Magical Holidays at Filoli

A time-honored and beloved Bay Area holiday holiday tradition, Filoli's lights and decorations will enchant everyone who visits!

By Christine Lai December 10, 2021

The House and Garden at Filoli are impressive and stately throughout the year but transform into a whimsical, wintry wonderland during the holidays, making it worth a special visit. In addition to themed nights and Santa visits, your dilemma lies in this: will your family visit during the day for bright pictures or at night for the dazzling lights? We went to both to get the scoop and hopefully help you decide so read on and book your time slot today!

Daytime Visit

For both visits, we bypassed the House and headed straight towards the Gardens (continue past the House and make a left).This lets kids run and roam and get the wiggles out before touring the House where it's decidedly harder to run and roam. If your family is feeling frisky, consider taking the one mile estate trail for a short hike. Filoli’s family guide is also a great interactive option for kids to play Bingo around the estate.

Next, wander the gardens by the pool and restrain little ones that might try to sneak in for a dip which is most definitely frowned upon. Find the massive Christmas tree in the circular hedges for a photo op then check out the trio of trees inside the Garden House. If you visit the charming Clock Tower gift shop, beware that it harbors a plethora of fragile ornaments so you’ll want to keep curious little hands close by.

With its decadent holiday decorations, The House offers a glimpse into what life was like for the Bourn Family: lavish. Keep kids engaged by searching for statues of Toto, the family’s bulldog and also by counting how many Christmas trees they see (hint: 20). The main draw of the House is the Ballroom with its colossal fireplace—kids will ooh and ahh over the expansive room with its vaulted ceilings and larger-than-life Christmas tree.

Nighttime Visit

The sun slipping behind the Santa Cruz mountains is cue for Filoli’s holiday magic to unfurl. Sparkling lights strung from trees and amongst flowers enchant the garden as far as the eye can see. Gleaming orbs of lights rest on manicured lawns while a weeping willow of lights will enthrall kids of all ages. A bed of blue lights shimmers to mimic water gushing down a river as the reflection pool glistens with the surrounding lights and provides quiet solace for a moment to take a deep breath… and take it all in.

Good to know:

We loved sipping hot cocoa and cider at the Woodland Lawn Court in front of the fire pits (evenings only)
Outside food for picnicking is allowed in designated areas only
During a daytime visit, consider taking your picnic down the road to the scenic Pulgas Water temple

Bottom line: if you can only visit once, a nighttime visit is undoubtedly our choice

—photos and story by Christine Lai