Christmas bars, tree lots, craft fair: San Jose is ready for the holidays
SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- It may be Thanksgiving soon, but Christmas time is already here in San Jose.
In downtown San Jose, Paper Plane transformed their bar into a festive wonderland from floor to ceiling.
Benny Sarpolio, the operations manager, said it took a decorating team and a lighting team 3 days.
It's called Miracle on 1st Street. Bars throughout the Bay Area and from around the world participate these Christmas pop-ups, with holiday drinks in special cups.
"This is probably one of the busier nights of our year. You know everyone's in town from far and wide - they want to go out and feel festive and this is the perfect place to do it," Sarpolio said.
Paper Plane's sister location MINIBOSS in San Jose is also fully decked out.
"Seeing the joy on their faces it really makes it all worth it," Sarpolio said.
For those of all ages, a holiday tradition is back by popular demand in downtown San Jose.
Skaters are enjoying the ice rink that's up and running.
Across the street, the finishing touches are being made at Christmas in the Park.
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We were there earlier in the day as schools and community groups decorated their trees.
The 44th annual Christmas in the Park kicks off Friday at 6 p.m.
Speaking of decorating, Christmas trees were trucked in from Oregon.
Workers at this tree lot will keep them covered until they open on Friday.
And if shopping is on your list this weekend, local owners are getting ready for Small Business Saturday.
Lynna Choi owns Woofboard located in San Pedro Square.
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If you want to treat your dog, her specialty is dog charcuterie boards.
"Everyone loves charcuterie boards, right? I'm a millennial so we love our cheese boards so I just thought it was a fun way to celebrate that love for charcuterie boards with our dogs," Choi said.
Choi said all the treats are sourced from fellow small businesses, natural and preservative-free.
The rest of the products in her store are sourced from other small businesses as well.
"So there are a lot of things that you won't be able to find in big box stores so not only are you supporting my dream as a small business owner, you're supporting over a 100 different brands," Choi said.
On Friday and Saturday, Choi will have a booth at the SJ Made Holiday Fair where 400 vendors of small business will be at the Santa Clara Convention Center.
Also at the Tiny Keyboards Shop in San Pedro Square, store associate Bao Nguyen said supporting small businesses helps the community thrive.
Nguyen said the Tiny Keyboards Shop is proud to be one of the first brick and mortar stores with tech accessories.
"Most of these parts are online, right? You can't really touch, feel, and see really like what you're buying, so this store offers people the opportunity for people to really choose what they want," Nguyen said.
San Jose launched their holiday shop local campaign with a list of stores and restaurants to visit. For more information, click here.
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