Fa la la: Three major (and merry) California Christmas events have their 2024 dates

MAY CAN BE MERRY, what with all of the butterflies and flowers and sunny afternoons, but whether it is as merry as December is a quibble we'll not quibble about. Still, we can find a few December delights sprouting in the springtime, which is nowhere in the vicinity of the calendar's final month (nobody would quibble about the fact that spring and the start of winter are rather far apart). One only needs to fa-la-look in the direction of Riverside, the famous home of the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa, or the Central Coast, where the Cambria Christmas Market welcomes visitors for some evening enchantment over several fall and early winter nights. These locations are synonymous with the sparkliest stretch of the year, thanks to some long-running holiday events, but waiting for fall to announce the dates? The Mission Inn and the Cambria celebration will not: Both of the major California happenings have revealed when they'll take place in 2024.

LATE NOVEMBER... is when both events traditionally begin, and that will again be the Christmassy case in 2024. The Festival of Lights at the Mission Inn, which has been a Mission Inn mainstay since 1992, kicks off on Nov. 23, 2024 — the final evening of the nightly twinklefest is Jan. 6, 2025 — while the Cambria Christmas Market runs on select nights from Nov. 29 through Dec. 31, 2024. Lodging information and tickets are now available for the Cambria event, which summons the spirit of the alfresco markets seen around Europe, but even more information should be available in the coming months. What visitors can expect to enjoy at both holiday happenings? Millions of lights, for sparkly starters, as well as musical moments, special treats, and other convivial details. But if you prefer your seasonal fun to involve the sea, look to Newport Beach, where the famous Christmas Boat Parade will sail from Dec. 18-22.