Thanks! Someday! The grands are almost Disney age. 
The Hammer Museum in Westwood just opened an Alice Waters restaurant.
If you are looking for Chinese Dim Sum, we like Lunasia in Alhambra. The 21 Best Dim Sum Restaurants in Los Angeles - Eater LA
We took our teens to California in summer of. 2018 I believe. I lived in LA briefly in my 20s and still have friends there so we caught up with them, but did plenty of other stuff too. We did two weeks and went from LA to SF.
We have done Universal in Orlando so did not do it in LA. My kids were never into Disney so Disneyland was not a draw. If you’ve been to Orlando I really think the theme parks there are bigger and better and no way in heck I would go to one over Christmas. They are mobbed. I say skip that.
We did Griffith Observatory (also mobbed, so crowded our friends ditched us). We drove thru Hollywood so kids could see it but nobody wanted to get out. We stayed in an AirBnB in Laurel Canyon so Hollywood was on our way to and from. One of my kids really wanted to try Leo’s Tacos (supposed to be some of the best in the country) so we did that with our friends. It’s an unassuming taco truck but very tasty. We also went to this doughnut place called Donut Friend that one of my kids read about. It’s in Highland Park which kind of funky and up and coming hipster area I guess. We went out to Venice Beach (where I used to live) and Santa Monica. Sooooo much weed! Drove by La Brea tarpits. I think that is worth a visit. Teen boys would probably enjoy it. There is a giant pit of tar literally bubbling up in the middle of LA. Lots of Sabre tooth tigers and woolly mammoth 
bones.
When we left LA we drove up the PCH/Highway 1 to Santa Barbara. Stopped there for lunch. It’s pretty upscale. We didn’t stay though.
Went on to Morro Bay for the night and hiked at Montaña de Oro State Park just south of Morro Bay. That was very cool. At Morro Bay we saw lots of sea otters out by the rock 
. It was pretty amazing. I don’t know if they hang out in the bay in the winter or not but we loved them.
We drove up Highway 1 toward Monterey (actually stayed in Pacific Grove). On the way we stopped at The Elephant Seal Rookery at Piedras Blanca/San Simeon. That was freaking amazing. It’s just right beside the road and these huge beasts are right there. Highly recommend this stop. Doesn’t have to take long but you gotta see these guys. Elephant Seals of San Simeon | Free Viewing Area for Everyone We skipped nearby Hearst Castle — just not our thing — but the elephant seals are worth it if you only stop for 5 minutes. It’s free.
On up Highway 1 thru Big Sur we stopped at Nepenthe for a meal. Your boys might like this. They do very nice food in an unbeatable setting. https://www.nepenthe.com/
We stayed in Pacific Grove very near the trail along the coast so we could just walk into Monterey. No butterflies when we were there but that would be very cool. The Monterey Bay aquarium was mobbed in the summer but very nice and worth seeing. Still loved seeing the sea otters at Morro Bay more because they were just hanging out and chillin’ w/o all the aquarium crowds.
Then on our way into San Francisco we stopped in Santa Cruz and went to the state park with the Redwoods. I was glad we did because of fires we ended up not being able to get to Yosemite.
In SF we did cable cars and Fisherman’s Wharf, Chinatown, the Golden Gate Bridge, all the usual touristy stuff. I agree that you don’t need a car in SF. We had one because we were going to go to Yosemite after SF but the fires prevented that. Otherwise I would have skipped the car there.
Hope that helps and hope you have a great time.
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SF Resident here with teens! Christmas time in the City is quite festive. The cable cars get decorated, there are light shows downtown, the outdoor skating rinks are out, and my favorite - two story gingerbread house at the fairmont hotel. The weather in December can be variable (I.e. rainy), so factor in some flexibility for outdoor activities. but we are likely to still be in a drought. Make your fancy dinner reservations soon if that is what you want. Alcatraz tickets are also good to get far ahead of time. The Nightime tour is definitely teen friendly. Alcatraz Night Tour - City Experiences™ I’m also a big Warriors fan - and my teens love going to games at the Chase Center.
My teenagers like thrifting in the Haight and checking out Amoeba records. They like eating pizza at Tony’s in north beach (https://tonyspizzanapoletana.com/) and wandering around for gelato or pastries. Chinatown is an adventure if you have never been and good for just walking around - the House of Nanking was recently in the new Matrix movie. Mister Jim’s is a lot pricier but yummy. At Fisherman’s Wharf, the Musee Mechanique is pretty awesome. There is also an In-n-Out close. Our Japantown has seen a lot of closures but the bookstore never fails to delight or out of town visitors: Kinokuniya San Francisco — Kinokuniya USA. The Marafuku Ramen is really good there too.
Activities. Check out https://sf.funcheap.com/ before you come. There is always something going on here, like a two story gingerbread house or a pop up roller disco.
