Catalina Island Visitor Information
Holidays on Catalina
The Holiday Season – starting with Thanksgiving and ending with New Year’s Day – can be festive or stressful, depending on numerous factors. Sometimes, the best thing to do is to get away and celebrate in a new and different environment.
Consider Catalina Island for the holidays. The island community has developed many unique and fun traditions over the past century, and would love to have you join them!
Thanksgiving
Start by renting a condo in Avalon for Thanksgiving week. Enjoy the balmy Mediterranean climate – Catalina is about as close as you can get to the Greek Islands without leaving the U.S. The advantage of these condos is that they’re located close in to where the festivities are yet have full kitchen facilities. You and your family have the choice of preparing your own Thanksgiving feast there in your condo, or availing yourselves of any of Avalon’s wonderful world-class eateries.
Christmas
One of the downsides of island living is that getting to the mainland and back is expensive. Catalina’s “Shop at Home Night” has been an annual event since the early 1990s. Sponsored by the Catalina Chamber of Commerce, this yearly event features starts off with the lighting of Avalon’s Official Christmas Tree down at the waterfront. There are discounts for holiday shoppers, Yuletide serenades from strolling carolers and prizes from local merchants.
New Years
It wouldn’t be New Year’s Eve without a black tie party at one of the most famous and impeccably decorated ballrooms in the world. Catalina’s Annual New Year’s Eve Celebration has been going strong since the Disco Era, and is The Place To Be if you’re in Avalon on the 31st of December. Book your reservations good and early, though – there’s a reason that tickets to this extremely popular event go on sale in July.


