Guide to Christmas in Cali: what to do, where to go. How I spent it with my “other” family

12.25.18
Can you believe its almost 2019??
Here’s to another Christmas away from my mom and brothers, I guess lol (last year I was in Mexico, now im in Cali. Ahh, how I miss the City)
It’s kinda hard to experience the magic of Christmas in California when there’s NO snow. But even if xmas is a sham here (kidding), there are endless ways to get in the spirit and have a good ol’ time.
Christmas in California
Photo from my ig: @soyvirgos
A SHORT GUIDE TO THE HOLIDAYS IN SUNNY CALIFORNIA
Downtown
Everyone has a “downtown” area. You can’t go wrong with walking around to see cute lights along the streets and go window shopping. I did pass by with my husband and his mom and grandma. The street was closed due to a street fair, but we weren’t prepared to walk around late at night. Maybe next year!
Vegan Food
Call me basic, but I love vegan fast food so much. There’s many restaurants here in Cali, but lately me and Alexander have enjoyed vegan burgers and mac and cheese.
Bring on the comfort food 😊
Xmas Trees, Streets+ Lights
These are literally everywhere in probably every state, so you can’t miss them here.
Below are some lights from the theater we went to earlier this week.
The Movies
Me and bae decided to watch the Animated Spider-man movie called Into The Spider-Verse. Well his brother got us an early xmas gift and bought us the tickets. It was fun and super cute! I really loved Spider-man as a teen lol I just enjoyed the movies, not sure why?? But this animated version really made me love Spider-man all over again!
The Holidays with me and Alexander
So me and Alexander didn’t really go out other than shop a tiny bit on Christmas Eve lol
We went to Goodwill for his grandma, and a grocery store for his mom. They’re not the type of ladies who like brand new brand name items. Lucky for us, his grandma loves used items, so we got her 2 really cute lounge pants from the Goodwill while we got my mom in law socks from the grocery store. It’s more like a small Target than a regular grocery outlet, lol
xmas lights liven up snow-less streets
I’ve only been in California twice before this year. The only reason I came here was because of him.
The first time was around 2015 and it was pretty much the same except my kitty Gati was with us and so was my brother in law Chris. I just came a few days before Christmas, just in time to be given presents from his family lol! (kidding i’m not that kind of person)
Walking the family dog Charlie. TBH, he is the most annoying and smelly dog I’ve ever met lol. Trust me, I thought he was cute in pics too but once you get near him, it’s a different story.
mom in law, the interior designer
My mom in law has a knack for decorating the whole house in cute way for every big holiday. I should have taken some more pictures from Halloween but i just got here in October and was really on vacation trying to avoid working on my blog, i hate to admit it but yes i got lazy!
I never had family with a habit to collect vintage stuff and decorate the home with it. my mom was a single mom for a long time with 3 small kids, so there’s really no time to even collect things and decorate.
That’s why I’m really happy to be here with my husband and his family. I can finally enjoy the holidays like most Americans do, even though I didn’t really mind just being home alone with my mom hehe

What I (we) got for xmas
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Now you guys can truly see what a real child/dork I am.
I say we cause me and Alexander will use the Visa card and vegan food and soap together. Anyways, we got more things but these pictured were my favorite.
- rilakumma candy thingy from apparently “santa”
- e.l.f nail polish
- mira thermo mug
- wallet with charger inside
- vegan chocolate
- kiki’s delivery service lunchbox
- seaweed
- vegan bar soaps
- and a bunch of other vegan snacks that i didn’t include in this pic
I also got a chi chi plush for myself, don’t forget to check out this post to find out about her hehe
Here’s the calendar I used this month for my phones wallpaper. You need to check out the artist, fusedyyy777! I don’t understand their posts, but I adore their art a ton, especially their calendars.
A huge thanks to Jazmin at cozylittlemimi for editing my pic for me. It’s so cute!! Follow her on IG 🙂
Do you still consider it Christmas even in places where there’s no snow? Should snow-less states deserve the right to celebrate Christmas, b honest. JK but I haven’t seen snow since February and I really miss wearing big coats and boots.
See you on New Years Guys <3
Read last week’s post: A story about my worst Xmas ever, and how I made this year better than last
Read more from this month: 60+ blog post ideas for December | Holiday Movie Guide | Xmas Decor for Minimalists | Holiday Season Outfits | Gifts to get anime lovers | Cat Gifts for Cat Lovers!
LOVE, KIKI
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What a great guide! I would love to go these places 🙂
Brianna | http://briannamarielifestyle.com/
Thanks Brianna! You should def visit cali if you haven’t <3
I can relate to the pain of not having snow in Cali! Though, maybe it is a good thing because drivers in Cali are crazy. I love going to malls during this time of the year. There are so many cute decorations up, perfect for pictures! I love the goodies you got for Christmas. Glad you enjoyed your Christmas.
Nancy ♥ exquisitely.me
True! I read about drivers in LA crashing with the rain a few weeks ago. Didn’t expect that to happen lol
Me too I wish I went to more, but lately I’ve just been a hermit hehe I hope to go out more these next months that I’m here in Cali.
Thanks, I hope you got what you wanted for xmas too <3