Tag archives: holidays

Written by Sarah Ettman-Sterner La Lieff kept spirits high and tails wagging at its 2nd Annual Jingle Paws Dog Show & Holiday Party, where pups and their people arrived decked out in festive finery. The red carpet doubled as a catwalk – well, dogwalk – as every four-legged star strutted off with a special award. […]

The 39th Annual Parade of Lights was held on Sunday, December 14, from 3 pm through to the 7:30 pm holiday fireworks display. The boat entries were the best yet this year, with their interpretation of the 2025 contest theme, “Candy Cane Cove.” Indeed, there were lights shaped like candy canes, some as high as […]

December is the month we remember (among other things) the good deeds of the well-off Bishop of Myra, a 4th century do-gooder named Nicholas. The guy slipped his considerable inheritance under the doors of many a despondent maiden that she might find companionship in that day’s dowry-driven lovefest. Much later we would recast Nick as […]

Written by Priscilla The holiday season twinkled to life at the Santa Barbara Club as members – and their equally festive friends from Montecito Bank & Trust’s MClub – gathered for an evening of stylish shopping and seasonal cheer. The Club’s Annual Holiday Boutique featured a marketplace filled with local treasures: dazzling jewelry, handcrafted cards, […]

‘Twas the weekend before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. Unless “house” refers to the Granada, where all sorts of creatures, including mice, rats, and other critters and characters won’t just be stirring but also leaping, pirouetting, gliding, and spinning all over the stage as State […]

Our final week of the MJ’s Holiday Gift Guide is here! As we close in on (the big day and heartfelt devotional of your choice), it’s important to recall that All This Feeling fuels the eternal cosmic gyre; not to go all sentimental on you. As we hang stockings with care and otherwise happily surrender […]

Santa Barbara’s holiday season shimmered once again at the 4th Annual Montecito Sparkle Party, a festive and elegant soirée hosted by Michele Janin, Tom Linebarger, wine expert, and the Montecito Journal’s own wine travel writer Jamie Knee, and Joel Knee. Now in its fourth year, the beloved holiday gathering took place at the Montecito home […]

The Santa Barbara Choral Society’s “Hallelujah Project” hunkered down at the Lobero Theatre every December for the last decade with a program that also included a guest star reading “’Twas the Night Before Christmas” amid a selection of choral favorites from around the world. But this year, in a nod to the USA’s 250th birthday, […]

Those hankering for a healthy dose of Handel will be happy to hear that a tradition at least four times as old as “Hallelujah Project” continues as Phillip McLendon conducts the 43rd Messiah Sing Along on December 16 at the First Presbyterian Church (21 E. Constance Ave.). As the event’s name suggests, community members are […]

Grace Fisher’s annual Winter Music Showcase has become an entrenched highlight of the holiday calendar each December at the Granada. The event celebrates the season and the community through focusing on the diverse array of local talent in town, with boundary-crossing performances that mirror Fisher’s commitment to advance disability inclusion in the arts.  It’s a […]

The beloved holiday ballet chestnut The Nutcracker is a fantasy tale of a young girl named Clara, who, after receiving a toy nutcracker from her godfather at a Christmas party, imagines an enchanted journey where her toy turns into a prince to take her to a magical land full of overgrown rats, a Sugar Plum […]

Week Three of our four-part Gift Guide is here! The weather outside is frightful, if you find sunshine undelightful. “Is that a real word?” Uh, no. But let it go, let it go, let it go. Friends, we are well into December, the year’s capstone month during which we celebrate Peace with a sort of […]

Enjoy this photo collage from Rosewood’s tree lighting celebration! A very merry Miramar time!

Richie’s Barber Shop is having its annual drive to support nonprofit organizations for the holidays, Domestic Violence Solutions, and Adam’s Angels. Richie’s annual funding started a week early this year. Jessica Jay (Jess), who heads the events at Richie’s, set up a Holiday Gifting Tree decorated with stockings representing each family currently living in temporary […]

December 15-22 – Hanukkah, The Festival of Lights, celebrating the rededication of the Second Temple. December 21 – Yule which celebrates the winter solstice and the rebirth of the sun.  December 25 – Christmas which celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. Hanukkah Menorah Lightings -Chabad of Montecito,public service at Upper Village Green; Rabbi Chaim Loschak […]

Autumnal Gifting Enlightenment This Holiday Season Another year gone by! And here comes that truly peaceful December closure – a month-long fare thee well to 2025 as we gather, reminisce, and mark the nourishing passage of time. Expect a light snowfall, Victorian carolers on every street corner in their cozy scarves and mufflers and top […]

On Saturday, December 28, the Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara became a beacon of warmth and connection as it hosted a vibrant Hanukkah celebration. Organized by Rick Oshay and Teresa Kuskey, this gathering brought together over 70 guests for an evening steeped in tradition, music, and joyous camaraderie. With the themes of light and […]

The ballet, The Nutcracker, is a perennial holiday favorite for its recognizable melodies and a touching storyline set during the Christmas season. This story is an introduction to a multisensory concept that I just put to the test, and with delicious results: Does pairing Tchaikovsky’s sweeping music with wine heighten your enjoyment of it? Or […]