A Guide to O.C. Cheer

BY BOOTH MOORE

Festive shopping, dining and arts delights all fall and holiday season long.

October 10, 2025

Crisp mornings and golden afternoons. Cool yules on beach firepits. Santa trading his sleigh for a yacht…Southern California is a warm-weather wonderland during the fall and winter months, offering coastal charm, festive events, world class dining, art, entertainment and shopping.

When it comes to fall fashion must haves, holiday finery and luxe gifts, South Coast Plaza is the place. Among the 250 stores and restaurants, Manolo Blahnik will make its Southern California retail debut in November with a full array of the London designer’s opulent shoes with tassels, feathers and crystals galore, including jeweled Hangisi pumps in every color just in time for the holidays.

French accessories house Roger Vivier also has a new space showcasing designer Gherardo Felloni’s fabulously festive footwear, including colorful satin flats with roses on the toes, rose petal ruffle evening bags, and the brand’s signature buckle detailed Belle Vivier pumps.

Manolo Blahnik coming soon to South Coast Plaza

Roger Vivier boutique at South Coast Plaza. Source: Roger Vivier

Don’t miss the new Max Mara store for iconic Italian outerwear, Teddy capes and Whitney handbags, Moncler and The North Face for haute puffers, and Bottega Veneta for Andiamo bags and clutches in delectable hues of barolo red, nocciola brown and fondant cream.

Of course, South Coast Plaza is more than a fashion destination, it’s the cultural hub of Orange County with Segerstrom Center for the Arts next door. The performance center for theater, music, art and dance stretches across six architecturally dazzling venues on a campus with incredible outdoor art, including Richard Serra’s imposing “Connector” sculpture and Henry Moore’s “Reclining Figure.”

MAKING MERRIMENT

The central plaza will get festive Nov. 20, with the Holiday Tree Lighting ceremony featuring performances from many of the arts partners and a visit from Santa. But the star-studded arts season doesn’t begin there; it includes Broadway, jazz, cabaret and dance events throughout fall and winter.

Broadway veterans Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp, who both starred in the original cast of “Rent,” bring their cabaret act to Segerstrom Center Oct. 16 to 18, sharing stories about coming of age in musical theater, and songs that inspired them, from Queen’s “Under Pressure,” to “Seasons of Love” from Jonathan Larson’s beloved 1994 production.

Closing out the month Oct. 28 to Nov. 2, the musical extravaganza “Moulin Rouge,” brings the showgirls and spectacle of Belle Epoque Paris to Costa Mesa. And Nov. 1, three-time Canadian JUNO Award winner Caity Georgy, whose talent for jazz vocal improvisation has earned her comparisons to Ella Fitzgerald, takes the stage with her singular bebop and swing style.

Arianna Rosario as Satine in the North American Tour of “Moulin Rouge! The Musical.” Source: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade

American Ballet Theatre’s “Nutcracker” comes to the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. Source: Segerstrom Center for the Arts

Celebrating ten years of holiday tradition, American Ballet Theatre’s “The Nutcracker” is back from Dec. 11 to 21 with all the magic of the Sugar Plum Fairy, Uncle Drosselmeyer, dancing snowflakes, waltzing flowers and more. The festive spirit continues Dec. 23 with “Christmas: Fiesta Navidad” featuring the Grammy-winning Mariachi Los Camperos in a concert filled with music and dance honoring Mexican holiday traditions.

Theater takes center stage at South Coast Repertory, where “Million Dollar Quartet” returns by popular demand through Oct. 19 on the Segerstrom Stage. Based on a book by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux, the musical is a journey through the early history of rock ‘n’ roll. It tells the story of a serendipitous meeting of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis at Sun Records in Memphis on Dec. 4, 1956 that turned into one of the most memorable jam sessions in the history of music.

The music transports audiences back in time through such classics as “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Long Tall Sally,” “I Walk the Line,” “Great Balls of Fire,” “Hound Dog” and “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On.”

“The Heart Sellers,” Oct. 26 to Nov. 16, is also based on a chance meeting, this one between two immigrants, one Filipino and one Korean. They connect at a supermarket on Thanksgiving in 1973, bond over life in America, the families they left behind and how to cook a frozen turkey in this laugh-out-loud comedy.

