Hi everyone,
Hanukkah has begun and Christmas is in one week and Kwanzaa is in 8 days so lots of events going on!
This weekend we have Mary Poppins as part of the Film Forum Jr. Sunday Matinee, Santa Comes to Gumbo, Holiday Songs & Sounds at the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, a Family Movie: “Scrooge” at the Brooklyn Public Library in Carroll Gardens, various Make Music Winter around NYC, A Very Merry Kid’s Christmas Spectacultar at Videology and Let’s Celebrate Hanukkah! at Brooklyn Children’s Museum.
All weekend you can catch the Smith Street Stage Presents A Christmas Carol: A Radio Play at The Pearl Theatre, visit Santa’s Corner at Bryant Park, check out A Charlie Brown Christmas at the Brooklyn Lyceum, see Fancy Nancy Splendiferous Christmas at Vital Theatre Company and see the American Ballet Theatre’s The Nutcracker at BAM for the last time.
That is just a few of the events on the calendar so check it out to see what else is happening this weekend in Brooklyn & NYC! Please remember to like us on Facebook for last minute events and news!
Enjoy the weekend!
~ Deirdre (mom to O & C)
Friday December 19th
Free Demos at Juguemos a Cantar
Fri Dec 19th 9a-12n. Free. Come and try out our classes before the Winter Session begins! Limit one demo per child. 9am – Spanish I (18m-2y), 9:30am – Spanish II (2-3y), 10am – Baby Percussion (6m-3y), 11:30am – Spanish III (3-4y). Pre-registration required. Register no later than December 18th. Call us at 917-453-1187 or email us at spanishinstitutebrooklyn@gmail.com
Children’s Storytime at Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden (UES)
Fri Dec 19th 1030a. For children 6 and under. Free with Museum admission; museum members free. December 19: Winter Weather
Join us on the third Friday of every month at 10:30am for historically-themed stories and activities, dress-up in the Children’s Corner and role-play with the museum’s Touch Collection. An optional brief tour of the period rooms will follow.
Meet the Holiday: Hanging Stars for Hanukkah at Brooklyn Children’s Museum (Crown Heights)
Fri Dec 19th 1130a & 230p. For ages 2.5y-5y. Free with museum admission.
Explore how Hanukkah is celebrated and make a hanging Star of David to take home.
Family Movie: “Scrooge” at the Brooklyn Public Library (Carroll Gardens)
Fri Dec 19th 345p-530p. Free. Family Movie: 1970 Albert Finney in “Scrooge”. Come join us for the holiday as we present a projected movie: Scrooge. A classical musical retelling of the Christmas Carol. An old bitter miser who makes excuses for his uncaring nature learns real compassion when three ghosts visit him on Christmas Eve.
For more Friday events please click here!
Saturday December 20th
Father Goose at Symphony Space (UWS)
Sat Dec 20th 11a. Adults $21, Members $18 Kids $14, Members $12. Longtime Dan Zanes friend and collaborator Father Goose makes his triumphant return to Just Kidding with his unique, high-energy mix of hip-hop, calypso, and reggae.
Handmade History at Brooklyn Historical Society (Brooklyn Heights)
Sat Dec 20th 11a. Free. Ages 5-10y. Space limited so reserve your spot. Handmade History! My Community Paintings! This week, families will take a tour of the historical Brooklyn landscape paintings located in BHS’s Second Floor Parlor and get a glimpse of Brooklyn throughout time. After a short discussion in the art studio, they will have the chance to create a landscape of their own based on their neighborhood.
Doktor Kaboom: The Science of Santa at NYU Skirball Center For The Performing Arts (Greenwich Village)
Sat 11a. Tickets $20-$28. Doktor Kaboom takes audiences on an interactive and thrilling scientific exploration into Santa’s secrets. This infectiously funny show is sure to entertain kids of all ages as Doktor Kaboom attempts to discover how Santa climbs down tight chimneys, makes reindeer fly and knows who’s been bad or good. Doktor Kaboom: The Science of Santa explores fun science topics to inspire your child’s imagination! Is Santa Claus truly the world’s greatest scientist? Bring the family to NYU Skirball Center to see for yourself.
