Holiday activities in Metro Vancouver spread cheer

It's finally December, the decorations are up, carols are in the air, snow is somewhere in the forecast, and Christmas is officially on the horizon. If that thought isn't enough to get you excited, check out our roundup of events to help you get into the spirit of the season.

Luckily for playgoers, there's no shortage of theatrical cheer this year. Burnaby Public Library staff, Brass Monkey Productions, Pacific Theatre, and Vancouver Moving Theatre are all staging versions of Charles Dickens’s classic tale A Christmas Carol. Dylan Thomas even gets the holiday treatment with the RA Productions and Vancouver Chamber Choir renditions of A Child’s Christmas in Wales. If you’re looking for something a little more upbeat, cheerful, and wacky, check out the Arts Club Theatre Company’s White Christmas or The Patron Saint of Stanley Park, Ruby Slippers Theatre's Hotel Bethlehem, Vagabond Players' Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge, Spectral Theatre's Dr. Quast and Mr. Skinner's Christmas Dinner, or the White Rock Player’s Club’s Mother Goose.

This year, the Goh Ballet, Royal City Youth Ballet Company, and Alberta Ballet are all giving performances of the classic holiday ballet The Nutcracker. Check out Second Storey Theatre's Under the Christmas Tree, the Undead Xmas Variety Show, Tops & Bottoms: Christmas Bites, and the Vancouver TheatreSports League's Off-White Christmas for some cheer-filled chuckles.

If holiday music is more your style, take in the concerts presented by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Roberts Community Choir, Capilano University Wind Ensemble, Opera Pro Cantanti, Vancouver Men’s Chorus, Vivaldi Chamber Choir, VancouverVoices Choir and Youth Choir, Vancouver Chamber Choir, Pacific Baroque Orchestra, Good Noise Vancouver Gospel Choir, Vancouver Bach Choir, Pacific Spirit Choir and Orchestra, North Shore Chamber Orchestra, Gallery Singers, MantraVani Orchestra, Winter Harp, Phoenix Chamber Choir, Vancouver Cantata Singers, Lions Gate Sinfonia, Vancouver Gaelic Choir, Chor Leoni Men’s Choir, and Bach Cantata Project Players.

Haven’t started your shopping? Don’t worry just yet, because a multitude of craft fairs have got you covered. The Vancouver Christmas Market, One of Kind Show and Sale, Toque 2011, Christmas Sidewalk Used Book Sale, Shiny Fuzzy Muddy 12, Shiwasu—Handmade Gifts Show and Sale, Portobello West, Blim Monthly Community Market, and Holiday Open House & Craft Sale all offer a wide selection of gift items perfect for giving, or maybe even keeping. For a tree, try the Christmas Tree Sale at Prince of Wales Secondary School.

If you’ve got little ones tagging along, check out the yuletide fairy tale Silka’s Gift, the Surrey Museum’s Pioneer Christmas, the Granville Island Kids Market's 'Tis for Kids, North Vancouver's Annual Carol Ships Celebration, the White Rock BIA's Christmas Is Coming to the Beach, Palme's Performing Society's Russian Christmas in Vancouver, and Fort Langley's Old-Fashioned Musical Christmas for some child-appropriate holiday fun.

If the whole family is along for the ride, stroll on by Vancouver traditions Christmas at Canada Place, Lights of Hope, The Peak of Christmas, Heritage Christmas, Festival of Lights, Karaoke Christmas Lights, Canyon Lights, Bright Nights in Stanley Park, Jewel Box of Light, and the Vancouver Tree Lighting.

You can follow Jennie Ramstad on Twitter at twitter.com/jennieramstad.