“A Christmas Carol” and Other December Fun
Well, it’s certainly the busiest time of the year! And things aren’t slowing down quite yet. Maybe after this week and we get into Winter Break. Fingers crossed. Here are some of the fun things we’ve gotten to do so far this December, and I’ll share some that are still on our bucket list at the end of the post. Starting with American Theatre Company’s “A Christmas Carol.”
“A Christmas Carol”
Joss and I have done a lot of Tulsa’s holiday activities over the past few years. We’ve seen “The Nutcracker,” visited Winterfest, Philbrook Festival and Botanic Garden of Lights, among others. But one thing we hadn’t done yet was see American Theatre Company‘s production of “A Christmas Carol.” So I was very grateful when they gave TulsaKids a few tickets!
The show opened Friday, Dec. 8, and we were there opening night. This is ATC’s 47th annual production of “A Christmas Carol,” if you can believe it! What’s more, as the director explained before the performance, this is a show written by, produced by, performed by and directed by Tulsans – for Tulsans. Robert Odle and Richard Averill wrote and composed the entire production many years ago, and this is the only place to see this version of the famous classic.
I don’t think I realized ahead of time that it was, in fact, a musical version. But the songs and choreography were very fun and definitely added a lot to the performance! Scrooge was particularly wonderful, as were the ghostly special effects.
Our show began at 7:30 p.m. – nearly bedtime – and it was a full-length show. For some reason, I thought it would only be an hour or so, but we didn’t leave till about 10 p.m. So keep that in mind!
“A Christmas Carol” is playing at the Tulsa PAC through Dec. 23. Tickets are available at secure.tulsapac.com/3962
Philbrook Gift Swap
For the first time – to my knowledge – Philbrook hosted a Gift Swap, earlier in December. So we were excited to check that out! All you had to do to participate was bring a gift. Then, you could choose a gift to take home from among the other offerings.
There were several labeled tables in the gift swap area, so you could choose whether you wanted art, a toy, a craft, music, etc. They also handed out cards so you could write something down about the item you were gifting, if you so chose. Many items were handmade.
Joss and I brought a handmade ghost stuffy and creepy clown watercolor portrait. We took home a sword in the stone puzzle toy and the most adorable painting of a sleeping cat.
In addition to the gift swap, Philbrook had invited local artists and makers out, so there was a nice market to shop from as well. And then of course we had to walk through the museum to see some of this year’s holiday Lego creations! They are on all three levels of the museum.
Winterlight Chanukah Festival
Ever since Joss was a student at B’nai Emunah Preschool, we’d wanted to attend B’nai’s Winterlight Chanukah Festival. But given the busy-ness of the season, we’ve never made it before. But we finally did this year, and many thanks to Congregation B’nai Emunah for creating a welcoming community event.
They served up latkes and poutine – all for free – and each child got to take home a wrapped present at the end. Joss received a dreidel puzzle, which will be fun to put together. While we waited in line for food, there was music – both pre-recorded and performed by a live children’s choir. Also, plenty of hands-on activities for kids like origami, playing dreidel, etc.
When it was time to light the menorah, there was more singing and words of reflection. And of course, the giant menorah was a sight to behold! Afterwards, the party continued, but we had to get home.
Things Yet To Do
So those are the new things we’ve done this year. This week, we’ll be going to Tulsa Botanic Garden’s Garden of Lights. We’ve been before but are excited to see how they incorporate the new gardens into this year’s event.
Thursday, we’re going to Philbrook Festival with friends, an annual favorite.
And hopefully Friday during Winter Break, we’ll be going to “The Nutcracker.” Again, we’ve been before, but it’s been a few years, so we haven’t seen the new sets/choreography. Very excited!
Other things we’d like to try to fit in our downtown Tulsa’s Jingle Bus and the new QuikTrip Jolly Town at Guthrie Green, which will run evenings Dec. 15-22. There will be photo ops, inflatables, a gift shop, Santa, crafts and more. But we will see if we have the energy for all that 🙂
Hope you are all having a good holiday season. What activities are you most looking forward to?
