Best things to do Christmas week in Los Angeles and Southern California: December 23 - 26

It’s your last chance to check out the annual A Noise Within production of the Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol. What’s Christmas without Ebenezer Scrooge? The adaptation by Geoff Elliot is faithful to the novel — not a single word has been added — and also stars Elliot alternating in the Scrooge role with Frederick Stuart. The show closes on Christmas Eve.

Victorian decorations abound at the Grier Musser Museum ahead of Christmas Day. From an elaborate tree to antique Santas, the turn-of-the-century Queen Anne house and museum is decked out in its holiday max. It’s the closest we get around here to a true Victorian Christmas, minus the snow and the mulled wine!

The annual Christmas Eve bash started as a Jewish singles party and now it’s for anyone who would rather party on Dec. 24. The event, geared at folks ages 21-49, takes over Bootsy Bellows with music, dancing, and the chance to meet a holiday sweetheart.

I hope for your sake that your holiday shopping is done by now. But in case it’s not, the Christmas market at downtown’s The Row is still open until 5 p.m. on Christmas Eve. Get to it!

Glide into the first night of Hanukkah (which collides with Christmas Day this year) as you skate on the L.A. Kings' training ice with the Jewish Community Center of Manhattan Beach. The fee includes skate rental and food will be available for purchase.

If you have free time on Christmas, consider putting it towards helping others. That’s what the holidays are all about, right? Help give out produce, set up Christmas Day activities for our unhoused neighbors, or help with meal distribution in Venice. You’ll feel good and help our community at the same time. What could be better?

LITE-BRITE: Worlds of Wonder is closed on Christmas Day but open the rest of the week. It's a fun experience for kids and adults of all ages, especially for those of us who grew up with Lite-Brite as one of our most coveted holiday presents. The exhibit includes a light tunnel, a history of the famous toy, space for sensory play, an opportunity to make your own light-up creature, a 360-degree theater, and more.

Hosted by SNL alum Melissa Villaseñor, the 65th Annual L.A. County Holiday Celebration is happening for free live at the Dorothy Chandler and will air on PBS. The show includes a diverse range of performers, from Hawaiian hula dancers Hālau Hula Keali’i o Nālani to acclaimed Latin music ensemble Gabrielito y La Verdad; L.A.’s beloved Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles; traditional Korean dance and music ensemble Kim Eung Hwa & Korean Dance Academy and the Urban Voices Project, a choir comprised of men and women surviving homelessness on Skid Row. The Bob Baker Marionette Theater will also perform as well as Indian classical and Bollywood dancers Joya Kazi Entertainment, all-female independent band Mariachi Lindas Mexicanas, and many more.

Movie buffs have been waiting all year for the final Oscar-bait movies to come out, and it's finally time for Christmas Day releases, so head out to your local theater for the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown starring Timothy Chalamet, Babygirl starring Nicole Kidman, or The Fire Inside, from Moonlight director Barry Jenkins. Of course, lots of new movies have come out in the past month since the Thanksgiving rush, so if you haven’t seen Moana 2, Wicked, The Brutalist, or Mufasa yet, book your tickets now. Christmas Day is a deceptively busy time at the movies, so make sure to plan ahead or you’ll be in the very front row with a sore neck as your Christmas present.

The Brits really know how to do Christmas. The Cat & Fiddle will be open Christmas Eve and has a set menu, which includes traditional British Christmas Dinner as well as a fully vegan option, plus mulled wine and a holiday French 75.

Sure, plenty of bars are open on Christmas Day. But not all of them are decked out to the nines in Christmas spirit — and spirits! This on-theme bar is more of an immersive experience and has the price tag to match. But what the heck, it’s Christmas.

Italian Christmas Eve comes to Venice with Top Chef alum Chef Antonia’s Feast of the Seven Fishes! Inspired by her family’s tradition passed down by her mother and grandmother, enjoy the traditional fish feast as a starter or part of your larger Italian meal.

Come for the Chinese food. Stay for the McConnell’s Hanukkah ice cream collab “Baby Got Mac (caroon).”