Li’l Film Buffs: A Very Merry Kid’s Christmas Spectacultar at Videology (Williamsburg)
Sat Dec 20th 2p. Free. Videology wants to wish you a Merry Christmas! Starting at 2pm we’ll be screening some of your favorite children’s Christmas specials. Kids welcome! Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer – 1964. 47 min. It’s up to Santa’s most famous reindeer to save the day when an evil queen conjures up a storm on Christmas. The Snowman -1982. 26 min. Wordlesss animated adventure about a young English boy who makes a snowman one Christmas Eve, only for it to come to life that night and take him on a magical adventure to the North Pole to meet Santa Claus. A Charlie Brown Christmas – 1965. 25 min. Repelled by the commercialism he sees around him, Charlie Brown tries to find the true meaning of Christmas.
Holiday Songs & Sounds at the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd (Bay Ridge)
Sat Dec 20th at 3p. Admission is by a suggested donation of $10 per family. Funds raised benefit Children in Need Haitian Project, an organization that offers children a path out of poverty through education. Come enjoy a family-friendly, interactive concert, “Holiday Songs & Sounds,” featuring winter and holiday themed songs with sounds of jingle bells and drums. Following the concert, kids enjoy face painting, art & crafts, and refreshments.
For more Saturday events please click here!
Sunday December 21st
Film Forum Jr. Sunday Matinee: Mary Poppins at the Film Forum (South Village)
Sunday Dec 21st & 28th at 11a. ALL TICKETS $7.50. Advance tickets on sale at the box office and online. Through the generosity of our founding sponsor, The Cordelia Corporation, we are able to make this series a bargain for children, their parents, and anybody else who would like to see these marvelous films. Most programs appropriate for ages 5 and up.
Gingerbread House Workshop at Taste Buds Kitchen (Chelsea)
Sun Dec 21st 11a-12p. $75 per parent/child pair. See website for additional dates/times.
Celebrate the Season with family bonding and gingerbread fun with our signature December Workshop. Each parent/child pair works together to design and decorate their very own gingerbread house. Take a break from last-minute gift shopping and get messy in the kitchen. You and your creative chef will love the endless decorating options. From frosted candy roofs to pretzel picket fences. Everyone will enjoy the cheerful holiday tunes as they experience quality parent/child time. Spread the Holiday spirit by bringing home your very own gingerbread creation!
Hot Peas ‘N Butter at The Jewish Museum (UES)
Sun Dec 21st 1130a-1230p in the Scheuer Auditorium. Tickets: $18 Adults; $13 Children. Jewish Museum Family Members: $15 Adults; $11 Children. For ages 3–8y. Shake and sizzle to the multicultural music and contagious rhythms of Hot Peas ‘N Butter. The band’s wonderful mix of Puerto Rican folk music to American blues will get everyone moving to the delicious beats. Hear unique twists on Hanukkah favorites such as the Ladino sounds of Ocho Kandelikas.
Make Music Winter: Flat Foot Flatbush: Nick Horner Family
Sun Dec 21st 230p at Grand Army Plaza Park and end at Shake Shack Flatbush at 5th Ave at 410p. Free.
Make Music Winter, first launched in 2011, is a free, outdoor musical event each December 21st that turns audiences into music makers. Inspired by Phil Kline’s annual Unsilent Night – the boombox parade that has become an international tradition – Make Music Winter transforms New York’s cityscape with participatory musical parades on the winter solstice, running the gamut of musical genres. All are invited to play, sing, and dance — no experience necessary! To dance, bring tap shoes or an old pair of sneakers and make your own at the workshop. To play, bring your instrument and email Nick by December 18 to receive the music See website for other locations in NYC.
Santa Comes to Gumbo (Boerum Hill)
Sun Dec 21st 3p. $15, siblings and adults $5. Call to reserve. 718-855-7808.
Santa Jams with Rolie Polie Guacamole! Jolly Ole Santa will make his yearly visit to Gumbo. Come with your camera for that special photo!
For more Sunday events please click here!
