A huge cast, principal dancers from the famously polished Royal Danish Ballet, and an appearance by the Beijing Dance Academy are just some of the sparkling gifts you’ll find under the giant, growing Christmas tree that is the Goh Ballet’s The Nutcracker. But the really big present the troupe received this year is the chance to return to its venue at the Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts: earlier in 2013, when the theatre was sold, it looked like the Vancouver tradition would be looking for a new spot. Luckily, a new arrangement has allowed it to stay for the foreseeable future in the auditorium it’s so well suited to, playing there Saturday (December 14 )to December 22. With Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky’s music played by the always topnotch Vancouver Opera Orchestra, this is a high-quality, reliably family-friendly rendition of the Christmas favourite, with magical surprises, outrageous mouse battles, and children galore.