Fans of the popular 1980s TV series “The Golden Girls” know that its four Miami retiree characters relished the Christmas holidays.
Beginning next month, San Diego fans can step inside the festively-decorated home of Blanche, Rose, Dorothy and Sophia for fruitcake, holiday cocktails and more.
On Nov. 16, The “Golden Girls” Christmas Experience will open at the Bayside Kitchen and Bar at 2137 Pacific Coast Highway in Little Italy. The immersive, holiday-season pop-up will re-create the kitchen, living room and nearby shuffleboard court at the home the four women shared in the comedy series.
Instagram-worthy selfie stations at The “Golden Girls” Christmas Experience, arriving in San Diego Nov. 16. (Bucket Listers)
Visitors can explore and relax in the space, play shuffleboard, pose for selfies with oversize portraits of the characters and order a la carte food and drink items inspired by the show, including Sophia’s Spiked Eggnog, St. Olaf Christmas cookies, Blanche’s hot buttered rum or a Shady Pines Spritz.
The “Golden Girls” Christmas Experience is the creation of Bucket Listers, a special-event producer that brought the Malibu Barbie Café to the same restaurant in San Diego last July for Comic-Con International. Tickets are sold for a 90-minute timed experience, which includes a cup of cocoa. Other food and drinks are sold separately.
During the event’s run in San Diego, Bucket Listers is planning several recurring events, including drag brunches, “Golden Girls” trivia nights, themed high teas and bingo nights. Ticket prices have not been announced, but they will go on sale Nov. 4. An electronic wait list is available at bucketlisters.com/experience/golden-girls-christmas.
And for fans who can’t get enough of “The Golden Girls,” there are two more themed events coming to San Diego this fall featuring men in drag as the senior quartet.
Murray & Peter will present “Golden Girls: The Laughs Continue,” a stage play with a new script, on Nov. 1-2 at the Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Ave., San Diego. sandiegotheatres.org/event/2025/11/golden-girls.
And in December, ArtPower at UCSD will present the drag parody “The Golden Gals Live! A Christmas Musical,” featuring Ginger Minj from “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” It plays Dec. 6 at Epstein Family Amphitheater, 9480 Innovation Lane, UCSD, La Jolla. artpower.ucsd.edu/event/the-golden-gals-christmas.
Originally Published: October 14, 2025 at 10:00 AM PDT