Rooftop Cinema Club: Calling upon Tinseltown, and the famous Montalban Theatre's tippy-top-iest point, for a summertime movie? It's all about keeping cool and late-in-the-evening sundowns. But come late December, you'll want to bundle up as you head up, up, up to the roof for a caboodle of Christmassy classics. "The Holiday" jingles on Dec. 19, "Bad Santa" screens on Dec. 20, "Love, Actually" brings the feel-good on Dec. 21, and "Home Alone" battles baddies, charmingly, on Dec. 22. Seriously, though: Tie an extra sweater around your waist.
Tacos and Trivia Tuesdays: One can consume a lot of cookies during this time of year. As in, tins full of snickerdoodles and meringues, and while that can be a very nice thing, indeed, a lot of cookie-focused eating means we're putting tacos to one side as we pursue sweets. This isn't a good thing, nope, and if it has been too long since you've taco'd up, and had a fine ale, and answered some trivia questions, head for Angel City Brewery on Tuesday, Dec. 19 to remedy that situation at once. Cookies=good, tacos=also extremely good.
LA Conservancy's Holiday Highlights Tour: The lobbies of downtown, as in the lobbies inside some of the area's grandest and most glorious buildings, can really oomph it out come December, what with the over-sized bouquets and the over-sized trees and the too-much-y decorations (and "too-much-y" is just perfect when it comes to decorations, of course). Want to see all that, with a guide to talk about the architecture and such? Sign up. There's a tour on Thursday, Dec. 21, but there are more dates beyond that, too.
"Beauty and the Beast — A Christmas Rose": Traveling to a chateau in long-ago, fairy-tale-esque France is likely not in the (Christmas) cards for most people at the moment, seeing as how there are ribbons to curl and tags to tape and other holiday gotta-dos. But traveling to Pasadena Civic to see this seasonal spin on the beloved story is a bit easier, and a bit funkier, too: Listen for modern tunes woven into the live stage show, a yearly treat presented by the Lythgoe Family. The lights are off on Dec. 18 and 19, but the show sings from Dec. 20 through 24, 2017.
Cruise of Lights: You've seen the big sparkly on-the-water parades, from Newport Beach to Ventura to Morro Bay. You've stood on the shore and waved at Santas on boats as they wave at you, all while wishing that you, too, could be out on the water during the most bulb-tastic time of the year. It's not too late, if you book a spot on the Cruise of Lights in Huntington Beach. A bonus? There are weeknights to choose from, if your pre-Christmas weekend is booked up, including Thursday, Dec. 21. The waves, whimsy, and a "narrated boat tour" of on-the-land lights? It's pretty heartwarming, all right, even as you stand on deck in a coat and mittens.