Family Holidays at California Hotels

The Lake Tahoe ski hotel Resort at Squaw Creek has an obvious advantage when it comes to holiday getaways—the beautiful, snow-blanketed mountain scenery. Those alluring surroundings include ski-in/ski-out access to Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows, an ice rink, and a kids program that includes sledding, a mini-rail Polar Express around the Ice Garden, broom ball, and snowshoeing. A favorite of kids and adults alike are the complimentary horse-drawn sleigh rides; if you’re up for something a little more adrenaline-inducing, go Disco Tubing down snow-covered lanes with nighttime multicolored LED lights and live DJs.

The calendar of off-the-slopes activities is packed. The Merry Days and Holly Nights series of Squaw Valley events includes Santa Story Time gatherings, caroler performances, ice sculpting demonstrations, a performance of Handel’s Messiah by the Toccata Symphony Orchestra and more.

Inside, the hotel also decks the halls this time of year. Its Magical Memories program has been running since the early 2000s and includes a giant Gingerbread Village, a Grand Tree Lighting ceremony, live music, Santa breakfasts, photos with Santa, and cookie decorating throughout the season.

Topping it all off on New Year’s Eve is the World’s Largest Torchlight Parade, which starts at the top of the Gold Coast Funitel and lights up entire the 3.2-mile long Mountain Run with skiers and riders ages 5 and up carrying colorful LED torches. Whether taking part or viewing it from afar, it’s a sight to remember.

Winter in the Yosemite Valley means scenic opportunities to ski, snowboard, and snowshoe: the Badger Pass Ski Area has 90 miles of marked trails and 25 miles of groomed track. All of that, no doubt, will make you work up an appetite, which makes a holiday stay at The Ahwahnee Hotel, a 1920s masterpiece of alpine charm, a serious treat—especially if you come for one of the hotel’s Christmas Bracebridge Dinners, a unique seasonal offering that has been around as long as the hotel itself. The dinners turn the dining room into an 18th-century blowout, helmed by the fictional Lord Neville, Squire of Bracebridge Hall, first created by Washington Irving, the 19th-century author of “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” fame. (Cool trivia: That role was played for years by photographer Ansel Adams.) The menu includes such irresistible classics as duck confit, beef Bordelaise, and plum pudding, accented by carolers and Renaissance performers.

The hotel knows how to make other holidays especially memorable as well. Spend Thanksgiving here and the five-course feast in The Ahwahnee’s Grand Dining Hall—with sky-high ceilings and cathedral windows overlooking the snowy mountains outside—includes free-range turkey, prime rib, and Yorkshire pudding, as well as Yosemite-inspired desserts like the Chocolate Dome, with cappuccino mousse and raspberry sauce. Ring in the New Year here and you get a six-course dinner, live music, and dancing in the hall. Holiday festivities with a mountain flavor are also held at sister park venues the Yosemite Valley Lodge and Wawona Hotel.

For a healthy dose of sunny holiday bliss with a touch of the timeless, look no further than Los Angeles County’s The Langham Huntington. The resort, sprawled across manicured palm- and cactus-dotted lawns just south of downtown Pasadena, first opened its doors in the early 1900s and is the picture of traditional elegance. Inside, the resort pulls out all the stops: It’s known for its Teddy Bear Teas throughout the season, where young revelers and the snuggly friend of their choice can sit down to a fancy tea on Wedgewood china, paired with storytelling with one of Santa’s helpers, photos with Santa, and a marionette puppet show.

For big feast days, choose from dining options like the Thanksgiving buffet, a Christmas-morning brunch in the Huntington Ballroom with live entertainment, or dinner at the hotel’s own Royce Wood-Fired Steakhouse. “We carefully design our holiday programming to encompass all of the traditions celebrated during the holiday season,” says the hotel’s director of communications Susan Williger, “with a focus on family and togetherness.”

This is also a prime spot to stay for that pair of famous Pasadena events, the Rose Bowl and Rose Parade, if you plan to linger through New Year’s. For a decadent break from togetherness, don’t miss the seasonal offerings in the hotel’s Chuan Spa, like the Vanilla Sugar Cookie Body Polish or Scalp Massage treatments. Bonus: Sparky does not have to spend the holidays alone. Any time of year, pet guests get their own treats and amenities.

