Christmas, cocktails, and comfort foods at Belmont Park’s Winter Wonder

Belmont Park’s Winter Wonder seasonal promotion runs Nov. 16 through Jan. 5 with more lights, more food and beverages, more Christmas activations, and more fun than ever before.

The Mission Beach oceanfront amusement park will come alive this year with a dazzling array of twinkling lights. Add to that over-the-top food and beverage specials, live stage performances, a Christmas-themed cocktail pop-up at Draft Bar & Grill, and several park activations – and you have a prescription for enjoyment.

“Come see the park’s year-end light show,” said Maddison Sinclair, Belmont Park’s public relations and partnerships manager. “It will be over one million lights very similar to years past,” she said adding all the park’s trees in its parking lot, at Beach House restaurant and margarita bar and throughout the park will be “wrapped with light. We also have a huge sculpture every year. This year it is an approximately 13-foot-tall beach surfing snowman holding a board and wearing a button-up Hawaiian shirt outside Fit Athletic Club & Gym.”

Another highlight of Winter Wonder will be Miracle at Draft, a Christmas-themed cocktail pop-up running from Nov. 22 through Jan. 5. “We will have fun themed cocktails and collector’s mugs that people can buy,” noted Sinclair of the promotion adding Draft will look like “Christmas exploded” inside. Miracle at Draft, launched last year, will also have Yuletide activations this year including Christmas movie night on Wednesdays.

“We’ll be doing ornament and cookie decorating nights for kids as well as holding a paint and sip workshop inside Draft,” said Sinclair. “We’ll have Christmas movie nights like ‘Home Alone’ and ‘Elf’ on Wednesdays and have an ugly Christmas sweater contest and give away a prize.” More information is available at belmontpark.com/miracle.

Seasonal food and drink choices will be enhanced at Winter Wonder with tasty items like funnel cakes and snowman brownies topping the list. “We’re doing charity things too like inviting foster kids to the park for an annual holiday party for a full day of fun,” said Sinclair.

Regarding entertainment, Sinclair noted that area schools, including some with their marching bands, will perform along with “Jingle Beats” in Belmont’s Food Court on weekends. There will also be a free Letters to Santa event on Tuesday, Dec. 17, from 4-10 p.m., with an appearance by old St. Nick.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Make your ornaments: Nov. 26, 4-10 p.m.

Ornament kit: 50 wooden ornaments, 50 strings, 2 paint brushes, 12 acrylic paints, 6 glitter pens, 1 paint palette, 4 color pens, 1 gem sticker sheet.

Price: $10.

Character appearance: Olaf.

Movie night: Every Wednesday from 6-8 p.m. except Dec. 18.

Offering: Movie boxes with refillable soda, Belmont Park water bottle, refillable popcorn, and choice of two candies (no refills).

Price: $10.

Tables are available on Open Table; larger groups book with draftvip@sandiego.com.

Movies: Nov. 27 “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” Dec. 4 “Home Alone,” Dec. 11 “Elf,” Dec. 18 “Trivia Night Theme: Christmas Classics,” Dec. 25 closed, Jan. 1 “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”

Cookie decorating: Dec. 3, from 4-10 p.m.

Offering: House-made cookies, 3 tubes (1 white, 1 green, 1 red), 2.5 ounces of sprinkles, 4 different nozzles.

Price: $10

Character appearance: Elf.