Bounty of Affordable Holiday Fare at the Presidio

Presidio of San Francisco (December 15, 2011) — The holiday tree is aglow and the winter light is beautiful. Come out to the Presidio to enjoy the park and and a bevy of affordable holiday fare.

Join the San Francisco acappella chorus Musaic for a special holiday concert at the Presidio Chapel on Saturday, December 17 at 8pm. From reverent classical anthems to joyful jazz carols, enjoy seasonal melodies and harmonies from around the world. Tickets are $15 (free for students with ID). To order tickets and for more information, visit www.musaic.org.

Celebrate Christmas Eve with an evening of Christmas carols and worship at the Presidio Interfaith Center’s annual Carol Sing and Christmas Mass. Hosted by the White Robed Monks of St. Benedict, the event takes place Saturday, December 24 at 7 pm at the Presidio Chapel. A pot luck desert follows the service. For more information or to RSVP, visit www.whiterobedmonks.org/xmas.

Getting your picture taken on Santa’s lap at the mall is one thing, but on a trampoline? Join Santa in full flight at House of Air on Tuesday, December 20 from noon to 3 pm. For more information, visit www.houseofair.com.

Throughout the month, celebrate the holidays through the eyes of Walt Disney as the Walt Disney Family Museum hosts a special holiday screening of Christmas with Walt Disney. Narrated by Walt’s daughter, Diane Disney Miller, this enchantingly personal, 51-minute film includes clips from dozens of Disney classics, but its most memorable moments are the family’s rarely seen home movies — including Christmas holidays and ski vacations. Showtimes are 1 and 4 p.m. daily (except Tuesdays and Christmas day) through December 31.

And don’t miss the museum’s delightful holiday exhibit, Disney Artists’ Holiday Wishes. This special exhibit features personal holiday cards created by some of Disney’s most famous talent, including Clarence Nash: the voice of Donald Duck and Mary Blair, whose Disney legacy lives on in such animated classics as Cinderella, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland and in the design for Disneyland’s It’s A Small World. The cards; a gift from one of Walt Disney’s grandsons, Walter E. Disney Miller; are part of the museum’s permanent collection, but have never before been exhibited. In all, more than 50 hand drawn cards, created from 1937-70 by 18 Disney animators, comic strip artists and story men, are on display. The exhibit runs through December 31. For more information on these and the museum’s other holiday programs, visit www.waltdisney.org.

Looking for a unique gift for the movie buff on your list? The San Francisco Film Society is holding its “once in a blue-moon” holiday movie poster sale, Saturday, December 17, from 10am to 4pm at the San Francisco Film Centre: 39 Mesa Street in the Presidio. Hundreds of posters from the San Francisco International Film Festival, the Film Society’s weekly screenings, and commercial cinema will be on sale. The posters — from all over the world, many of them in their original language — include old and new titles and collectibles. For more information, visit www.sffs.org/poster-sale.

While you are in the Presidio, how about picking up a gift certificate for a special someone? Try: Senspa; Presidio Social Club; Presidio Golf Course; Planet Granite; A Body of Work, Crissy Field Warming Hut, or Sports Basement, to name just a few.

The Presidio Trust was established by the United States Congress in 1996 to administer the Presidio of San Francisco, an urban national park site that is located at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge. The areas overseen by the Trust include expansive open space and spectacular views, a 300-acre historic forest, and rare and endangered plants and wildlife. The park comprises nearly 6 million square feet of buildings, including 433 historic structures that contribute to the Presidio’s status as a National Historic Landmark District.