5 things

I thought about bombarding you with so much holiday spirit that glitter would start shooting out of your eyeballs, but I decided to be a bit more subtle. Here you’ll find a meticulously curated collection of events that will put you in the holiday mood, but not make you vomit. Well, maybe a little. Minimal vomiting, let’s just say that.

December 17, 2009; 6:00 AM • by Valerie Catrow

I thought about bombarding you with so much holiday spirit that glitter would start shooting out of your eyeballs, but I decided to be a bit more subtle. Here you’ll find a meticulously curated collection of events that will put you in the holiday mood, but not make you vomit. Well, maybe a little. Minimal vomiting, let’s just say that.

1. The Listening Room: Holiday Edition

Cookies, cider, and a few holiday favorites played by the likes of Zac Hryciak and The Jungle Beat, Luke Saunders, and Jack Meets the Giant. Not a bad way to spend an evening. Remember: NO TALKING. Friday, December 18, 8pm, The Michaux House (1135 W. Franklin Street), free but donations are welcome.

2. It’s A Wonderful Life

Thanks to The Byrd and Movieland, you have FIVE (yes, five) chances to see this Jimmy Stewart masterpiece this week. That means you also have five chances to hear your fellow Richmonders chant in unison “Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.” Thursday, December 17, 2pm, The Byrd (2908 W. Cary Street) for $7. Or catch it Friday and Saturday night at 11:30pm, and Saturday and Sunday morning at 11am, Movieland (1301 N. Boulevard) for $5.50 ($4.50 with your Criterion Club Card).

3. Greetings

Judging by how much you all loved this feature, I thought this would be up your alley. Watch as Andy goes home to celebrate Christmas with his Catholic family… and introduce them to his fiance… who is Jewish… and an atheist. Hilarity/heartwarming lessons of tolerance are sure to ensue. Sunday, December 20, 2:30pm, Swift Creek Mill Theatre (17401 Jefferson Davis Highway). See website for ticket details. (Runs through January 2.)

4. GardenFest Dinner With Santa

It doesn’t seem possible, but the folks at Lewis Ginter have somehow managed to make their GardenFest even more magical. Gather your friends and their kiddies to share a meal with the Man In Red before heading out to look at the lights. Sunday, December 20 through Tuesday, December 22, 5:30pm, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden (1800 Lakeside Avenue). For parties of 15 or more. See website for details.

5. Mrs. Bob Crachit’s Wild Christmas Binge

As Kristin Jimison put it in our holiday shows guide, “A cracked musical parody of A Christmas Carol, starring Gladys Crachit, Bob’s angry, hard-drinking wife who plans to celebrate the holidays by jumping off the London Bridge. If that’s not festive enough for you, the price of admission includes one holiday beverage.” Monday, December 21 and Tuesday, December 22, 7:30pm, Firehouse Theatre (1609 W. Broad Street), $10 suggested donation, $5 with student ID.

If none of these are to your liking, be sure to check out our The RVANews Holiday Guide or the Events Calendar for more ideas.

And as usual, if you’d like to give special shout-outs to happenings this weekend, leave them in the comments!

(Don’t forget: If you’ve got an event in the works that you’d like to see featured, send it our way.)

As the editor of RVANews, Valerie Catrow spends most of her time wrangling people over email and muttering to herself about the content calendar. She also contributes to our parenting column while maintaining her own blog, Made in Richmond. It should be noted that she loves tots, both the potato and child varieties.

December 17, 2009 6:00 AM 1