Although snow is nowhere to be found in most parts of Southern California, the sight of twinkling Christmas lights illuminating the night is a telltale sign that the holidays are here. Students can enjoy a variety of winter-time activities this season.

Ice skating

Frozen lakes may not be available to skate on without travelling to the mountains, but similar festivities can still be enjoyed at outdoor skating rinks such as the Pershing Square Ice Rink in downtown Los Angeles. Visitors can skate while enjoying views of the surrounding city as well as attend any additional events such as the DJ spotlights hosted every Thursday. The rink will be open every day until Jan. 16 and general admission tickets are $9. For a closer alternative, students may opt for indoor ice skating at Anaheim Ice as well.

Building a gingerbread house

Another traditional holiday activity to do with a group of friends is constructing a gingerbread house. The basic ingredients include graham crackers, icing and a wide array of candy.

The graham crackers should be set up as the walls and roof of the house. To hold these walls together, squeeze icing onto the edges of the crackers to “glue” them to each other. The same can be done with the roof.

After the basic building is standing, the house can be decorated in any way the creator likes. Roof shingles can be added using ingredients such as candy or cereal. A candy cane door may be added to create an appearance more suited for the holidays.

The Grove

People looking to enjoy an abundance of holiday festivities may also want to pay a visit to The Grove, located on the westside of Los Angeles, where the largest Christmas tree in the city is located and golden lights are hung everywhere throughout the shopping center.

Here, visitors can watch The Grove’s colorful holiday water show in the fountain or visit Santa’s Cottage to take photos with the bearded gift-giver. Performances are also held by musical groups during the holidays for some evening entertainment.

Led by reindeer, Santa’s sleigh can be witnessed in the sky, and artificial  snow falls from above twice every night at 7 and 8 p.m.