Booking a stay on the Queen Mary, a historic cruise liner permanently docked in Long Beach, makes for a unique getaway. The year-round ambience—defined by its Art Deco–style cabins with operational portholes, period furnishings, and quirky, original features such as push-button light switches—is made all the more vivid when one considers the ship’s storied past. First setting sail in 1936, it wasn’t long before the Cunard liner was shuttling soldiers to and from Europe as a troop transport ship during the second World War; she then dominated the passenger transatlantic passenger market until the airlines took over in the late ‘50s.

Stay here from late November through early January, though, and the hotel becomes even more of a time capsule as the decks are adorned  with vintage holiday decorations and the ship’s calendar of events is packed with Christmas traditions. Holiday treats, breakfasts with Santa, dinner shows, caroling, and more are all to be had, and charting the course for the North Pole from his Captain’s Quarters is none other than the Man in Red himself.

A VIP Grand Passport will provide access to loads of special activities for little ones, including an ice skating session, gingerbread making, stocking decorating, a meet-and-greet with Santa in his quarters, and a story time with Mrs. Claus.

Tours offered year-round on the Queen Mary include the Steam and Steel Tour, which winds down 25 feet below the surface of the water to explore boiler rooms, the engine room, and more. Another tour—Haunted Encounters—explores the haunted areas and paranormal hotspots that earned the ship a place on Time magazine’s 10 Most Haunted Places in America list. And if British history is more your thing, there are tours dedicated to Winston Churchill and Lady Diana.

While you're in Long Beach, don't miss a trip to the nearby Aquarium of the Pacific, an expansive kid-pleaser right on the waterfront.

During the holiday season, the theme parks at Disneyland Resort are decked out in decor, from twinkling lights to baubles and of course, cheerful strolling characters. And for anyone who would rather ride the Matterhorn or go on the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage than spend the holidays cooking, there is no shortage of places around the theme parks and hotels to eat turkey and trimmings—even king crab legs, roasted Turkey Wellington, and countless pies and tarts.

The resort’s three hotels typically offer discounts on stays from Sunday through Thursday this time of year, as well as strolling carolers and their own special decor. The Paradise Pier Hotel gets into the spirit with its ocean-themed Christmas tree and shell-and-starfish garlands, while the Grand Californian Hotel & Spa constructs a giant gingerbread replica of the hotel, right in the lobby. It stands 7 feet tall and 12 feet wide, is made from 600 pounds of gingerbread, 600 pounds of powdered sugar, and features 25 hidden Mickeys. Little ones can send out their wish-lists at a Santa-letter-writing station (with expedited delivery to the North Pole). Nearby, you can grab a peppermint hot chocolate and a Christmas Cookie Box at the Holiday Cart to satisfy your sweet tooth in a Santa-approved way. Regulars also rave about the kitschy holiday decor and drinks (like the Mele Kaliki-Mocha and a Red-Nosed Zebra) at the Disneyland Hotel, at Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar.

As always, guests at all three of the resorts hotels can make the most of their holiday visit with Extra Magic Hour admission, which grants them entrance into the park one hour earlier than the general public.

The Hotel Del Coronado boasts of having the first electrically lit outdoor Christmas tree, constructed back in 1904. The Queen Anne–style resort in San Diego County still takes its tree very seriously: Once the two-story evergreen goes up in late November, it becomes the focal point for nightly light shows, which project from the hotel’s balconies. Take the family on one of the resort’s evening bike tours around quaint Coronado Island, or make “jingle s’mores” in the fire pits out on the sand. During the day, the beach and surfing lessons beckon, but so do other activities only available this time of year.

Throughout the holiday season, The Del invites locals and guests alike to celebrate the season with Skating by the Sea, a seaside ice-skating event lit up by the thousands of white lights that adorn the hotel’s Victorian outline. Guests can reserve a rink-side table at Frostbite—A Place to Chill and enjoy comfy seating around a blazing fire pit. Or book what’s known at the Del as a Jingle Roast—an on-the-beach bonfire with sand chairs, blankets, and tasty treats like s’mores and hot dogs to get sizzling over the fire .

Indoors, the resort offers Victorian-style teas during the holiday season, as well as kid-friendly Polar Bear Tea in the ballroom with stuffed animals, cookie- and cupcake-decorating, a craft table, live entertainment, and story time with Mrs. Claus and the North Pole Elves. In keeping with the spirit of the season, a portion of the proceeds from the Polar Bear Tea will be donated to charity.

On a more all-ages note, Sunday Brunches with Santa, held in the Del’s lavish Crown Room, are not to be missed—children can dine with St. Nick as he holds court and parents can partake of the bottomless mimosas and Bloody Marys.