting a visit to see Santa at his Peppermint Beach Club at the Westfield UTC Mall San Diego on your must-do list!

You can of course get your family photos taken with Santa and Mrs. Claus but you can also enjoy holiday entertainment and food, and see some larger than life holiday characters roaming around, which is really fun, especially for the kids. 10-foot tall holiday helpers, elves in snow globes, enchanting snowfall and more, you just have to look at our pictures to see that the Peppermint Beach Club is well beyond your average Santa mall meet-and-greet.

As one of our team at Go Visit San Diego's most interactive Santa experiences, we decided to also include seeing Santa at the Westfield UTC Mall San Diego as part of our Complete Guide to the Holidays in San Diego for our 2025/2026 edition.

The San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park is San Diego's #1 attraction 12 months a year. So when the holidays roll around and they decorate the park in twinkling lights, have live entertainment, holiday music, and delicious seasonal treats ,all after normal hours, PLUS invite Santa, now you have a family-friendly Christmas party!

Jungle Bells at the San Diego Zoo is the park's winter experience featuring Santa's Factory located at the Price Education Center in the Lost Forest. It's included at no additional charge as part of the Go City San Diego pass. And if you decide to attend, as a small gift from our family to yours, feel free to use our discount code GVSD5OFF to save even more.

The special event takes place on select nights from Friday, December 19th, 2025, to Sunday, January 4th, 2026. Santa will be at the Zoo with his elves on weekends in December from noon until 6:00pm as well as every day of Jungle Bells from noon until 8:00pm including on Christmas Day when he'll have to return to the North Pole to start preparing for next year of course!

My family and I love animals of all types which means that whether it's the San Diego Zoo, the Birch Aquarium at Scripps, or the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, we're in!

So when Christmas approaches and Wild Holidays at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park kicks off, we make sure to reserve a weekend day for a visit. Your kids will be able to meet Santa this year in the Safari Base Camp on all Wild Holidays event days from 12:00pm until 8:00pm with some break times set aside for his Zoom calls with his lead elves, toy inventory, and checking his list (twice).

He'll also be available on December weekends from 10:00am until 5:00pm and on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day from 10:00am until 3:00pm with a few breaks each day.

I personally like his set up there which features a real outdoor safari feel. I personally find it very nice for Christmas cards. Combine that with Wild Holidays Christmas Tree, Light up the Holidays dancing light displays, live music like the Turtle Doves violin duo, tasty holiday food and drink, and an overall festive ambience, and this might just be the perfect Santa experience.

Wild Holidays at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park is yet another holiday activity that's included at no additional charge as part of the Go City San Diego pass. And one you can also use the discount code GVSD5OFF to save a bit more!

Sparkling light displays, a Christmas train, grand carousel, and your photos with Santa…does it get much better than that?

Our Go Visit San Diego team loves this annual event at Gallagher Square just outside Petco Park, home to MLB San Diego Padres! A large green space with views of Downtown San Diego, I personally love the venue for concerts like Counting Crows back in August or events like their upcoming New Year's Eve 'NYE Proper' celebration ahead on December 31st, 2025.

And Holiday Wonderland is just another family-friendly experience, this year with nightly snowfall and the chance to sled down a snowy hill…in San Diego!

If you go, be sure to check out the live entertainment, delicious holiday food, and seasonal vendors, plus don't forget to snap a family photo in front of the 40-foot Christmas tree!

Set for select evenings between December 5th and December 23rd, tickets start at $18 for kids and $25 for adults. Kids under 36 inches tall are free with an adult ticket.

If you'd like possibly the most unique way to see not just one Santa, but a street full of jolly locals and visitors in Santa suits, then you'll want to head to the 13th annual San Diego Santa Run on Saturday, December 13th.

Where else are you going to see thousands of Santa's running around the streets of Pacific Beach? No wonder it was voted the Best Fun Run by USA TODAY and is part of our Complete Guide to the Holidays in San Diego.

