{"id":51394,"date":"2025-12-03T20:23:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T20:23:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/51394\/"},"modified":"2025-12-03T20:23:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T20:23:09","slug":"your-dec-5-7-weekend-guide-11-events-including-visits-with-santa-hanukkah-candle-making-and-more-family-fun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/51394\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Dec. 5-7 weekend guide: 11 events including visits with Santa, Hanukkah candle-making, and more family fun"},"content":{"rendered":"

This first full weekend of December in Pittsburgh is packed with family-friendly fun, whether you\u2019re looking for a big event or a quiet way to spend some time together. The holiday market and Downtown festivities<\/a> are in full swing, but there are also library events, theater performances, and other ways to enjoy Kidsburgh this weekend. Check out what\u2019s happening:<\/p>\n

Friday, Dec. 5 and Saturday, 6: Visit with Santa at the Heinz History Center, 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Santa will be on hand to visit and pose with families from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the museum\u2019s Great Hall. Santa will pose for pictures in an exact replica of the chair from Kaufmann\u2019s Santaland. Plan to spend the day: Kids ages 17 and younger receive free admission. Adult admission<\/a> is $20, $18 for seniors.<\/p>\n

Friday, Dec 5-Sunday, Dec. 7: Steel City Con at the Monroeville Convention Center<\/p>\n

The Steel City Con is the exclusive \u201ccomic con\u201d of the Monroeville Convention Center. It is one of the largest comic cons in the United States, with over 100,000 square feet of convention space and filled with 750 vendor tables, artist alley, and celebrity guests. Free admission for children 10 and under with adult paid admission (up to two children per adult). Tickets begin at $27 and can be purchased here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Saturday, Dec. 6: Sensory-Friendly Showing of \u201cZootopia 2\u201d at The Lindsay Theater, 10 a.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Enjoy a screening of one of the season\u2019s most anticipated movies in a setting designed for guests who may be overwhelmed by a typical theater experience. Some lights are left on, jarring sounds are softened, and all behaviors are welcome at this screening. Tickets are $8.75 and can be purchased here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Saturday, Dec. 6: Not Your Average Holiday Parade, 10 a.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Join the Ya Jagoff! crew\u00a0 and other Pittsburgh personalities Downtown for a festive and quirky twist on a holiday parade. The parade will make various stops at local businesses and attractions. Find the schedule and route here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/a>Courtesy of Ya Jagoff.<\/p>\n

Saturday, Dec. 6: Season\u2019s Greetings Saturday at the National Aviary, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Most weekends in December at the Aviary feature the Grinch. But this weekend will feature Santa, for those who don\u2019t love that goofy green guy. Drop in any time, though you won\u2019t want to miss the storytime at 11:30 a.m. These activities<\/a> are included with general admission.<\/p>\n

Saturday, Dec. 6: Gingerbread House Decorating at CLP South Side, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Add a sweet touch to your holidays with edible arts and crafts! The library will supply the gingerbread, icing, and decorations \u2014 everything you need to make a delicious gingerbread house. This is a drop-in event, so stop by to create your holiday masterpiece. This event<\/a> is for families with children (birth to grade 5) and their caregivers.<\/p>\n

Saturday, Dec. 6: South Side\u2019s First Annual Winterfest, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Enjoy this free, all-ages, family-friendly celebration featuring the best of South Side and plenty of winter fun. Santa will light the holiday tree, live music will fill the air and families can explore a marketplace full of neighborhood artists, bakers and other vendors. Local restaurants and food trucks will showcase all the South Side has to offer. Details here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/a>Winterfest photo courtesy of South Side Works.<\/p>\n

Saturday, Dec. 6: Light Up Bellevue, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lincoln Avenue will be closed on Saturday for food, festivities and fun. Make crafts at local businesses, enjoy treats and food from food trucks and vendors, and participate in free family-friendly activities. Find details about this event here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Saturday, Dec. 6: The Witches of Oz visit Mellon Square, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thanks to our friends at the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, \u201cWicked\u201d fans big and small can meet their favorite witches, take a photo, and enjoy hot chocolate. The best part? This event<\/a> is totally free, and no registration is required.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/a>Courtesy of Bona Fide Bellevue.<\/p>\n

Dec. 7: Candle Crafting for Hanukkah at Rodef Shalom, 12 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Craft your own set of Hanukkah candles to take home and help spread the light of the Hanukkah season. The $10 ticket includes lunch and all candle-making supplies for at least nine Hanukkah candles. Please register here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sunday, Dec. 7: Free Family Skate at Velum Fermentation, 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thanks to a sponsorship by South Side Kids, this skating event is totally free. There will be some skates available on a first-come, first-served basis. Families may also bring their own skates. Due to the concrete floor, pads and helmets are recommended and adults must stay with children. There will be food trucks, a DJ and more. Find details here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Want more December fun? Don\u2019t forget to sign up for our newsletter<\/a>. We work hard to keep you updated on family-friendly events, parenting news and more.<\/p>\n

Above image courtesy of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This first full weekend of December in Pittsburgh is packed with family-friendly fun, whether you\u2019re looking for a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":51395,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[29225,22694,73,75,74,22696],"class_list":["post-51394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-lindsay-theater","tag-national-aviary","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news","tag-sen-john-heinz-history-center"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51394"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51394\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}