Rancho Palos Verdes Packed Its Free December Into the First Weekend

Last December the lawn at Ken Dyda Civic Center stayed busy for most of the month. The tree went up on a Friday in mid-December. The next night came a guided hike with bonfire pits. Sunday was a Grinch drive-in, Monday a menorah lighting with latkes, the following Saturday Santa and a little train, and the last event was a Frozen-themed afternoon two days after Christmas.

This year the city's published December lineup at 30940 Hawthorne Blvd. covers two days: Friday, December 4 and Saturday, December 5. For a family that used to drop by the Civic Center whenever a free evening opened up, December now works more like one big weekend. If you miss it, the city season at Ken Dyda is basically done before the second week begins.

How the 2025 calendar was spread out

The city's 2025 announcement put every event at Ken Dyda Civic Center and billed all of them as complimentary activities from the City of Rancho Palos Verdes and its sponsors. There were six dates:

• Tree Lighting Ceremony, Friday, Dec. 12, 5:30 to 9:30 p.m., with real snow, sledding, crafts, music, cocoa and coffee, and a holiday pop-up shop
• Winter Night Magic, Saturday, Dec. 13, 5 to 8 p.m., with a guided night hike in the Alta Vicente Reserve, bonfire pits, s'mores and campfire stories
• Grinch Day Drive-In Movie, Sunday, Dec. 14, 3 to 7 p.m., showing the 2000 live-action "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"
• Hanukkah Celebration, Monday, Dec. 15, 6 to 8 p.m., with a menorah lighting, latkes, inflatables and live entertainment
• Carols and Cocoa, Saturday, Dec. 20, 4 to 8 p.m., with Santa, gingerbread house crafts, carolers and train rides
• Frozen Day, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2 to 5 p.m., with Anna and Elsa, cookie decorating and inflatables

From the tree lighting to Frozen Day was fifteen days. Each event had its own theme, so a family could pick two or three across the month.

The 2026 version: one weekend, eight days earlier

The 2026 flyer moves the tree lighting from Dec. 12 to Friday, Dec. 4, with the same 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. window at Ken Dyda Civic Center. The city's announcement opens the same way as last year's, with a winter storm "gathering over the Civic Center, bringing the first snowfall of the season." It also repeats the advice in capital letters: "THERE WILL BE REAL SNOW-don't forget to bring gloves."

Friday night includes:

1. Snow play and sledding on real snow
2. Inflatables and crafts
3. Food trucks and the Holiday Pop-Up shop
4. Freshly brewed cocoa and coffee with holiday music
5. The lighting of the city's large decorated tree and its Menorah

That last item is the biggest structural change. In 2025 the menorah had its own Monday night, Dec. 15, with latkes and live entertainment. In 2026 the flyer lists the tree and the menorah together, lit on the same Friday "to celebrate the Holiday Season." Families who planned around the separate Hanukkah evening at the Civic Center should look at Dec. 4 instead.

Saturday is longer and has a new name

The night hike is back with a new name and longer hours. In 2025 it was "Winter Night Magic," running 5 to 8 p.m. with one guided hike. The 2026 flyer calls it the Winter Festival and runs it from 2 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5, with this schedule:

The Recreation and Parks Department leads the hikes in the Alta Vicente Reserve. The city's description mentions hooting owls, chirping insects and a starlit sky. After the hike, everyone gathers at bonfire pits for coffee, cocoa and s'mores while the carolers sing. Children also get real snow again, sledding down a slide built from ice and snow.

With two start times, hikers from the 6:30 group can be back while the carolers are still on the 5:30 to 7:30 schedule. With the earlier 2 p.m. opening, younger kids can get their sledding and face painting done in the afternoon. Older kids can stay for the hike after dark.

The city and its sponsors provide both days' activities at no charge, as they did in 2025. The food trucks and pop-up shop are places to buy things, so bring a card for those even though the activities themselves cost nothing.

Santa has a ticket and a different park

The Civic Center visit isn't the only place to see Santa. Last year he came to Ken Dyda for Carols and Cocoa on Dec. 20. This year the city's Santa event is Breakfast with Santa on Saturday, Dec. 12, at Hesse Park, 29301 Hawthorne Blvd.

It works differently from the Civic Center weekend:

• Two seatings: 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• Fee: $20 per person, free for children 2 and under
• What's included: hot breakfast, music performances, caroling, crafts and a visit from Santa
• Purpose: a fundraiser for the city's REACH program for adults with developmental disabilities
• Registration: opened October 12 at 8 a.m. at rpvca.gov/parks

The city's flyer warns that the breakfast "will fill up." Registration has been open since October 12, so families counting on a Santa photo should check the city's parks page for openings now.

Terranea starts a week earlier, and its season runs longer

Terranea Resort has its own holiday calendar. It starts before the city's and keeps going after it, and most of it is ticketed. The resort's 2026 holiday announcement, published October 28, sets its annual Tree Lighting Ceremony for Saturday, Nov. 28, 4:30 to 7 p.m., on the resort's Front Drive. The evening includes caroling, dance performances, Santa and Mrs. Claus, and the lighting of a 30-foot tree. Tickets are $32 for ages 13 and up and $15 for ages 5 to 12, plus fees, and free for 4 and under. You have to register in advance, and guests are encouraged to bring an unwrapped gift for Toys for Tots.

The resort's season keeps going well past the city's weekend:

• Gingerbread Hut at the Lobby Lounge, Nov. 28 through Jan. 2, open weekdays 4 to 10 p.m. and weekends 2 to 10 p.m. Terranea calls this year's version reimagined. It is a 7-by-7-foot working bar built from more than 1,000 pounds of house-made gingerbread, decorated with gingerbread surfboards, with a zero-proof hot cocoa on the menu.
• Feast of the Seven Fishes, Friday, Dec. 11, starting at 5 p.m., ages 21 and up, $450 per person with wine pairings, before tax and gratuity.
• Winter Wonderland, Saturday, Dec. 12, 4 to 8 p.m., with character appearances and "snowfall." Admission is $45 for ages 13 and up, $23 for ages 5 to 12 and $10 for ages 3 to 4, with food and drinks sold separately.
• Gingerbread workshops led by Executive Pastry Chef Pierino Jermonti, Dec. 12, 19 and 23, 2 to 4 p.m., $159 per house.

Terranea's own event page still showed last year's tree lighting date, Nov. 29, after the release came out. The October 28 announcement has the 2026 date of Nov. 28.

December in Rancho Palos Verdes, by date

Put together, the season starts with two tree lightings six days apart, and everything after the first weekend of December is either ticketed or at Terranea.

Dec. 12 is the busiest day, with Breakfast with Santa at Hesse Park in the morning and Winter Wonderland at Terranea in the evening. The free city events fall on Dec. 4 and 5, so families who want snow on the Civic Center lawn should save that weekend before other holiday plans fill it. In summer the same two venues anchor the city's Saturday evening loop between Ken Dyda and Terranea.

At Randazzo Real Estate, we're happy to share what we know about the season in Rancho Palos Verdes. If a busy holiday calendar has you wondering what your own home is worth this year, we'd be glad to help: Request Your Free Home Valuation.