BosTen is your weekly guide to the best events and coolest things to do in Boston.
Welcome to BosTen, your weekly guide to the coolest events and best things to do in Boston this weekend. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter here. Have an idea about what we should cover? Leave us a comment on this article or in the BosTen Facebook group, or email us at [email protected].
Bring the family for Disney on Ice
Already running out of ways to entertain the kids over winter break? Head to Agganis Arena, where Disney On Ice begins an 11-day engagement this Thursday through Jan. 1. Hosts Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse will take audiences on an adventure that travels from snow-capped mountains to stormy seas, and features characters from favorite movies like “Moana,” “Frozen,” “Coco,” and “Beauty and the Beast,” among others. (Thursday, Dec. 21 through Monday, Jan. 1 at various times; Agganis Arena, 925 Commonwealth Ave., Boston; $20 and up) — Kevin Slane
Enjoy a large-scale laser light show
Looking for a festive outdoor activity beyond Boston Common? Head to Jamaica Plain for the neighborhood’s annual laser light show, which kicked off earlier this month and plays nightly on the hour and half-hour between 5 and 8 p.m. through Jan. 6. Music has been incorporated into the event for the first time this year as the laser show projects high onto the steeple of First Baptist Church. (Nightly through Jan. 6 from 5 to 8 p.m.; 633 Centre St., Boston; free) — Kristi Palma
Travel back in time at ‘The Christmas Truce of 1914‘
This weekend marks the final days you can join The Greater Boston Stage Company to see a performance of “All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914.” The musical tells the incredible true story of a night of peace during WWI on Christmas night in 1914, when German and Allied soldiers emerged from their trenches to share food and songs. The Greater Boston Stage Company will be performing ‘The Christmas Truce’ nightly through Saturday in Stoneham, and tickets are available now. (Thursday, Dec. 21 through Saturday, Dec. 23 at various times; Greater Boston Stage Company, 395 Main St., Stoneham; $59) — Natalie Gale
Watch: Kevin talks favorite holiday events on ‘Boston Globe Today’
Decorate holiday cookies at the Boston Public Market
With Christmas right around the corner, you’re probably looking for a way that you can get into the spirit of the season. Here’s your chance: The Boston Public Market’s recently opened bakery, Hearth & Hug Bakery, will host an interactive cookie decorating demonstration. Owner Natalie Hug will lead, and you will have a chance to do your own designing, using icings, sprinkles, and other ingredients. After putting the finishing touches on your creations, nibble on the beautifully crafted cookies, the product of your hard work. (Thursday, Dec. 21 at 5 p.m; Boston Public Market, 100 Hanover St., Boston; $5) — Shira Laucharoen
Banish your inner Scrooge at ‘A Christmas Carol‘
For the 32nd year, the North Shore Music Theatre will wrap up its performance run of “A Christmas Carol” in Beverly this Saturday, with veteran thespian David Coffee concluding his 29th year of playing noted Christmas crank Ebenezer Scrooge. Based on the Charles Dickens classic Christmas tale, the musical follows Scrooge as he’s visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future, and features traditional carols like “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” Tickets for the troupe’s final four shows are available now on the North Shore Music Theatre website. (Thursday, Dec. 21 through Saturday, Dec. 23 at various times; North Shore Music Theatre, 54 Dunham Road, Beverly; $50 and up) — Natalie Gale
Make a gingerbread house during brunch
This Friday and Saturday is your final chance of the holiday season to join 75 Chestnut on Beacon Hill for a holiday tradition — brunch or lunch and a good, old-fashioned gingerbread house decorating session. Guests who book in advance can enjoy a two-course lunch and an assembled, plain gingerbread house, ready to be decorated, for a flat rate: $110 for adults and $95 for children age 11 and under. The price includes icing and candy to decorate with, along with taxes and gratuity, but excludes beverages. Kids dine from the junior menu rather than the two-course prix fixe one. Those interested can purchase timed tickets here for one of three daily slots: 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 3 p.m. (Friday, Dec. 22 and Saturday, Dec. 23 at various times; 75 Chestnut, 75 Chestnut St., Boston; $95-110) — Natalie Gale
Bring your Buddy to ‘Elf in Concert’
The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear … With a possible close second being watching the 2003 Christmas classic “Elf” on the tremendous Wang Theatre screen, accompanied by a live orchestra. Smiling will definitely be your favorite after you experience this. (Also … It’s 20 years old, can you believe it?) (Friday, Dec. 22 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 23 at 1 p.m.; Boch Center-Wang Theatre, 270 Tremont St., Boston; $60-$75) — Peter Chianca
Enjoy a pre-Christmas pasta feast
The winter season is upon us, and as you settle into these colder days, you may be hoping to indulge in some warming comfort food. Just before Christmas, sit down to a Feast of the Seven Pastas at one of Italian restaurant MIDA’s locations, in the South End, East Boston, or in Newton. For $130, you’ll enjoy a two to three person meal, featuring Caesar salad, bread, and seven different kinds of pastas. These include the gnocchi cacio e pepe, bucatini all’amatriciana, ricotta manicotti, pappardelle ai funghi, paccheri bolognese, lasagna alfredo primavera, and rock shrimp carbonara. There will be house chocolate cookies for dessert, and you may choose to order from a selection of wines à la carte. (Saturday, Dec. 23 at 4 p.m at various locations; $130) — Shira Laucharoen
Bust a move at Matzo Ball 2023
A lot of holiday round-ups (including this one, if we’re being honest) focus heavily on Christmas-themed activities. But if you’re young and Jewish in Boston, the place to be on Christmas Eve is the Matzo Ball, an annual mixer at Royale. Since starting in Boston 37 years ago, the singles night has expanded nationwide, building on the success of the community it continues to bring together in Boston. All faiths are welcome, but if your gentile friends are at home dreaming of sugar plums and Santa, it’s nice to know there’s a place to tear up the dance floor on Dec. 24. (Sunday, Dec. 24 at 9 p.m.; Royale, 279 Tremont St., Boston; $50; 21+) — Kevin Slane
Tuck into a Seafood feast at Gepetto
Italian feast season in the North End has come and gone, but you can still find a great Italian meal in Cambridge this weekend. On Christmas Eve, Chef Will Gilson and the Geppetto team will be serving up a five-course prix fixe feast of the Seven Fishes at Geppetto from 4-8 p.m. The $110 meal begins with a trio of crudos, then moves through courses of calamari, shrimp, lobster lasagna, and swordfish piccata, before finishing the night with sheep milk ricotta cheesecake. Reservations are available now through OpenTable. (Sunday, Dec. 24 from 4-8 p.m.; Geppetto, 100 N. First St., Cambridge; $110) — Kevin Slane
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