12 Christmassy things to do in L.A. that’ll cost you nothing

L.A. had a few years there where it became overstuffed with drive-through Christmas attractions, but the century-old Christmas Tree Lane—a mile-long stretch of evergreens in Altadena (Santa Rosa Ave, between Woodbury Ave and Altadena Dr) covered in twinkly lights—has always been the best of the batch. Plus, it’s free. After the Eaton Fire in January, the future of this joyous holiday tradition was in question, but the trees miraculously survived the devastation—and thanks to some dedicated volunteers, it’s continuing as a beacon of hope and rebirth for the community. The trees will stay illuminated nightly until early January. (We suggest arriving later in the evening and driving southbound to avoid the worst of the traffic.)

Feel as though you’ve escaped to a small-town fishing village during the 63rd annual Marina del Rey Holiday Boat Parade. Bring a blanket and gather at Fisherman’s Village or Burton Chace Park to watch as dozens of boats glide through the marina with holiday lights and decorations. This year’s “A Nightmare Before Christmas” theme promises pirate vibes. A competition will determine the best of the bunch, with categories like best theme, best animation, best band, best lights and more. The festivities begin on December 13 at 5:45pm with a light show (no fireworks this year), and the two-hour boat parade starts at 6pm, rain or shine.

Each year, L.A.’s shopping mall metropolis lights up its Christmas tree with fireworks and a drone show. Though the lighting ceremony has already passed (it happens mid-November each year), you can still stroll through the idyllic shopping center and get snowed on every night on the hour between 6 and 8pm, timed to dancing fountain shows. (Sister property the Americana at Brand in Glendale also hosts a nightly snowfall between 7 and 8pm.)

In addition to the canals’ long-running and gleefully irreverent boat parade (Dec 14), you’ll find some houses—and bridges—dripping with lights for the holiday season. If you want a quick glimpse, you can just drive down Dell Avenue, but for a more relaxed look, you’ll want to wander the canals’ walkways on foot. Leave your car a few blocks away to avoid the narrow, one-way Dell, and take a stroll through the shimmering neighborhood.

Gather up your friends and family and go hear L.A.’s biggest holiday show, now in its 66th year, which features more than 20 choirs, music ensembles and dance troupes from all over the city. This year’s lineup includes returning favorites Ballet Folklórico de Esperanza, Bob Baker Marionette Theater, Mariachi Divas De Cindy Shea and Reverb Tap Company, who’ll be joined by the 65-year-old Angeles Chorale, among other newcomers. The free three-hour show celebrates L.A.’s multicultural observation of the holidays and hosts everything from traditional Korean dance to West African drumming to klezmer rock. 

Note: Free advance tickets are recommended to ensure early seating—tickets will be released daily from December 16 to 20. Ticketholders must arrive and be seated by 2:45pm. Parking at the Dorothy Chandler is also free.

Beverly Hills always knows how to add a bit of opulence to the holidays, and this year’s run of decorations along Rodeo Drive is no exception. Elsewhere in the area, you can see lights swirl around the palm trees and up buildings, over the span of Wilshire Boulevard and onto the extravagant Beverly Wilshire hotel. Beverly Drive, too, typically gets covered in white lights, along with a willow tree decked out in gold decor at Beverly Cañon Gardens next to an oversized ornament. And at Beverly Gardens Park, by the iconic Beverly Hills sign, you can catch the free holiday light show “Lights on the Lily Pond” every 15 minutes from 5:30 to 9:30pm through January 4.

Sometimes you simply want to see as many lights as possible, and Torrance’s Seaside neighborhood (sometimes referred to as Sleepy Hollow) surely delivers. Follow the stream of brake lights overflowing from Robert Road for a trek through this visual overload. Seemingly every tree, house and lawn along these handful of blocks are at least trimmed with lights, while some properties build full-blown light tunnels on the sidewalk. The displays typically run every night from 6 to 10pm, up until New Year’s.

Step inside a Christmas tree made of lights during the return of this illuminated installation at Downtown shopping center the Bloc. Sparkle DTLA lights up the night with 18 million different hues through the end of the year, and every night you can catch its displays dancing to synchronized holiday music on the hour (5–9pm). If you’re already Downtown, take a five-minute drive to California Plaza for Grand Illuminations, a free light installation that features a custom 25-foot-tall LED light tree, dynamic display Lumiverse and Electric Dandelions, 28-foot-tall kinetic sculptures that look like fireworks in action.

Going to a market typically means you’ll end up shelling out some dough, but you can also go to browse the handmade goods, get gifting or wish-list inspo and just soak up the festive atmosphere. While lots of pop-up fairs charge for admission, there are a handful you can stroll for free, including Jackalope’s Downtown Burbank Winter Arts Festival (Dec 13–14); Holiday Market at Vintage Land (Dec 13–14); and Smorg for the Holidays, happening every Sunday till Christmas, and MAUM Market (Dec 20), both at ROW DTLA.

We all like showing off to our neighbors, but the homeowners behind Candy Cane Lane in Woodland Hills take it to the extreme. You can drive around eight blocks blanketed in lights, centered around Lubao Avenue and Oxnard Street. Expect to see plenty of homeowners put up decorations and switch on their lights for the six-decade-old tradition—but of course it varies from house to house. There’s also a display dubbed Candy Cane Lane in El Segundo: around two dozen homes on East Acacia Avenue that’ve been going all out for roughly three quarters of a century.

Riverside’s stunningly beautiful Mission Inn is bathed in over 10 million twinkly lights during the annual Festival of Lights, which has lit up the city for 33 years now. The free, six-week-long holiday tradition runs from late November to early January and typically features more than 400 festive, animated figures. Having been voted the “Best Public Lights Display” by USA Today, the festival attracts over 500,000 visitors each year.