What’s Open on Christmas Day in Pittsburgh?
Here’s a sampling of things that will keep you busy when most businesses are closed.
PHOTO BY DAVE DICELLO
The UPMC Rink at PPG Place
This rink in the plaza between Third and Fourth Avenues, Downtown, is always a popular destination on Christmas Day if you want to get outdoors. It’s 67% larger than the one at Rockefeller Center in New York City and two-thirds the size of a standard National Hockey League rink. It originally opened in 2001 and was expanded in 2015.
It is open on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
It’s also open on New Year’s Eve from 10 a.m. to midnight and New Year’s Day, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Ticketing can be purchased online to avoid long lines for walk-ups.
Phone: 412-394-3641
Laurel Highland Ski Slopes
This section has been updated.
Keep an eye out on the websites of Seven Springs, Hidden Valley and Laurel Mountain. With 2 feet of man-made snow, Seven Springs opened on Dec. 15. Hidden Valley opened Friday, Dec. 22 and Laurel Mountain will open on Saturday, Dec. 23 at 9 a.m. All are operated by Vail Resorts and will operate through the Christmas weekend.
It’s best to look at the webcams on each site before you go to get a good sense of conditions for your favorite snowsports.
Boyce Park Ski Slopes in Plum opened on Friday, Dec. 22 for its 3:30 p.m. session. Its season will run through mid-March, weather conditions permitting. Check out conditions here.
PHOTO COURTESY MUSEUM OF ILLUSIONS
Museum of Illusions
This new museum at 271 North Shore Drive on the North Side is scheduled to open on Dec. 21. It will be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Christmas Eve and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Christmas.
It’s part of a chain with more than 40 locations worldwide that promises to be a visual feast for the senses with more than 60 displays featuring holograms, stereograms and optical illusions. The museum calls itself a one-of-a-kind “edutainment,” where you can “experience the impossible.”
It’s in a new 8,000-square-foot space in the SAP Pittsburgh building next to the Tom’s Watch Bar.
PHOTO VIA ROW HOUSE CINEMA’S FACEBOOK PAGE
Movies
Row House Cinema
Chinese Food and Movies
On Dec. 24 and 25, Row House in Lawrenceville will take your orders for Chinese food and sushi for its Christmas Eve show (7:30 p.m., the original “Miracle on 34th Street”) and all day on Christmas (“Diehard” at noon and 8 p.m., “The Muppet Christmas Carol” at 3 p.m. and “Elf” at 5:15 p.m.) and delivering the meals to your seat as you watch the film.
“Society of the Snow,” the tragic, true story of Uruguayan Flight 571, a chartered flight carrying the Old Christians Club Rugby team that crashed in the Andes mountains in October 1972.
Shows are 4:30 and 7:30 p.m.
Watch the trailer ⇓
A sampling of shows opening on Christmas at area theaters
“Ferrari” is a biopic of automotive king Enzo Ferrari. Watch the trailer ⇓
“The Boys in the Boat” is a story centering around the University of Washington rowing team that competed for gold in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. Watch the trailer ⇓
“The Color Purple” is the musical adaptation of Alice Walker’s novel about the sisterhood of three women. Watch the trailer ⇓
Restaurants
The Grand Concourse at Station Square hosts its Traditional Christmas Day buffet, from noon to 7 p.m. Reservations are strongly encouraged.
OpenTable lists local restaurants taking reservations for Christmas Day, such as Eddie Merlot’s, Fogo de Chao, McCormick & Schmick, Morton’s The Steakhouse and restaurants at Downtown hotels, Texas de Brazil on Mount Washington.
Many Asian restaurants around town also are open.
Christmas community gatherings
Annual free Oakmont Community Christmas Dinner
The whole community gathers to put on this free dinner open to anyone at Oakmont Elks #1668, 106 Washington Ave., Oakmont PA 15139 every Christmas.
This year it will run from 1 to 4 p.m. Christmas Day.
Organizers ask that you either call 412-828-1668 or email oakmontelks@gmail.com to let them know you’re coming to help in their planning.
Free Christmas dinners by Holy Family Parish
Holy Family Parish in the Plum and Verona area offers free Christmas dinners for anyone at two of the churches: from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Our Lady of Joy Church Hall, 2000 O’Block Road, Plum, and at Saint Joseph Church, 825 Second St., Verona.
To make reservations: email sos@holyfamilypgh.org or call either Noreen at 412-296-1709 or Dave at 412-932-5532.
Light Displays
For a truly festive drive, the Oglebay Festival of Lights continues nightly through Jan. 7. From dusk until midnight every night — yes, including the holidays — you can wind through a six-mile course featuring more than 100 lighted attractions. Want a guided tour? You can take in the sights on the Oglebay Trolley (with an additional ticket purchase) each night.
