This holiday season, spend a day enjoying a Harry Potter or Grinch filled Universal Studios Christmas. The holidays at Universal Studios offer plenty to see and do in terms of entertainment, activities, and seasonal décor.
Universal Studios Hollywood focuses their Christmas time festivities on two main themes: the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Grinchmas. Along with these two main themes, you can also see holiday décor throughout the park from the festive decorations to characters wearing Santa hats and sweaters. Seasonal food is also in abundance, especially in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Plus this year features the FIRST time Super Nintendo World will join the holiday fun!
Need a refresher on everything Universal Studios Hollywood has to offer? Make sure to check out our full guide with tips on how to get discount tickets, what rides are offered, and a complete touring strategy. Our Universal Studios Hollywood Express Guide has the full overview of how to beat the lines!
Christmas at Universal Studios Hollywood typically begins after Thanksgiving and runs through the first week of January.
This article has been checked for accuracy for 2025 and updated with all currently available information.
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Christmas at Super Nintendo World
For the first time, Christmas has come to Super Nintendo World in 2024. We expect the 2025 holiday celebration to include decorations in this popular area as well.
The holiday celebration includes a tree with a Super Star topper, festive wreath, and Nintendo themed snowman. The land itself has touches of holiday garland themed to the Super Mario franchise. There is also a large selection of new holiday merchandise.
Grinchmas at Universal Studios Hollywood
Universal Studios also holds a celebration of Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas with popular characters from the movie ready to share their Wholiday with your family. The celeration includes entertainment with the famous Whos plus a giant 65-foot-tall Grinchmas tree which stands in the center of Who-ville.
Grinchmas activities also include photo ops with the Grinch and his dog Max, storytime with Cindy-Lou Who, and a visit to the Who-ville post office. The Grinch has become an increasingly popular character to meet at Universal with waits at Universal Orlando last year reaching over three hours!
Meet the Grinch
You can meet the Grinch in three locations: in the Universal Plaza, outside the Studio Tour, and at the Lower Lot Annual Pass Member meet and greet.
The easiest option of the three is the Universal Plaza where the majority of the Grinchmas celebrations are taking place. The lefthand side of the Grinchmas tree is where the Grinch is greeting guests throughout the day. This is his main area for character interactions and this line is also the longest to meet him! Usually the line is around an hour but sometimes even longer. I recommend going past here towards the end of the night as this is when the line will be most reasonable.
The Grinch will sometimes meet guests spontaneously outside of the exit of the Studio Tour. This tends to happen most often on weekends and this is easily the shortest wait time to meet the Grinch. But there is no set schedule for this meet and greet so there tends to be a bit of luck that goes into meeting him here.
For those with a Universal Studios Hollywood annual pass, you can meet the Grinch with a shorter wait time in the Lower Lot on select days.
Meet Max the Dog
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Max the Dog is also available in the Universal Plaza for meet and greets and his wait times tend to be much shorter since the interactions are far quicker than the Grinch.
Meet Who-Ville Characters
You can also get photo ops with all the Whos in the Universal Plaza. Sometimes the Grinch will wander out from his meet and greet to interact with them which might give you a spontaneous interaction with him as well.
Whoville Entertainment during Universal Studios Christmas
The Grinchmas Who-liday Tree Lighting includes a main appearance from the Grinch along with Cindy-Lou Who and other Who characters. It's a fun show and ends with a snowfall in the plaza. The show is about 15 minutes long and runs multiple times throughout the evening. If you want a good spot, grab a seat on the benches at least 30 minutes prior to showtime or earlier.
Grinchmas Treats
There will be a treat stand in the Grinchmas area full of themed cookies, cupcakes, and more. The line for this does get long so go earlier in the day! The big donuts are similar to the ones in the Simpsons Land!
Christmas in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
Hogsmeade features “Christmas in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” with decorations across the area along with a line up of themed entertainment like The Frog Choir's traditional holiday cappella performances.
Christmas Decorations in Harry Potter
This area is decked out to its full holiday best and definitely should make the top of your list!
The Magic of Christmas at Hogwarts Castle
The Magic of Christmas at Hogwarts Castle includes lights, music, and projections on the castle of Hogwarts which makes for a stunning display. The show begins every night at dusk.
Check the entertainment schedule on the Universal Studios app for daily times or ask the nearest park employee. Typically, the Magic of Christmas at Hogwarts Castle show will begin in the evening and run every 30 minutes until park close. But on nights that the park closes early, there may only be one show. Make sure you find out the time in advance so you don't miss it!
Wizarding World of Harry Potter Entertainment
Entertainment in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter features performances from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students and holiday songs from the frog choir of Hogwarts.
Universal Studios Christmas Seasonal Food
In the Harry Potter books, Harry and his friends enjoy a grand holiday feast at Hogwarts with all the fixings,
“Harry had never in all his life had such a Christmas dinner. A hundred fat, roast turkeys; mountains of roast and boiled potatoes; platters of chipolatas; tureens of buttered peas, silver boats of thick, rich gravy and cranberry sauce — and stacks of wizard crackers every few feet along the table…”
The Three Broomsticks offers a full holiday feast as a nod towards the Christmas dinner feast held at Hogwarts in the Harry Potter series. The English Holiday Meal this year is roasted turkey, gravy, stuffing, honey glazed carrots, roasted brussels sprouts, pigs in a blanket and cranberry compote.
You can also find a variety of holiday sweets and seasonal drinks, such as warm butterbeer, around the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Christmas time.
You can check out our guide to the best Universal Studios Hollywood foods and restaurants you should try year-round!
Holiday Shopping at Universal Studios Christmas
Hogsmeade offers a variety of amazing shops straight out of the pages of the Harry Potter series. You can expect these stores to put out all the stops when it comes to serving your holiday shopping needs.
Universal Studios Hollywood Decor
The holiday decorations aren't just limited to the Grinchmas, Super Nintendo World, and Harry Potte celebrations. Throughout the park you will notice seasonal holiday decor along with a variety of Christmas treats and souvenirs.
Secret Life of Pets Photo Op
The New York area by the Secret Life of Pets attraction has some fun holiday decor and a photo op for guests to take pictures.
Secret Life of Pets Decor
The decor in this area is so fun, I love seeing Universal learn into these films as they are such a hit with kids and adults.
Holiday Character Interactions
You can also find popular characters around the park in their holiday best including a fun holiday sweater for Shrek!
City Walk Holiday Entertainment
City Walk is decorated for the holiday season with tons of Christmas lights and a giant 40-foot Christmas tree in front of the Universal Cinema featuring 200,000 LED lights.
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