Mission Hills Holidays and More
By Jamaal Jackson, President, Mission Hills Business Improvement District and Assistant Vice President | Branch Manager U.S. Bank Mission Hills
For the Mission Hills Business Improvement District (BID), it is an exciting time of year. The Saturday after Thanksgiving, Small Business Saturday kicked off the Shop Small holiday season, the Toys for Tots collections continue in eight locations, and the anticipated late-December installation of Colors on Canvas children’s hand painted art banners by Grant School students, featuring Mission Hills businesses, is near. And, this year, as we welcome the Library Shop Mission Hills on December 1, we encourage you to visit them at 925 West Washington Street and shop guilt-free during the holidays and beyond, as profits support the San Diego Public Library system.
Mission Hills’ offering of small and large treasures has something for even the hardest to surprise person on your list. Before you go online, head to the mall or travel the freeways, consider our local businesses and whether that special gift might be just steps away. Perhaps a Ducati, Aprilia or Moto Guzzi this year? Visit GP Motorcycles at 3617 India Street, San Diego County’s only all-European motorcycle dealership. Pampering and self-care services are the best in Mission Hills and every business offers gift cards too. Our support for local businesses helps our neighborhood thrive with 67 percent of money spent at a small business staying in the neighborhood.
Remember, Holiday in the Hills, produced by Mission Hills Community Preservation, takes place from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday, December 13 on the 1600 block of West Lewis Street with fun for all ages. Discover for yourself how much more our neighborhood has to offer this holiday season at the beautifully stocked retail shops on West Lewis. As this column goes to press, the BID is on social promoting shopping small and local throughout the holiday season. Whether you are a business owner or a shopper in the neighborhood, please tag us @missionhillssd so that we may re-post.
This is the fourth consecutive year the Mission Hills BID is collecting toys for Toys for Tots through a community-wide effort which continues through December 12 at noon. Toys for Tots in San Diego County collects new toys for children up to age 12 and helps to distribute the toys through 250 non-profit organizations. All toy donations must be new, in original packaging, and unwrapped. No stuffed toys will be accepted. So, when you are out shopping for family and friends, please pick up a toy for a child in need and drop it in a Toys for Tots collection box. Mission Hills’ eight business locations with collection boxes are:
- Mission Hills Branch Library, 215 West Washington Street
- Mail Station, 325 West Washington Street, Suite 2
- U.S. Bank- Mission Hills, 610 West Washington Street
- Communion, 901 West Washington Street
- Paradis, 901 West Washington Street
- Salon Sloane, 1605 West Lewis Street
- Lewis | Fay, 1620 West Lewis Street
- Library Shop Mission Hills, 925 West Washington Street
The BID’s Colors on Canvas children’s hand painted art banners featuring Mission Hills businesses appreciates and thanks Grant School Principal Michele Cain whose love for the project shines and Art Teacher/Artist-in-Residence Sarah Ekedal who continues to inspire each student to create art every day. Under the supervision of Ekedal, the 70 banners are being hand painted by Grant School children in the Art Kitchen and are overflowing into the school auditorium. I’m impressed. These 30” x 94” gigantic banners will be installed on lampposts throughout Mission Hills late-night on December 21. Once installed, winning banners will be identified by a panel of judges and a celebration is being planned to take place during the first quarter of 2026. The bulk of this year’s Colors on Canvas funding was provided by the County of San Diego at the urging of San Diego County Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe. Additional funding was provided by Former Senator Toni Atkins, the City of San Diego and private donations. We thank everyone who donated for their generous support.
For almost five years I have been the branch manager at U.S. Bank Mission Hills. Early-on I became involved with the BID and I was just re-elected as President of the BID board of directors. Joining me as officers of the board are Daniel Geddis of Team D&B at One Mission Realty as vice president; Amra Mulic owner of All American Tailors as secretary; and Sarah Church co-owner of Pizza e Birra as treasurer. Michael Metcalf owner of Metcalf Consulting, Marea Riedler owner of A Designed Space and Sloane Wormser owner of Salon Sloane will be rounding out the board and returning to serve in 2026. I am pleased to be a part of this great team and thankful for their generous dedication of time, talent and resources as we advance the more than 460 businesses in the BID, along with our executive director Susan McNeil Schreyer.
If you own a business in the Mission Hills Business Improvement District, I invite you to join in the important work and the informative fun at the BID committee meetings focused on Promotions, Economic Development, Design, Maintenance and the Parking and Transportation Citizens Advisory Committee on the second Wednesday of each month and the BID board of directors’ meetings on the third Wednesday of each month. Thanks to the generosity of the Mission Hills library staff, in 2026 our BID meetings will continue to take place in the library’s Community Room. Please visit our website at http://www.MissionHillsBID.com/meetings-and-agendas to view past meeting agendas and minutes and gain a flavor for all we do in support of Mission Hills businesses.
Mission Hills is a wonderful place for fun get-togethers with friends and family during the holidays. I look forward to seeing you in the neighborhood and wish you and yours a safe and abundant holiday season.
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