Holiday Activities

This holiday season is the second in a row that’s a little different than all the rest, due to the pandemic. Check out our round up of local activities out and about.

Holiday Ice Rink In Union Square (outdoors)

Open 10am-11pm daily through January 17, 2022

• General admission is $19 and includes skate rental (Figure and hockey skate sizes range from toddler’s size 8 to adult’s size 15. You may also bring your own ice skates). 

• 60 minute sessions start every 90 minutes. 

• Tickets are sold online only to minimize contact between workers and attendees.

• Extras: locker rental: $5 skater helper: $6 (figure and hockey skate sizes range from toddler’s size 8 to adult’s size 15. You may also bring your own ice skates.)

https://unionsquareicerink.com

Yerba Buena Ice Skating and Bowling Center (indoors)

• Open daily (check website for specific hours)

• Advanced online tickets for holiday weeks must be purchased a day in advance or purchase same day in-person at the rink

• General admission (aged 6-54): $14, toddlers (5 and under): $8 (including skate rental, if needed. If child has own skates, no discount is provided), seniors (age 55+): $12

• Skate rental: $5 (exception: toddler admission includes skate rental, if needed)

• Extras: locker rental: $1 (must bring a dollar bill to purchase a token. Lockers are single use)  

• As per the City and County of San Francisco, proof of vaccination is required for entry (please bring your vaccination card or digital proof), and facemasks are now required to be worn at all times in indoor public spaces, including our ice skating and bowling center. A religious or medical waiver will be accepted when accompanied by a negative COVID test within 72 hours of your visit.

• Enjoy the Holiday Showcase Extravaganza Saturday 12/18! Shows are at 5:30 & 8p. Tickets are available online for purchase under Ice Skating> Holiday Showcase!

• https://www.skatebowl.com/pages/iceskating.publicskating

Go for a spin around the city

https://www.skystarwheel.com/

• Golden Gate Park’s Music Concourse, 1 Bowl Drive

• Open daily: Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

• Reservations are required for the VIP experience. Reservations are not required for general admission tickets. General admission tickets may be used any day or time. 

• A paper ticket is not required. We can scan a paper ticket or a PDF version on your mobile device.

• Groupon is offering a great deal on the SkyStar for 2 or 4 people, with Ghirardelli Chocolates. $32 for SkyStar Wheel Admission for 2 or 4 with Ghirardelli Chocolates ($47.50 Value)

• SF’s First Ever Full Moon “Howl” Festival

  • Free event

  • Saturday, December 18th from 4:30 – 7:30 pm

  • The Alterverse at the Golden Gate Bandshell

  • The full moon will be visible starting around 4:30pm and we will howl throughout the night. Revelers will also see Allen Ginsberg’s poem “Howl” scrolled in lasered letters across the full facade of the de Young Museum.

  • Bring your friends, bring your dancing shoes, and definitely bring your lungs!

  • Activities include:

  • – Music by the legendary psychedelic rock band Moonalice

  • – Masters and Mistresses of Howling, including The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Liam Mayclem, Lester Chambers, and more

  • – Allen Ginsberg’s epic poem “Howl” scrolling in lasered letters across the full facade of the de Young Museum

  • https://www.facebook.com/events/623795485501375?ref=newsfeed 

New Year’s Eve & Noon Year’s Eve

• Thrive City Noon Year’s Eve

  • Friday, December 31st from 11am to 1:30pm

  • Free, Family-Friendly Gathering at Thrive City

  • Thrive City at Chase Center, San Francisco

  • Ring in the new year with the Music of Grateful Dead for Kids + More 

  • A very special NYE drop at 11:59am, face painting, games, a crafting zone, performers, and holiday treats.

  • FREE – RSVP while supplies last: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/thrive-city-winter-wonderland-presented-by-chase-noon-years-eve-tickets-227288474947 

• New Year’s Eve Fireworks Display

  • Free event

  • Friday, December 31, 11:59pm

  • Gorgeous display over the waterfront between the Ferry Building and the SF Bay Bridge. It's one of the most attended celebrations in the Bay Area with about 200,000 awed spectators annually.

  • The show usually kicks off at 11:59 pm on December 31. The 15-minute pyrotechnic show will be synced to music from the speakers along the Embarcadero between Mission St. and Folsom St.

  • Best viewpoints start gathering people at about 7 pm and you might be lucky to get a good spot even if you arrive one hour in advance. 

  • One of the best spots to watch fireworks over San Francisco is the waterfront area south of the Ferry Building near Pier 14. 

  • You can also catch great views from the western side of Treasure Island and from Yerba Buena Island. 

  • Another great option is to hop aboard a cruise for dinner with some dancing and drinking before the show starts, but these sell out quickly so book in advance. 

  • If you want to opt for a prix fixe dinner menu while waiting for the New Year's fireworks, you can book a table at one of the rooftop restaurants.

Baby talk before baby talks

Sign Up for Signing

Excerpt with permission from Parenting on the Peninsula and author, Evelyn Preston

Every parent’s been there, those fraught moments when their cuddly, cooing, oh-so-cute baby suddenly turns into a cranky, frustrated infant or toddler, spitting food, constantly crying, or even throwing tantrums. When it’s a toss-up over who’s more frantic and confused, baby or mommy, and it’s definitely not colic, a bump or a burp, there’s an ingenious way to ask baby “What’s up?” The little tyke may not yet have any words but definitely demands to be heard.