You can watch the sea of Santa's run by as a spectator, or lace up your sneakers and join the pack! There's a 5K, Kid's Run and Dog Run as well. Check out the event site for registration information as there is still space available for this year's event!

After you watch all of the Santa's run by, stick around for the PB Holiday Parade, where you and your kids just might see Santa floating by!

SeaWorld San Diego in Mission Bay Park is yet another of our city's top attractions that really goes all out for the holidays.

As part of SeaWorld San Diego's Christmas Celebration, your kids can not only sit on Santa's lap at the event so you can take a few photos, but they can also see live reindeer, straight from the North Pole! This is an amazing experience that your kids will remember forever.

While you're there, you'll also want to take in the rest of the Christmas Celebration that includes holiday food, live music, festive shows…I could go on and on!

Single day passes to the theme park range from $109.99 to $122.99 but you can pay less with a Go City San Diego pass. Use the discount code GVSD5OFF for one more little holiday gift from our family to yours.

Remember, the pass will also get you into many other San Diego attractions, including the aforementioned San Diego Zoo, where you can check out Jungle Bells at the San Diego Zoo plus LEGOLAND California, which also has some cool holiday events I'm going to get to in a bit.

Balboa Park undergoes a massive transformation for this holiday extravaganza!

Balboa Park December Nights is one of my family's first big holiday traditions each year, right after picking out the perfect Christmas tree of course, that spreads the holiday cheer including pictures with Santa and so much more.

I highly recommend visiting the International Cottages where you'll be able to taste food from 33 different countries! You'll also not want to miss the live entertainment throughout the park, and absolutely beautiful decorations that you can see for FREE!

It's probably not a surprise to see another mall make our 2025 list of the best places to visit Santa. Visiting Santa at the mall is honestly the experience I remember most from my childhood.

So if you have to do some shopping, why not get your Santa photos done too at one of San Diego's best and most popular malls, Fashion Valley Mall!

You and your kids can visit Santa and his elves during mall hours and make some memories that will last a lifetime! Pictures with Santa at the mall are a rite of passage in my book.

If you're in the Carmel Valley area on Sunday, December 14th then you won't want to miss Santa Claus in the Village Square!

You can get a complimentary photo with Santa and take a ride on his train for FREE! I know a lot of kids love train rides, mine used to when they were younger. This event could also be just the right length for young families, making for a great day out!

Last year there was live music and a tree lighting ceremony as well so this might just be the best option for budget-friendly locals and visitors!

If your child is one who won't sit for a professional photographer, this photo op is for you!

Stop by The Forum on weekends through December 21st and take your own, complimentary photo with Santa. I voted to include this option because as much as the professionals always do a great job, honestly, I know sometimes you might like having some personal photos of my kids on your iPhone.

You'll find Santa in the Breezeway between Tecovas and Chico's (by the Koi Pond and the Luckey Climber) from 11:00am to 4:00pm.

Here's another take your own photo op with Santa.

If you're in the Del Mar area, stop by to say hi to Santa. Del Mar Highlands Town Center, one of our favorite malls in San Diego, has a nice outdoor feel with lots of restaurants, places to grab a beer, and even a movie theater. To me this means the kids can see Santa and then we can grab some food and a movie, making the experience a win for one and all!

Your little one can share their list, and you can make sure Santa tells them to stay on the "Nice" list!

Full disclaimer…this Santa is not the real deal, but it's a giant LEGO Santa, and it doesn't get much cooler than that!

LEGO Santa is making his list and checking it twice as part of the Holidays at LEGOLAND California, LEGOLAND California's winter event. The life-sized Santa LEGO is just one of several photo ops available throughout LEGOLAND California as part of this magical holiday experience. So, if you have young kids and are looking for family-friendly seasonal shows, tasty holiday treats, and so much more, this should be on your holiday list.

Holidays at LEGOLAND is included with park admission. Park tickets start at $64 per person. You can also use the Go San Diego pass and the discount code GVSD5OFF to get in a little cheaper.