And from Nov. 25 to Dec. 24, Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” celebrates its 45^th anniversary on the Segerstrom Stage as a beloved holiday tradition.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL at South Coast Repertory Theater

SAVORING THE SEASON

One of the amazing things about Orange County is that It’s possible to be outside all year long–and beauty abounds beyond the sparkling beaches and harbors.

On a 28-acre regenerative organic farm in San Juan Capistrano, the Ecology Center celebrates the bounty of the harvest season. Built on the pillars of “Grow, Eat, Make, Peace,” the farm, school and community gathering place hosts culinary, wellness and educational programs, and is must-stop for its farm stand selling seasonal produce grown on site. A weekly Community Table Dinner Series under the stars showcases an incredible lineup of chefs creating live-fire feasts with ingredients from the Regenerative Organic farm, local artisans, and fishermen. A highlight: On Oct. 11, chef Brian Bornemann of Crudo e Nudo will bring a farm-driven menu highlighting sustainable seafood and seasonal produce. Tickets are available online.

In Corona del Mar, home and garden destination Roger’s Gardens does holidays right. The annual Halloween Boutique draws more than 100,000 visitors from September through October. This year, shoppers will find eerie botanical creations, sinister succulents, mysterious floral arrangements, pumpkins of every size, elegant tableware, wicked wearables, skeletal remnants, shadowy relics and other whimsical props. Those who want to get a jump on the gift-giving season can enjoy the Christmas boutique beginning Oct. 3.

Roger’s Gardens Halloween Boutique. Source: Roger’s Gardens

About 10 miles south in Corona del Mar, The Sherman Library and Gardens is a highly-Instagrammable horticultural oasis hidden in a residential area with lush gardens and a tropical greenhouse that will be decorated for the season, including a large 20′ Christmas tree and festive seasonal décor throughout—perfect for a stroll and holiday photos.

This year also brings a new daytime holiday event Dec. 6 and 7, “A Very Sherman Holiday presented by South Coast Plaza.” Guests are invited to shop handcrafted creations of garden volunteers and local vendors, take photos with Santa, have hot chocolate and cookies, savor an adult beverage or two, partake in a seasonal craft, enjoy live music and participate in Sherman holiday traditions like the Wishing Tree and Letters to Santa. Membership and tickets are required.

FESTIVALS, FINERY AND DECKED OUT BOATS

For the young and young and heart, Disneyland Park in Anaheim transforms into a winterish wonderland from Nov. 14 to Jan. 7, with seasonally appropriate décor and outfits for Mickey and Minnie, a “snowfall” at Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, a daily Christmas Fantasy Parade, Santa sightings and more.

Just south in Santa Ana at the Bowers Museum, India’s gorgeous and globally influential cloth is the subject of a fascinating exhibition opening Dec. 13. “Global Threads: India’s Textile Revolution” tells the story of Indian chintz, the painted and printed cottons that through Dutch and Portuguese trade routes in the 17^th century revolutionized the way the world dressed, transforming English fashion and furnishings, inspiring toiles in France, and influencing batiks in Indonesia.

Featuring more than 80 objects spanning four continents, from palace-size palampores (bed coverings) to 13th-century archaeological fragments, to contemporary couture, the show covers 1,000 years of textile history. Pro tip: The Bowers Museum Gallery Store is a treasure trove for gift-givers.

Woman’s jacket (wentke) with flowers and phoenixes. Textile made in coastal southeast India, constructed and trimmed in the Netherlands, c.1700s. From “Global Threads: India’s Textile Revolution” at the Bowers Museum. Source: Royal Ontario Museum.

Another one is the Sawdust Winter Fantasy Festival, a winter wonderland by the beach with artisan markets, live entertainment, and community gatherings under sunny skies. From Nov. 22 to Dec. 22, the Laguna Beach eucalyptus grove will transform into a gallery, where nearly 200 artists create and sell their treasures.

One of Orange County’s most beloved events, the world famous Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade sets sail Dec. 17 to 21 with the theme “Magical Nights of Lights.” The harbor is transformed into a dazzling holiday spectacle of approximately 100 boats of all sizes decked out with Christmas lights, inflatable holiday figures and more.

Parade-goers can enjoy the festive flotilla alongside synchronized light shows, singers, dancers and more from nearly 50 vantage points along the 14-mile route around Newport Harbor. This year introduces the Battle of the Bay, where decorated boats will go head-to-head in, ahem, friendly competition. ‘Tis the season to be nice.