To bridge this super charged communication gap, Happy Baby Signs’ dedicated instructors teach new parents how “to talk” with their young offspring via American Sign Language. The amazing results calm everyone, get baby’s message across and offer brain enhancing benefits: accelerated language ability, reduced aggressive behavior and positive interaction plus the bonus of a stronger bond between baby and parent.  

The fun-filled classes with songs and interactive activities teach classic American Sign Language to parents (babies welcome), who then weave it into their infants’ everyday routines. Tricky to learn from a book, however an experienced “personal trainer” can fuse the nuance of signs, sounds and gestures that will work—and stick.

Check out the international best selling book, Signs of a Happy Baby!

Parents begin the Happy Baby Signs programs just as children’s long-term memory and motor skills kick in at about 4 - 6 months old.  At 8-10 months, as kids start mimicking adults and gesturing their wants, simple signing provides a jump-start for the verbal skills ahead.

The 90 minute Introductory Workshop presents the basics and benefits of signing (with a proof-positive video of adorable babies signing), prior to the follow-up six weeks of themed, one hour courses designed to help absorb about 100+ signs (for foods, colors, clothes, animals, playtime, etc.), that cement the magic.

According to Teacher Bill, even the youngest babies want to be connected to the world around them and can be clever and resourceful while learning how. Infants will emphatically indicate, “all done” after meals and baths or begin moving their hand to their mouth when they’re hungry. Emotions shine via smiles and hugs to the unmistakably signal “I love you.”

With mom, dad and grandparents consistently reinforcing with words, expressions and body language, signing kindles indelible associations in the fast forming infant brain. “It’s like riding that proverbial bicycle,” explains Bill, “once learned, not easily forgotten.” Early communication in languages, whether signing, Chinese, English or all together, becomes natural, interchangeable, useful and fun. Babies just do it and quickly catch on!

As children mature, the pleasure of being understood enhances self-esteem that in turn, encourages confidence toward increased communication which leads to more effective signing…a lasting circle of learning that spirals on to pre-school and beyond.

Parents wholeheartedly endorse this training. Just read the testimonials. Happy Baby Signs' instructors are lauded and loved for their special expertise and super enthusiasm. Paraphrased excerpts include, “My baby is rarely frustrated and therefore so am I; my child was so excited when we understood him; such a fun way of presenting the material—never too rigid; my daughter adds signs together for sentences...like 'MORE' + 'BOOK'.” and “the payoff is tremendous!”

As a speaker, Mommy’s Coach, and class participant, Carrie Vawter-Yousfi, says, “I especially appreciated Bill’s teaching by example, his wonderful stories of how signing with his own two young sons made their family life so much easier. I learned to start early, the sooner the better.”

Liza Baskind, mother of three, dispels the mistaken notion that signing will limit speaking. “On the contrary,” she says; “especially for so many children with delayed speech ability, signing will coax out more words, another factor in reducing frustration for parent and child.”

With the increasing popularity and positive results of Happy Baby Signs classes, parents who consider saving for a far off college future can make a nominal investment of time and money for their babies today that pays huge dividends in just a few months. It’s proven that children who communicate early via signing are verbally ahead a year or more by age three. Along with Thoreau’s premise that “language is the basis of all knowledge,” Teacher Bill reminds parents that “You can never redo those most important first two years of life!”

Order your holiday cards & Do good

Order your holiday cards, birthday announcements, and invitations
from Minted this month, & they'll donate 20% to Recess. You'll save 15% too!
Use Code FUNDRAISERECESS when you check out

Post pandemic play

Over the past 13 years, Recess has become a pillar of the parenting community. By supporting both young children and their grownups, we have enriched the lives of thousands of San Francisco families. Maybe some of you?!

During the pandemic, our much loved physical space was unable to operate and ultimately had to close its doors. But because safe play, support, and connection are actually needed more now than ever, we have accelerated our strategic plan and morphed Recess’ offerings into a mobile format that will ultimately support families with infants & toddlers in outdoor spaces throughout the city.

We are no longer restricted by geography and are thrilled to be able to expand the communities we can serve through our mobile format. The pandemic pushed us into outdoor mobile spaces and demonstrated it was time to create a new vision that can ultimately bring Recess to communities outside of the SF Neighborhoods with which it has been traditionally associated. We are thrilled.

Our city is filled with resources and families, but without a hub to bring folks together and a format to disseminate information, raising young children can be a tremendously isolating and daunting task. Recess will continue to be that hub in a new and innovative way.

To make this transition, we purchased a small trailer, created a mobile play set up for infants and toddlers, and curated high quality programming for families (including early childhood experts and local artists/musicians). We will be intentionally growing our programming in the months to come.

👉 For now, I’m excited to invite you to join us in July for outdoor playgroups. Many of us are feeling a little awkward and out of practice when it comes to socializing - but let’s do it. Join us for outdoor play and connection July 9-30 in the Sunset.