Biking - the route along the embarcadero is flat. You can ride over the Golden Gate Bridge, which is a longer adventure.
Mini golf: outdoors @ Stagecoach Greens or indoors @ https://www.urbanputt.com/
Kayaking: https://citykayak.com/
Paddle boarding: https://dogpatchpaddle.com/
There is a challenging stairway walk up the Filbert Street Steps to Telegraph hill that ends at Coit Tower. There are funky houses on either side and a group of wild parrots.
Lastly, the advice to not leave anything in the car is spot on. Thieves target tourist cars and it’s heartbreaking to see people’s vacations get ruined.
Anyway, welcome! And I hope you have fun!
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I also recommend the La Brea Tarpits. You can smell the tar very strongly and there’s a hut where they are still doing excavation work. I recommend the Getty too, in Belair. Amazing view. A museum that won’t bore teens, good food in the cafeteria.
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Adding to everyone else’s suggestions, please make sure you have reservations for these places because a number of them limit crowd capacity.
Disneyland, some Museums (Getty), require reservations besides having paid tickets. Go online to check.
If you are going during the Christmas break, though be prepared for capacity crowds even with Covid. Use any and all auto club discounts because it is expensive here in California. Oh and try our famous Rubio’s tacos.
If you are thinking of visiting the La Brea Tarpits, it is adjacent to LACMA, the Peterson Automotive Museum and the Academy of Motion Pictures Museum. You can walk to all of them without moving your car. They are a couple of blocks away from The Grove and the Original Farmers Market.
Edit: If you are doing DTLA, I would recommend visiting Grand Central Market. If you aren’t there for something else, it isn’t worth trying to find (and pay for) parking.
Everything in LA/OC - Disneyland, Universal, all museums and the freeways - will be very crowded that week. Once you know where you want to visit, we can recommend where to stay and how to best time the freeways.
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I have to mention my favorite garden, Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. I think this one is much larger than the Getty Museum, beautiful succulents and cacti garden, and a lot of other plants too. This is where I purchase my bare root roses.
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I thought Getty was free but needed reservations?
Plus one on Huntington Library gardens and museum. The Japanese Garden in SF is also lovely.
Plus one on Muir Woods.
My favorite thing to do in SF is walking tours, there are food tours, literary tours, architectural tours, self guided and tours with guides, free and ones you have to pay for. They’ve all been great.
If you get to Monterrey you should schedule at least a half day for Point Lobos.
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You’ve got some great suggestions above. I’ll just toss out a few ideas I didn’t see mentioned. If you want to see redwoods, stop in Santa Cruz. It’s an iconic beach town, too.
I think there are still whale watching trips out of Monterrey in December. Some central coast beach towns are fun stops or places to overnight- Pismo, Avila, and Morro Bay. San Simeon’s elephant seals are worth visiting.
Pack warm clothes.
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Yes, there are some excellent redwoods in that direction. We liked hiking here:
Looks like parking needs to be reserved in advance so check before you go.
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If you like space-related things and plan to visit JPL, you might also like Griffith Observatory, which has great views, in addition to a wonderful science museum. Another place I would recommend with wonderful views is the Getty Museum in Westwood. Since you like nature, a personal favorite of mine is Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge, which is close to JPL and somewhat smaller and more manageable than Huntington Gardens. And during the time you’ll be here they’ll be having a nighttime event called Enchanted: Forest of Light, which I recommend.
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Thanks for indicating that about the Getty, but some museums, which don’t have beaucoup bucks like the Getty, rely on public funds like SD (Museum of Art), which require time reservations (and tickets) to space out their guests.
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Now, whatever gave you the idea that the Getty had lots of cash? 
(for avoidance of doubt, just kidding).
The reservations/entrance are “free”, but please make sure you do this well in advance of your trip if you go there. Also, parking is $20.00, so it’s not totally free…but it’s definitely worth seeing.
Also, I think it’s in Brentwood, rather than Westwood as mentioned in another post. LA is one contiguous and gigantic area to me, so apologies if I have that wrong.
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We have relatives in CA so have visited more than several times. Really…you could spend 6 days in any of the “areas” of CA you plan to visit and still not have time to see the many things that are there. Plenty to see in San Francisco and surrounding areas that are a closer drive. Plenty to see in the greater LA area.
Driving in CA is not my cup of tea. The PCH is a very pretty drive, but if I were going to CA for only 6 days, I would stay in one of these areas…not spend a day driving from SF to LA.
My opinion.
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I agree with @thumper1, pick an area for 6 days. It would take one day for driving from NorCal to SoCal already. California is a large state.
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And really better to take two days and go down Highway 1.
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It depends on what you like. SF and LA are great cities with lots to do, but for me the best of California is outside of them. I’d take the two days to drive the coast.
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My favorite parts of our trip were the in-betweens. Loved seeing the coast and the wildlife, but that might not be your thing.
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