The Monterey Peninsula has a full calendar of small-town holiday traditions in December. Here are the dates to plan around this season, starting right in Seaside.
Pacific Grove Holiday Parade of Lights: Thursday, December 3
Lighted floats, bands, and Santa fill Lighthouse Avenue in downtown Pacific Grove from 6 to 8 p.m. for the 23rd annual parade. It is free to watch. Pacific Grove is about 15 minutes from the hotel.
Seaside Winter Wonderland: Friday, December 4
The City of Seaside's holiday evening at City Hall, 440 Harcourt Avenue, runs from 6 to 9 p.m. Check the city's Special Events page (https://www.ci.seaside.ca.us/512/Special-Events) for activities.
Christmas in the Adobes: Friday and Saturday, December 11 and 12
For two evenings from 5 to 9 p.m., the historic adobes of Old Monterey glow with luminarias, decorations, and music. Youth 17 and under are free, and adult tickets cost less before November 1. Details at mshpa.org (https://www.mshpa.org/christmas-in-the-adobes). Old Monterey is about eight minutes from Sand Castle Inn.
Cereal with Santa: Saturday, December 12
A family morning with Santa at Seaside's Oldemeyer Center, 986 Hilby Avenue, from 9 to 11 a.m. Check the city's page for registration.
A quiet holiday morning
- Walk Monterey State Beach, about four minutes from the hotel, on a clear winter morning.
- Visit the monarch butterflies wintering in Pacific Grove's Monarch Grove Sanctuary.
Staying at Sand Castle Inn
Sand Castle Inn sits in quiet Seaside, next to the Sand Dollar Shopping Center for holiday errands, with free Wi-Fi, microwaves, and refrigerators in the rooms. Book direct at sandcastleinnseaside.com.
Illustrative photograph of the historic Custom House; not a photograph of the 2026 holiday events. Photo: Custom House Monterey, CA (cropped) by Jsweida, via Wikimedia Commons. Original photograph and this image adaptation licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Cropped on Commons from the original; Resized; website renditions may be cropped and converted in format. This license applies only to the photograph.
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