Whether you're looking to tour a garden, hone your home maintenance skills, get some gardening tips or learn homebuying strategies, you'll find plenty of opportunities on the Peninsula this season. Check out our November home & garden events calendar.

Holidays at Filoli

10 a.m. - 9 p.m., daily, Nov. 18 - Jan. 7 | Filoli Historic House & Garden, 86 Cañada Road, Woodside | Tickets required. Prices vary.

The historic Filoli estate kicks off its holiday festivities on Saturday, Nov. 18. The home and gardens will be decked out in a wonderland of color and charm. There will be 3,600 strands of lights that stretch more than 25 miles, a 210-foot-long light tunnel andmore than 7,000 ornaments decorating the property, as well as a variety of special activities on various days, including visits from Santa, early hours for families with sensory sensitivities, holiday teas and wreath-making parties

See Filoli's calendar of holiday events.

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Declutter workshop

9 a.m., Thursday, Nov. 9 | Little House Activity Center, 800 Middle Ave., Menlo Park | To register, email littlehouse@1pvi.org or call 650-326-2025

Transitioning out of your home of many years? This workshop is designed to help you clear out the things that don’t matter anymore and make it easy to prepare for a move or to create a safer space without trip hazards. This workshop is presented by The Move Alliance and hosted by Liliana Perazich and Beth Leathers-Senior Real Estate Specialists Coldwell Banker Realty.

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First-time homebuyer down payment assistance

Noon - 1 p.m., Friday, Nov. 10 | Webinar hosted by Housing Trust Silicon Valley | Free.

Registration required.

First-time homebuyers in Santa Clara County who want to learn more about the Housing Trust’s down payment assistance program can have their questions answered during this one-hour livestream Q&A. Representatives from the Empower Homebuyers SCC program will provide a walk-through of the program, its pre-screening requirements, how to fill out the Interest Form and how to navigate the lender pre-approval process,

Funded by the 2016 Measure A Affordable Housing Bond, Empower Homebuyers SCC provides funding to assist low- to moderate-income people purchase homes in Santa Clara County – including employees at nonprofit organizations, teachers, healthcare professionals and county employees.

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Farm volunteer days

9 a.m. - noon, Saturday, Nov. 11 & Nov. 18 | Hidden Villa, 26870 Moody Road, Los Altos Hills | Registration not required. More information.

Help Hidden Villa's farm team care for food grown in the fields for the local community. Volunteers are needed to help remove weeds from the farm fields as well as assistance with other tasks. Participants should come ready to get dirty. The farm recommends wearing clothes that you're okay with getting dirty, sturdy boots and a sun hat. Bring a water bottle and snacks, if you like.

Volunteers meet at the front of the property at 9 a.m. and then head out to the fields from there.

Hidden Villa grows on about 7 acres of land, producing food for the community and donating 25% of the harvest to the food bank at the Community Services Agency of Mountain View. Anyone under the age of 18 will need to be accompanied by a guardian.

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Free gas appliance safety checks

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. is accepting appointments online for free in-home safety checks of gas appliances, and to reignite pilot lights that were turned off during warmer months.

PG&E customers may schedule an inspection onlineor by calling 800-743-5000.

The utility said its goal is to ensure that water heaters, furnaces and ovens are operating safely to reduce the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. Carbon monoxide is invisible and odorless.

So far this year, PG&E has responded to more than 6,100 incidents where carbon monoxide was suspected, the company said Friday.

- Information from Bay City News

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'A Sense of Place and Season' guided hike

10 a.m.- 1 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 11 | Monte Bello Open Space Preserve, 4301 Page Mill Road, Los Altos | Free. More information.

Join Docent Naturalists Susan Bernhard, Noa Doitel, Maureen Draper and Annie Guo to learn what a variety of plants, including trees, can teach about surviving heat and drought. Witness cones, buckeyes and acorns, and the fruits, berries and seeds of the harvest season along the Stevens Creek Nature and White Oak trails. Use your senses to hear and smell the crunch of bay leaves underfoot on this moderately-paced hike. You'll also learn about the connectedness of life to the water cycle. This guided hike is about 4 miles.

Meet at the Monte Bello Parking Area on Page Mill Road (across from Los Trancos Preserve).

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Design a water-wise garden

6:30 - 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 14 | Mountain View Public Library, 585 Franklin St., Mountain View | Free. Registration recommended.

Master Gardeners Dyane Matas and Sandy Wright will share how residents can effectively use the Water Wise Garden at the Palo Alto Demonstration Garden as inspiration for their own gardening ideas. The garden showcases more than 300 varieties of water-wise plants while incorporating simple design elements to encourage people to stroll through the garden throughout the year.

Whether residents are looking to create a sandy cactus and succulent garden or one with shades of green and lots of texture and flowers, or just looking to supplement their existing garden, the demonstration garden can help. It is free and open all year for public viewing.

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Bathroom remodeling workshop

Noon, Thursday, Nov. 16 | Live broadcast | Free.

Harrell Design + Build, which celebrated the grand opening of its new Mountain View showroom on Oct. 26, is broadcasting a bathroom design workshop via Facebook. Tune in on your lunch break to “What’s In and What’s Out: Bathroom Edition. ” Sara Jorgensen, senior designer at Harrell Design + Build, will take viewers through an inspiring and engaging conversation about "what's hot and what's not" when it comes to bathroom design.

More information here.

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Succulent open house & plant sale

9 a.m.- noon., Saturday, Nov. 18| Martial Cottle Park, 5283 Snell Ave., San Jose | Free. More information.

UC Master Gardeners will be holding a succulent open house and plant sale in the demonstration garden at Martial Cottle Park. Visitors can pick out a centerpiece or hostess gift for Thanksgiving, or treat themselves to a selection of succulents and other plants starting at just $5. Custom orders are available.

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Gamble Garden Winter Festival opening party

5:30 - 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 30 | 1431 Waverley St., Palo Alto | $75 Member / $95 Nonmember. More information

Celebrate the kickoff of Gamble Garden's Winter Festival. The historic estate and garden will be beautifully decorated and illuminated throughout the holiday season, starting on Nov. 30. The festival includes a tree-lighting ceremony, carolers, holiday music and a festive marketplace with more than 20 vendors in the Gamble house and outdoors under a canopy of twinkling lights. Holiday gift baskets will be up for bid at the silent auction, and vintage treasures will be available for purchase as part of Gamble's annual Over The Garden Fence Sale ~ Winter Edition. This is an adults-only event.