December drops down the chimney with a merry thump and tumble and scatter of twinkle trees, elves, shoes, sugarplums, bats, pigs, fruitcakes and bacon-bacon-bacon. Wishes come true for good boys and girls. The rest have to sweep up afterward.
1 Write a Friend Month. And who could that friend possibly be? Hint: His P.O. stands for Peppermint Ombudsman.
Now, you can write with pen or crayon,
But even a thumbs-up "like" will do,
If Santa Claus
Is Facebook friends with you.
ROAMIN' HOLIDAY
Holidays in the Wild -- With a Kick! adult night at the Little Rock Zoo. The zoo's Holiday in the Wild family activities will be Dec. 2-4 and Dec. 8-11. Details at littlerockzoo.com. Call (501) 666-2406.
S'WUNNERFUL
Royal Players' stage version of It's a Wonderful Life through Dec. 4 and Dec. 8-11 at the Royal Theatre, Benton. Details at theroyalplayers.com. call (501) 315-5483.
GUESS WHO WHOO-WHOO
2 Snow Village and Train Exhibit through Dec. 24 at Gaskins Switch Village, Eureka Springs, benefits the Eureka Springs Historical Museum. Details at eurekaspringshistoricalmuseum.org. Call (479) 253-9417.
NO BUSINESS
LIKE SHOE BUSINESS
The Elves and the Shoemaker, through Dec. 18 at Arkansas Arts Center Children's Theatre, Little Rock. Details at arkansasartscenter.org. Call (501) 372-4000.
BE SEEING YULE
Arkansas Craft Guild Christmas Showcase through Dec. 4 at the Statehouse Convention Center, Little Rock. Details at arkansascraftguild.org. Call (870) 269-4120.
HALLELUJAH!
Arkansas Choral Society concert, portions of Handel's Messiah, 7:30 p.m. at First Pentecostal Church, North Little Rock. Details at lovetosing.org. Call (501) 376-8484.
REINDEER PAUSE
3 Broadway musical Elf, through Dec. 4 at Robinson Center Performance Hall, Little Rock. Details at celebrityattractions.com. Call (501) 244-8800.
GIDDY-YAP, JINGLE HORSE
Jingle Bell Run, 11 a.m. from the Clinton Presidential Center, Little Rock, benefits the Arthritis Foundation. Details at arthritis.org/arkansas. Call (501) 664-7242.
Big Jingle Jubilee Holiday Parade with Olympic gold medalist Jeff Henderson as grand marshal, 3 p.m. from Second Street and Broadway, Little Rock, to the state Capitol for the annual lighting ceremony and fireworks at dark. Details at holidaysinlittlerock.com.
PA RUM PUM PUM PUM
Fort Smith Symphony concert, "A Classic Christmas," 7:30 p.m. at ArcBest Corp. Performing Arts Center, Fort Smith. Details at fortsmithsymphony.org. Call (479) 452-7575.
Vintage music band The Side Street Steppers, 2 p.m. at Elizabeth's Restaurant, Batesville, benefits the Ozark Foothills FilmFest. Call (870) 252-1189.
PINE AND DANDY
Christmas and Candlelight tours of Historic Washington State Park near Hope, Dec. 3 and 10. Details at historicwashingtonstatepark.com. Call (870) 983-2684.
DUMMY UP
4 Ventriloquist Jeff Dunham, 3 p.m. at Verizon Arena, North Little Rock. Details at verizonarena.com. Call (501) 975-9000.
RUN, RUN, RUDOLPH
North Little Rock Sertoma Christmas Parade and Northern Lights Festival, 3-5:30 p.m., Main Street and downtown. Details at northlittlerock.org. Call (501) 758-1424.
MEESEKA MOOSKA MOUSEKETEER
5 Walt Disney's round-eared birthday, 1901.
SANTA'S GRANDPA
6 St. Nicholas Day celebrates the early-day bishop. St. Nick's good deeds may have inspired Santa Claus, also known in various other legends as Sinter Klaas and Furred Nicholas. In fact, only one other guy on the fly goes by as many different names as Santa Claus -- Kal-El, Man of Steel, Strange Visitor from Another Planet, Superman.
WHAT SANTA'S BEARD
TASTES LIKE
7 Cotton Candy Day celebrates air-on-a-stick.
DING-DONG, DING-DONG
CHRISTMAS BELLS ARE RINGING
8 Hand bell concert with the Hallelujah Handbell Choir from First Baptist Church of Benton, 7 p.m. at Garvan Woodland Gardens, Hot Springs. Details at garvangardens.org. Call (501) 262-9300.
SOUND OF SILENCE
9 Art Garfunkel, 8 p.m. at Walton Arts Center, Fayetteville. Details at waltonartscenter.org. Call (479) 443-5600.
VISIONS OF SUGARPLUMS
Ballet Arkansas and Arkansas Symphony Orchestra production of The Nutcracker, through Dec. 11 at Robinson Center Performance Hall, Little Rock. Details at arkansassymphony.com. Call (501) 666-1761.
HARK THE HERALDS
Arkansas Chamber Singers "Holiday Concert: Heaven Down to Earth," 7 p.m. Dec. 9 and 10, and 3 p.m. Dec. 11 at the Old State House Museum, Little Rock; and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 13 at Trinity Presbyterian Church, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 15 at Our Lady of the Holy Souls Church, Little Rock. Details at ar-chambersingers.org. Call (501) 377-1121.
