MTS Offering Free Ride Service to December Nights (See Below)
From the City of San Diego website:
December Nights is back for 2025!
Join us on December 5 and 6 for the City of San Diego’s largest free holiday festival in beautiful Balboa Park. The family friendly event brings San Diegans together to enjoy the lights, the sounds, the attractions and of course, the amazing food.
For Entertainment, go here.
Museums and Organizations
Balboa Art Conservation Center:
Come celebrate the season by making stamp art with Balboa Art Conservation Center! Using cochineal dye, guests of all ages will be able to combine science and art to make prints inspired by the History Center’s Poinsettia Tree. Located in the San Diego History Center: 5 p.m. to 9 p.m
Comic Con Museum:
Guests can participate in a FREE activity called “Paint and Take”. Each guest (ages 5+) can choose a small miniature figure to paint and take home. Activity takes about 30 minutes per guest once seated. Minors must be accompanied by an adult. Supplies limited. Retail shops are open. Museum exhibits closed. Friday: 3pm-8pm & Saturday: 2pm-7pm
Fleet Science Center:
Join us for December Nights, San Diego’s largest holiday festival in beautiful Balboa Park on December 5 & 6, 2025! This free, family-friendly event brings San Diegans together to enjoy all of the lights, sounds, attractions, and amazing food that Balboa Park has to offer. At the Fleet, guests can experience over 100+ interactive exhibits and discover the power of science free of cost from 3 p.m.- 9p.m.
Japanese Friendship Garden and Museum
The Japanese Friendship Garden & Museum will be opening the upper garden for free from 3:00PM-8:00PM on December 5th and December 6th. *Paid admission 10:00am-2:00pm; View the garden’s decorations, participate in fun crafts for the family, and enjoy festive drinks in the beer garden!
Marston House Museum:
The Marston House will be decorated for the holidays in the early 20th century style.
Museum of Us:
Visit the Museum of Us and reflect on the diverse stories that define us all with exhibits about the human experience. Free admission from 5 pm – 9 pm on December 6th-7th.
Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theater
Friday and Saturday, December 5-6 5pm, 7:30pm and 9:15 pm — Tiny Tim A Christmas Carol Story
San Diego Museum of Art:
Explore the San Diego Museum of Art for free during December Nights! Enter at the west side of the plaza near Panama 66 for food and drinks. Open to the public from 5 pm to 9 pm
San Diego Air and Space Museum:
Delight in the festive ambiance as the Museum’s Pavilion transforms into a winter wonderland, adorned with holiday decor that will surely warm your heart. Admission is free for all during these special hours! 4;00 p.m. to 10 p.m. (Last admission is at 10 p.m. on both nights)
San Diego Natural History Museum:
Free Access to the Following Exhibitions: Amazement in the Basement, Coast to Cactus, Extraordinary Ideas from Ordinary People, Fossil Mysteries, Living Lab, &
Unshelved. The Pomerado Brass Quintet will be playing holiday tunes from 5 to 6:30 PM each night in the Museum’s Atrium on Level 1. Visit The Craft Taco and Gold Leaf on Level 1 of the Museum. You will also find The Craft Taco on the Museum’s rooftop. Last order at 8:30 PM. Visit the North Pole Hideaway Rooftop Bar (weather permitting) or South Pole Lounge for curated holiday cocktails and mocktails, wine, beer, soft drinks, and hot cocoa. Last entry to the rooftop at 9 PM
San Diego Automotive Museum:
Our 1909 Harvester will be decked out for the holidays. Along with holiday trees, lights, and Santa! Santa will be seated in the car and it makes a great family photo. Pets are welcome to take pictures with Santa as well. Enter at the Southeast corner of the building. Santa is available Friday 5:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Santa is available Saturday 5:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
San Diego Model Railroad Museum:
Holiday Fun at the Model Railroad Museum! Visit us for pictures with Santa, enjoy our Toy Trains Through the Decades winter exhibit, and see our Toy Train Gallery decked out for the holidays! 5pm – 9pm, free admission
Mingei International Museum:
Muppet Christmas Carol: Kick off the season with a classic holiday movie in the Museum’s outdoor courtyard! Snacks and drinks will be available for purchase. Showings at 5:30 and 7pm. Royce’s Voices: Awaken your holiday spirit with festive carols on the entry level (Friday evening only). Holiday Stamp Studio: Get crafty with a free hands-on art activity where you’ll rubber stamp and decorate your own festive gift bag. Bring your creativity and leave with beautifully handmade packaging ready to share with friends and family. Selfie Flower Photo Station: Create a memory of the evening with your friends and family in front of a backdrop of over a hundred handmade, colorful crepe paper flowers.5 pm to 9 pm
San Diego History Center:
Come celebrate the spirit of San Diego with us! 5 pm to 9 pm.