All Weekend
Smith Street Stage Presents A Christmas Carol: A Radio Play at The Pearl Theatre (Hell’s Kitchen, Midtown West)
Fri Dec 19th & 20th at 8p and Dec 21st at 3p. Tickets: $30 for adults & $15 for children. Smith Street Stage will be presenting its debut Off-Broadway performance at The Pearl Theatre this Christmas season. The company is remounting its live Radio Play adaptation of A Christmas Carol, in which a troupe of 1940’s radio actors meet in the studio on Christmas Eve to bring to life the characters and soundscapes of Dickens’ classic Christmas tale. The audience is invited to engage on two levels: watch the goings-on at the 1940’s radio studio as this group of actors must work together to create a very special Christmas Eve radio performance, or listen to the world of 19th century London come to life and get swept up in Scrooge’s miraculous Christmas transformation. The setting of the 1940’s radio studio, complete with musical arrangements inspired by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters, will deliver the spirit and glamour of Christmas Eve in New York City. The retelling of Dickens’ story will inspire the warm feeling of a family Christmas around the fireplace.
A Charlie Brown Christmas at the Brooklyn Lyceum
Sat-Sun Dec 20th-21st at 1pm and 4pm. Tickets are $12 each, or $40 for four.
Possible Swan Song at the Lyceum this year. Don’t miss it, and don’t miss out on the Roxy’s Tee Parlour popup.
Play Lab Workshop: Let’s Celebrate Hanukkah! at Brooklyn Children’s Museum (Crown Heights)
Sat-Sun Dec 209th-21st 1130a & 230p. For ages 2.5y-5y. Free with museum admission.
Join us in celebrating Hanukkah! Discover the traditions behind this special holiday and investigate how it is celebrated all over the world. Listen to The Dreidel Song and practice spinning a real dreidel! Make a special craft for Hanukkah to take home.
Santa’s Corner at Bryant Park
Fri Dec 19th-Wed Dec 24th 1-4p. Free.
Santa visits Bryant Park! Join Santa and his helpers for a parade through Winter Village. Then take a photo with Santa at Santa’s Corner. 1:00pm – 1:45pm: Santa parade with Christmas carolers. 1:45pm – 4:00pm: Free photos at Santa’s Corner
American Ballet Theatre’s The Nutcracker at BAM (Fort Greene)
Fri Dec 19th 7p, Sat Dec 20th 2p & 7p, Sun Dec 21st 1p & 6p. Tickets start at $20. Run time: 1hr 55min with intermission. For ages 4+. American Ballet Theatre offers the final performances ever in New York City of Alexei Ratmansky’s acclaimed The Nutcracker when it concludes its five-year engagement at BAM this December. As the lights dim and Tchaikovsky’s beautiful score fills the air, join young Clara for a dreamlike journey amid colorful, larger-than-life scenery, magical toy soldiers, mischievous mice, sparkling snowflakes, and a glittering Christmas tree! With an impressive cast of over 100 performers, ABT’s The Nutcracker features sets and costumes by Richard Hudson (Tony Award-winner, The Lion King) with choreography by ABT Artist in Residence Alexei Ratmansky. It is no wonder The New York Times praised it: “a production like no other, made with complete theatrical authority from first to last. The poetry of Alexei Ratmansky’s vision is very striking. I’m impatient to see it again.”
A Charlie Brown Christmas 50th Anniversary Celebration with Live Music at The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Sat Dec 20th 11a & 130p. Sun Dec 21st 2p & 4p. Tickets start at $40, and include Museum admission on the day of the show. No children under 4 permitted. The 50th anniversary of the timeless holiday film classic A Charlie Brown Christmas is commemorated at the Met with live musical accompaniment from two of the brightest minds in music today. Rob Schwimmer Trio, joined by the Church of the Heavenly Rest Children’s Choir, enrich the film viewing experience with their interpretation of the musical score, as Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, and the beloved Snoopy discover the true meaning of Christmas. Following the screening of the film, a festive holiday sing-along will be led by Mark Stewart and Rob Schwimmer.
Travelin’ Treats at New York Transit Museum (Downtown Brooklyn)
Sat & Sun Dec 20th-21st at 130p. Free with museum admission. For ages 4+.
Sweet on the holidays? Assemble candies, cookies and cakes into edible transit masterpieces! Space is limited. Advanced online registration is required: call 718.694.1792.
GingerBread Lane at New York Hall of Science (Flushing Meadows)
M-F 930a-5p & Sat-Sun 10a-6p until January 11th at 1p. See website for museum days/hours. Free with NYSCI admission
Marvel at homemade gingerbread houses that are drafted, designed, baked, planned, built and decorated by chef Jon Lovitch over the course of an entire year. GingerBread Lane is made from only “real” edible ingredients: gingerbread, royal icing and candy. Last year’s GingerBread Lane at NYSCI was recognized as the largest gingerbread village in the world by the 2014 Guinness World Records.
