5 Things for Families

Every time you do one of these 5 things, an angel gets its wings.

December 17, 2014; 6:00 AM • by Valerie Catrow

1. Friday Family Art Night: Gingerbread Houses

Friday marks the start of winter break for most area schools, so why not kick things off with something special? And should you need to–shall we say?–“decompress” when it’s all said and done, Best Cafe has a lovely adult beverage selection.

  • Friday, December 19th • 5:00 — 7:00 PM
  • Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 400 N. Boulevard
  • $20 per child/adult pair ($18 for members)

2. Richmond Ballet’s The Nutcracker

One of my fondest holiday memories as a kid was going to see The Nutcracker with my family. I’ll be honest: much of that fondness comes from how fancy I felt in my black velvet vest and flowy peasant blouse,1 but I’m sure the magic of the production also had something to do with it.

  • Friday, December 19th through Sunday, December 28th • see website for show times
  • Carpenter Theatre at Richmond CenterStage, 600 E. Grace Street
  • $20-$125

3. Saturdays with the Grinch

Well, one Saturday, actually. This weekend is your last chance to join the Grinch for a special reading of How the Grinch Stole Christmas2 before he heads back up to Whoville where, one hopes, he’s still in charge of carving the roast beast.

  • Saturday, December 20th • 11:00 AM
  • Children’s Museum’s Central and Chesterfield locations, 2626 W. Broad Street and 6629 Lake Harbour Drive
  • Free with admission ($8; members and kids under 1 get in free)

4. Cine Classics: It’s a Wonderful Life

Because it’s important for your children to understand why you keep randomly bellowing, “MERRY CHRISTMAS, YOU WONDERFUL OLD BUILDING AND LOAN!”

  • Saturday, December 20th and Sunday, December 21st • 11:00 AM
  • Movieland, 1301 N. Boulevard
  • $5.50

5. Free Richmond Instrument Lending Library

Got a kid interested in music? Give him/her a chance to try out (and maybe even borrow) an instrument and see how it goes. Drum kits, guitars, and keyboards are just some of the instruments that will be available. Kids ages 8 to 18 only, please.

  • Saturday, December 20th • 12:00 — 3:00 PM
  • Richmond Public Library’s Main Branch, 101 E. Franklin Street
  • Free!

Photo by: Andrew Kelsall, Graphic Designer

  1. The 1990s were a time. ↩
  2. Do you think that might be kind of not fun for him? I mean, I know it’s ultimately a story of redemption but wow. Awkward. ↩
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Valerie Catrow

Valerie Catrow is editor of RVAFamily, mother to a mop-topped first grader, and always really excited to go to bed.

December 17, 2014 6:00 AM 0

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