Timken Museum:
Glittering gems, swirls of colors, elaborate filigree, whimsical designs – it’s the Jewels of the Season: Holidays at the Timken, an annual tradition since 1988 featuring a collection of ornaments designed and handcrafted by local artists Florence Hord and Elizabeth Schlappi. Each ornament features semi-precious gems, sequins, stones and figurines collected by the two artists from around the world. Often compared to Fabergé eggs, over 1,000 ornaments are on display in the museum’s foyer and grand holiday tree.
The Prado
December 5-6 Don’t miss the Prado during December Nights in Balboa Park! ??December 5-6. See Santa, sip festive cocktails, strike a pose in our photo booths, and dance to DJs spinning holiday beats!
San Diego Zoo
Join us during Balboa Park’s December Nights on 12/5 & 12/6. Bring the whole family to delight in the festive atmosphere. There’s plenty of seasonal food, drink and deserts as you stroll the Zoo’s Front St. Find the perfect gift in the Zootique and San Diego Zoo Kids Store. Skyfari is open both nights 7:00-10pm. Balboa Park Miniature Train: All aboard the merry and bright Miniature Train for an exciting and festive loop on the Balboa Park Railroad for $4.50 per person. Friday, December 5: 3–10 p.m.
Saturday, December 6: 11 a.m.–10 p.m.
Village Arts Center
Come celebrate December Nights at Balboa Park and explore the artist studios at Village Arts Center! Enjoy the holiday magic in the park while watching our talented artists create in their open studios. All studios will be open late until 10 PM.
World Beat Center
This December 6th, WorldBeat Center’s San Diego Taiko group will be participating in the annual December Nights weekend celebration. Join us for a heart-pounding celebration of rhythm, culture, and community. Catch their electrifying live performance at the Spanish Village Stage on
Saturday, December 6, 2025 from 1:30PM – 2:00PM
International Cottages
A group of 33 nations/cultural groups, will bring ethnic foods, beverages, and our famous “Spirit Garden” featuring various ethnic spirits to San Diego. There will be traditional song, dance and instrumental performances in dazzling ethnic costumes.
Institute of Contemporary Art (San Diego)
Join us for the ICA’s annual Ceramics Sale inside our gallery surrounded by the NextGen 2025 exhibition. From delicate vases to intricately designed mugs and plates, our collection showcases a variety of styles and techniques. Whether you’re drawn to earthy tones and rustic textures or vibrant, modern designs, there’s something here to adorn every space.5-9pm on both 12/5 & 12/6.
Balboa Park Carousel
The Balboa Park carousel will be open on Saturday 12/6, 11:00am-5:30 PM. Tickets are $4/ride or 4 for $14
MTS Offers Free Shuttle Rides
Planning to head to Balboa Park for December Nights without the hassle of finding or paying for parking? The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) is offering free shuttle rides to and from the highly anticipated two-day event.
With more than 300,000 attendees expected during this weekend’s event, heavy traffic and limited paid parking may cause long delays in the area.
MTS encourages visitors to take advantage of its free transportation option to avoid needing to drive or pay for parking.
A free special event shuttle will run between City College and Balboa Park on Friday from 3-11 p.m. and Saturday from 2-11 p.m.
The shuttle will travel in the southbound bus-only lane on Park Boulevard and serve all southbound stops between Zoo Drive and Broadway, MTS said in a news release.
For more, go here.
Brace yourself. The City of San Diego put up signs today announcing that parking near the museums for December Nights will be $50 and everywhere else will be $35!!!! I honestly cannot believe the bloodsuckers on the City Council think that 700,000 people are going to pay that much money for one night of parking.
Bloodsuckers? Did the Council authorize Balboa Park to charge that much money for December Nights? I am not sure that the Council’s vote to impose parking fees at Balboa Park parking lots on a permanent basis is the same as the Balboa Park Committee (or whoever decides) deciding how much to charge for an annual event.
I live near Balboa Park and the sheer number of people trying to go to December Nights generates truly awful traffic. To the extent that charging that much for parking during such a high-volume event helps the park deal with the costs of all the traffic generated, I say fine.