Little Rock Musical Coterie concert with organists Stanley Cox, Bill McCandless and Adam Savacool, 11 a.m. at Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church, Little Rock. Call (870) 403-2350.
JINGLE BELFRIES
10 Build a bat house workshop, 9 a.m. at Davidsonville Historic State Park, Pocahontas. Details at arkansas.com. Call (870) 892-4708.
TUTU MUCH
Western Arkansas Ballet production of The Nutcracker, 7:30 Dec. 10 and 2:30 p.m. Dec. 11 at ArcBest Corp. Performing Arts Center, Fort Smith. Details at waballet.org. Call (479) 785-0152.
BUCKS THE TREND
11 All but one of Santa's reindeer eat hay. Which one eats spaghetti?
Answer at Dec. 23.
DECK THE HALLS
12 Poinsettia Day. The red-leafed plant of December is named for the first American ambassador to Mexico, Joel Roberts Poinsett. Santa smuggled the poinsettia from Mexico thanks to his eight flying mules.
MISSIONARY COMMENTARY
13 Broadway musical The Book of Mormon through Dec. 18 at Walton Arts Center, Fayetteville. Details at waltonartscenter.org. Call (479) 443-5600.
'BAMA-'BAMA-BO-BANANA
14 Alabama admission day, 1819. The Heart of Dixie state admits the stars didn't fall on Alabama last night -- it was Santa test-piloting a rocket sled.
SOME OF THESE RIGHTS
15 Bill of Rights Day remembers how Congress arrived at these 10 amendments to the Constitution from an original list of 17. History disputes that the missing amendments included the right to the last piece of pie and the right to the TV remote.
RING-A-LING
16 Arkansas Symphony Orchestra concert, "Home for the Holidays," 7:30 p.m. Dec. 16 and 17, and 3 p.m. Dec. 18 at Robinson Center Performance Hall, Little Rock. Details at arkansassymphony.com. Call (501) 666-1761.
HOLLY AND THE IVY
17 Caroling in the Forest, 7 p.m. at Pinnacle Mountain State Park near Little Rock. Details at arkansas.com. Call (501) 868-5806.
COTTON, THEY GOT SOME
Holiday Crafts Open House, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at Plantation Agriculture Museum, Scott. Details at arkansas.com. Call (501) 961-1409.
OINK-OINK HERE
18 Roast Suckling Pig Day. Nah, had it for lunch.
GREAT CAESAR'S TOAST
19 Saturnalia. The ancient Roman festival was much like today's festivities, including the same fruitcakes that have been making the rounds ever since.
DUCK THE MALLS
20 Halcyon Days. The ancients believed in peace and calm this time of year. But all that changed with the invention of coupons.
SHOW SHOVEL KERFUFFLE
21 The first day of winter. For wet socks, dead car batteries and forecasts of wintry mix: the sound of one mitten clapping.
SEE GOAT
22 CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan.19): Is today your birthday? If so, then here for you is that one special package with the tag that reads, "Happy Birthday! AND -- Merry Christmas!" Butt heads with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, 45 on Dec. 25; and Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling, born Christmas Day 1924.
ASKED AND ANTLERED
23 Deer-me quiz answer: The one that carbo-loads on spaghetti is, who else? -- Dasher. And which of Santa's reindeer appear in The Nutcracker?
Answer at Dec. 26.
'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE
24 Christmas Eve puts the "eve" in receive.
NEVER TOO LATE FOR LATKE
Jewish celebration of Hanukkah, through Jan. 1.
SANTA'S COME-AN'-GONNA
25 Christmas.
SHALL WE DANCE? SHALL WE FLY?
26 Quiz answer: Dancer prances, and Prancer dances. But what about Rudolph?
Answer at Dec. 28.
ANOTHER BRICK IN THE HAUL
27 National Fruitcake Day celebrates the gift that keeps on re-gifting.
RED-LIT
28 Quiz answer: Rudolph answers Santa's urgent request:
Rudolph with your nose aglow,
The power's gone out!
Please light the show.
DEEP IN THE HEARTBURN OF TEXAS
29 Texas Admission Day, 1845. Texas admits the state dish, chili (aka "bowl o' red"), might be edible even without beans, but never without Tums.
OINK-OINK THERE
30 Bacon Day, and bacon-flavored sound bites:
• "Hope is a good breakfast, but it is a bad supper." -- Sir Francis Bacon.
• "I think we all have a lot of darkness in our bellies." -- Kevin Bacon.
• "That's all, folks." -- Porky Pig.
YEAR 2016 DROPS THE BALL
31 New Year's Eve.
New Year's Eve party and ball drop at Queen Wilhelmina State Park, Mena. Details at queenwilhelmina.com. (479) 394-2863.
Coming next month: January! Call (501) 399-3633, write to Ron Wolfe, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 121 E. Capitol Ave., Little Rock, Ark. 72203, or email
by Dec. 15 to suggest January calendar entries or how to celebrate January as National Soup Month, such as: By the light of the silvery spoon. Each event requires a phone number that is answered during business hours or by an answering machine that identifies the event or its sponsor.
Style on 11/29/2016