In Cardiff-by-the-Sea, the lights get boxed up and the calendar turns over, and Cardiff 101 Main Street's Holiday Passport to Savings keeps going after all of that. Its discounts at more than 20 local businesses start Saturday, Nov. 28, and run through Sunday, Jan. 31, 2027. That's a little over nine weeks, and more than five of them come after Christmas.
The time limit is on the Passport itself. Cardiff 101 says quantities are limited, and Passports are given out in person while supplies last at four pickup points. You need a Passport in hand before they run out, and the calendar points to two Saturdays and one Sunday as the easiest times to get one.
Thanksgiving Week Comes First, at 2087 San Elijo Ave.
The holiday season starts two days before the Passport does. Thanksgiving is Thursday, Nov. 26, and for many Cardiff kitchens the holiday starts at Seaside Market on San Elijo Avenue. Brothers John and Pete Najjar opened the store in 1985, and the San Diego Union-Tribune reported that the 40th-anniversary celebrations would continue through June 2026. The same article quoted Pete Najjar on how they buy: "If you're selling fresh food, you better know who you're buying it from."
Seaside's holiday ordering page currently lists several complete meals for pickup at the Cardiff store, including these three:
- Complete Turkey Feast, $275. A Diestel turkey with a raw weight of 8 to 10 pounds, plus mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, candied sweet potato mash, gravy, cranberry sauce, turkey broth, Hawaiian sweet rolls and a pumpkin pie. Serves 6+.
- Cardiff Crack Burgundy Pepper Tri Tip Feast, $250. It's built around the meat-counter tri-tip that the Union-Tribune called "world famous."
- Vegan Meal, $125. Centered on a vegan lasagna made with Impossible meat.
You pay at pickup, nothing is charged online, and the page says quantities are limited and prices can change without notice. Meals come chilled in aluminum pans with reheating instructions, and substitutions aren't available.
Seaside Market was also on Cardiff 101's 2025 Passport list. If it joins again, the store where you pick up your Thanksgiving order is one of the places your Passport will work two days later.
Saturday, Nov. 28, Puts Three Things on One Morning
The Saturday after Thanksgiving is when the season starts, and three separate Cardiff 101 programs fall on it.
- 9 a.m.: The Holiday Passport window opens.
- Same day: Small Business Saturday in Cardiff. Shoppers at participating businesses can receive a limited-edition Cardiff-by-the-Sea poster with a purchase. A local graphic designer made the poster for Cardiff.
- 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.: The Cardiff Farmers Market at MiraCosta College's San Elijo Campus, 3333 Manchester Ave. The Cardiff 101 booth there is one of the Passport pickup points.
So the first Saturday market of the season is also the first chance to pick up a Passport on day one, and the poster offer is running the same day. The market is on Manchester Avenue, a short drive inland from the shops on Aberdeen Drive and San Elijo Avenue. A Passport you get at the booth in the morning is good at participating shops that afternoon.
Four Places to Pick One Up
Cardiff 101 lists four pickup points, all "while supplies last." One runs on a weekly schedule, one is a single event day, and two are a library and a credit union branch.
| Pickup point | Schedule |
|---|---|
| Cardiff Farmers Market, Cardiff 101 booth, 3333 Manchester Ave. | Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., starting Nov. 28 |
| Cardiff Kringle Mingle, Aberdeen Drive | Sunday, Dec. 6 |
| San Diego County Library, Cardiff Branch | Check with the branch |
| California Coast Credit Union, Encinitas Branch | Check with the branch |
The market booth and the Kringle Mingle are where the most people will be asking for one at the same time, so the supply could go fastest there.
Sunday, Dec. 6, Is the Busiest Day on Aberdeen Drive
The Kringle Mingle is the free community event early in the season, and the second big Passport pickup point. Cardiff 101's schedule for Sunday, Dec. 6:
- 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Makers Market booths along Aberdeen Drive with locally made holiday gifts
- 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Live music from local musicians
- 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Holiday craft table for kids
- 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Photos with Surfing Santa in his vintage Camera Camper sleigh
The Giving Treats, Starbucks and Cardiff 101 Main Street are providing holiday treats, hot coffee and hot chocolate as in-kind sponsors. Cardiff 101 says Santa leaves "promptly at 2:00 pm," so families who want sleigh photos should come early.
Dec. 6 also falls one day after the market's Saturday, Dec. 5. That gives you back-to-back days with a pickup point open, at two different addresses, early in the window. For anyone who missed the Nov. 28 morning, that first weekend in December is the next good chance.
Who Took Part Last Year
The 2026 Passport and Small Business Saturday pages still show the 2025 participants. Last year's lists are the best guide to where a Passport has worked.
Food and drink on the 2025 Passport: The Lost Abbey, Seaside Market, Cicciotti's, Bestawan, East Coast Pizza, Sambazon, Waverly Cafe & Lounge and Cacao Adventures.
Shops on the 2025 Passport: Fowler's Boutique, The Cali Life Gallery, Slinky Cat at Home and the Rancho Coastal Humane Society Thrift Shop.
Services and wellness on the 2025 Passport: Strut Hair Solutions, VYRTU Pilates, Skin & Soul Wellness, Jensen Accounting and Valero Cardiff, with The Giving Treats also on the list.
The 2025 Small Business Saturday poster went out with purchases at K. Spence, Posh Pets, Fowlers Boutique, Sea+Wander, Cardiff Surf Co, Fish 101, Sambazon, Besta Wan, The Lost Abbey and Strut Hair Solutions.
A few names appear on both lists, including The Lost Abbey, Sambazon, Strut Hair Solutions, Fowler's and Besta Wan. Those businesses were part of both the one-day poster offer and the two-month discount program. In 2025, a stop at one of them on Small Business Saturday counted toward both. Some of them, like Besta Wan, Cicciotti's, East Coast Pizza, Sambazon, Seaside Market and Waverly, also served at Cardiff 101's Taste of Cardiff on May 7, 2026. These are the same businesses that turn up at Cardiff 101 events all year, and the 2026 roster is likely to look familiar.
January Is Still Passport Season
The Passport's last day is Jan. 31, 2027, so the discounts keep working after the decorations are gone. Most holiday promotions end before New Year's. This one runs through January.
That makes the 2025 list more useful than a typical holiday-gift list. Several of last year's participants have nothing to do with gifts. They're everyday Cardiff stops: a pilates studio, a hair salon, a wellness practice, a car wash and fuel stop, an accounting office, plus pizza, açaí and the Waverly. A January haircut at Strut, a class at VYRTU Pilates or a weeknight pizza at East Coast Pizza would all fall inside the 2026 window if those businesses sign on again, long after the Kringle Mingle booths are packed away.
The farmers market keeps its Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. schedule at MiraCosta's San Elijo Campus, and the library and credit union are still pickup points. As long as supplies last, there's still a way to pick one up. Starting on Nov. 28 just gives you the full nine weeks to use it.
If you'd like to talk about Cardiff, from the shops on Aberdeen Drive to what the neighborhood looks like through the slower months after the holidays, Aaron Castagna is glad to share what he sees. Let's Connect.