Fancy Nancy Splendiferous Christmas at Vital Theatre Company (UWS)
Saturdays & Sundays 11a & 1p until-January 4th. Tickets: $39.50 & $49.50. For ages 2 to 7y. Additional shows during the holidays. See website for information. What could be fancier than Christmas? Presents with elegant wrapping paper, festive decorations, Christmas cookies with sprinkles – and who could forget the tree? After all, there is no such thing as too much tinsel. Ooh la la! This year, Nancy is especially excited about decorating the Christmas tree. She bought a brand-new sparkly tree topper with her own money and has been waiting for Christmas to come. But when things don’t turn out the way Nancy planned, will Christmas still be splendiferous?
Three Bears Holiday Bash at the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre (Central Park)
M-F 1030a & 12p, Wed 1030a, 12p & 1230p, Sat & Sun 1p until Dec 30th. Reservations are required. Purchase tickets here. Cost: $7/children under 12, $10/all others. Appropriate for: All Ages. The Three Bears Holiday Bash, is a variety show that celebrates the holiday season in song, dance, and puppetry. This production quickly becomes a comedy of errors when Baby Bear invites Santa to star in Mama and Papa Bear’s annual holiday show. The audience also gets to join in on the fun with a “12 days of Christmas” sing-a-long during the performance! Drawing from the stories of Hanukkah, the Night Before Christmas, and Kwanzaa, The Three Bears Holiday Bash is a great way to get into the holiday spirit!
Holiday Express at the New-York Historical Society (UWS)
Now until February 22nd. Friday 10a-8p, Tue-Thu & Sat 10a-6p & Sun 11a-5p. Free with paid admission.
Holiday Express: Toys and Trains from the Jerni Collection. The New-York Historical Society will be transformed this holiday season with the installation of a spectacular exhibit of treasures from the renowned Jerni Collection, now owned by the New-York Historical Society, of model trains, scenic elements and toys. The dynamic display will appeal to all age groups, showcasing the beauty and allure of toys from a bygone era. The exhibition begins at the West 77th Street entrance, where movement and sound from four large-scale multimedia screens will make it seem as though trains are roaring through the space. A 360-degree mountainous landscape will be on view in the Judith and Howard Berkowitz Sculpture Court, featuring artifacts grouped into ten scenes.
13th Annual Holiday Train Show at Grand Central Terminal (Midtown East)
Now until February 22nd. M–F: 8a–8p, Saturday and Sunday: 10a–6p. (extended hours November 22n-December 24th – see website for details. Location: Shuttle Passage adjacent to the Station Master’s Office. Free. Lionel trains once again will capture hearts and imaginations at the Transit Museum where Metro-North, New York Central and subway trains depart from a miniature GCT. The Museum’s store and booth at the Holiday Gift Fair offer great gifts for your holiday shopping!
Holiday Train Show at The New York Botanical Garden (Bronx)
Now until January 19th 2015. Various times and prices. See website for information.
Advance reservations are strongly recommended as tickets do sell out. Tickets are timed and sold in 15 minute increments. New York City’s Favorite Train Show: A 23-Year Tradition! A must-see New York tradition where enchanting model trains zip past popular landmarks under the twinkling glow of the magical Haupt Conservatory! Step into a city in miniature featuring more than 150 iconic buildings, all re-created with bark, leaves, and other natural materials. Marvel at G-scale trains humming along among familiar sights such as the Brooklyn Bridge, Statue of Liberty, and Rockefeller Center—surprising at every turn—on a quarter-mile of track as they enliven this cherished holiday experience. The Artist’s Studio showcases how visionary artist Paul Busse and his team craft these amazing small wonders. Real trains, real landmarks, real fun—only at NYBG!
The Emperor’s New Clothes and The Snow Queen by Puppet Works (Park Slope)
Sat & Sun now until Dec 21st 1230p & 230p. For 3y+. Admission for a Child is $8, an Adult $9. No credit cards accepted. Reservations are suggested: 718-965-3391 (current day or advance reservations) or e-mail us: puppetworks@twcmetrobiz.com (NO same day e-mail reservations). 2 Tales by Andersen at each performance adapted for Marionettes by Nicolas Coppola
For a full calendar of events please click here!