December is when Santa Claus makes more deliveries than Fed-Ex. All things come to those who whisper in Santa's ear, such as: Christmas sweaters, frozen peas, fruitcake, Big Bird and bacon.
1 Safe Toys and Gifts Month, and 2018 gifts to avoid:
• Barbie's Fix-and-Flip Dreamhouse.
• Sue-Me Elmo.
• Lego Build-an-Alibi.
REINDEER ON THE RUN
Big Jingle Jubilee Holiday Parade, 3 p.m., from Second and Broadway, downtown Little Rock, to the Capitol rotunda for the annual Capitol lighting ceremony. Details at holidaysinlittlerock.com.
SOCK AND AWE
Arkansas Craft Guild Christmas Showcase through Dec. 2 at the Arkansas State Fairgrounds, Little Rock. Details at arkansascraftguild.org. Call (870) 269-4120.
LEAN YOUR EAR THIS WAY
Five Finger Death Punch and Breaking Benjamin, 6 p.m. at Verizon Arena, North Little Rock. Details at verizonarena.com. Call (800) 745-3000.
STOCKING STRUTTERS
• Elf through December at Murry's Dinner Playhouse, Little Rock. Details at murrysdp.com. Call (501) 562-3131.
• Jack Frost in Santa Land through Dec. 16 at Arkansas Arts Center Children's Theatre, Little Rock. Details at arkansasartscenter.org. Call (501) 372-4000.
HO-HO-HO,
WHO WOULDN'T GO?
• Steel Magnolias Dec. 1 and Dec. 7-9 and 13-15 at The Weekend Theater, Little Rock. Details at weekendtheater.org. Call (501) 374-3761.
• Lightly staged reading of playwright John Haman's Blood Moon, 7 p.m. at Arkansas Repertory Theatre annex, Little Rock. Details at therep.org. Call (501) 378-0405.
NOT A DRY NOSE
IN THE HOUSE
Puddles Pity Party, the "Sad Clown with the Golden Voice" wails his woes, 7:30 p.m. at UA-Pulaski Tech Center for the Humanities and Arts, North Little Rock. Details at charts.uaptc.edu. Call (501) 812-2710.
GIDDY-YAP, JINGLE HORSE
2 North Little Rock Christmas Parade, 2 p.m., downtown. Details at northlittlerock.org. Call (501) 758-1424.
SHINE ON
Start of Jewish observance Hanukkah.
MARCH OF THE TIN SOLDIERS
3 Hot Springs Christmas Parade, 6:30 p.m., downtown Hot Springs. Details at hotsprings.org. hotspringschristmasparade.com.
FEET FETE
4 Broadway musical On Your Feet through Dec. 9 at Walton Arts Center, Fayetteville. Details at waltonartscenter.org. Call (479) 443-5600.
FA-LA-LA-LA-LA--
(AND WHAT'S THAT NEXT WORD?)
Conway Men's Chorus Christmas Holiday Concert and singalong, 7 p.m. at Reynolds Performance Hall, University of Central Arkansas, Conway. Details at conwaymenschorus.org. Call (501) 327-5151.
THE MOUSE THAT STIRRED
5 Walt Disney's birthday, 1901. But "Mickey" wasn't Walt's first idea for what to name the cartoon mouse that made him famous. Mickey's original name was: (A) Sniffles, (B) Mortimer, or (C) Cheez Whiz.
Answer at Dec. 17.
BREAK AND ENTER
6 St. Nicholas Day gives it up for Santa's skinny predecessor, the guy who didn't come down the chimney -- he slipped in through the keyhole.
ENTER LAUGHING
7 Martin Lawrence, 7:30 p.m. at Verizon Arena, North Little Rock. Details at verizonarena.com. Call (800) 745-3000.
• "Everybody has a Big Momma." -- Martin Lawrence.
SUGAR RUM-PA-PLUM-PLUMS
Ballet Arkansas and Arkansas Symphony Orchestra performance, Nutcracker Spectacular, 7 p.m. Dec. 7, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Dec. 8, and 2 p.m. Dec. 9 at Robinson Center Performance Hall, Little Rock. Details at balletarkansas.org. Call (501) 244-8800.
WAX NOSTALGIC
8 Christmas and Candlelight, decorations and music, 1-8 p.m. at Historic Washington State Park near Hope. Details at arkansasstateparks.com. Call (870) 983-2684.
PEAS ON EARTH
9 Frozen food inventor Clarence Birdseye's birthday, 1886.
Carrots in the freezer,
Peas all a'glitter,
Beans cold as Frosty,
Corn iced like hockey,
All together --
A wintry mix.
CAN'T STICK TO BUSINESS
IF YOU DON'T HAVE ONE
10 National Write a Business Plan Month, and Santa's tips on how to run a business:
• Make a list, check it twice.
• Always know where to find a red-nosed reindeer when you need one.
• Put your name on something big, like Verizon Arena, Walton Arts Center and Santa Claus Lane.
RED-AS-SANTA'S-CAP ALERT
11 Day before National Ding-a-Ling Day. People go dingy two weeks before Christmas, and Ding-Dong Daddies in Dumas do their stuff.
BIG BIRD IN A PEAR TREE
12 Sesame Street Live, 11:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. at Verizon Arena, North Little Rock. Details at verizonarena.com. Call (800) 745-3000.
SANTA'S FAVORITE
KIND OF POTTED
Poinsettia Day. The red parts look like flower petals. Actually, they're bitter-bad leaves. But who cares? The cat doesn't. Shoo, kitty.
SCOOPY-DO
13 Ice Cream Day, Violin Day. Ice cream is too filling on top of Christmas cookies -- but there's always room for cello.
SILVER BELLS ARE RINGING
14 Arkansas Symphony Orchestra concert, "Home for the Holidays," 7:30 p.m. Dec. 14 and 15, and 3 p.m. Dec. 16 at Robinson Center Performance Hall, Little Rock. Details at arkansassymphony.org. Call (501) 666-1761.
SEASONAL TEMPTATIONS
Legendary Temptations Christmas Tour, 8 p.m. at Griffin Music Hall, El Dorado. Details at eldomad.com. Call (870) 863-4547.
NUTTY FOR NUTMEG
Nog-Off eggnog making and sampling, 5-8 p.m. at Historic Arkansas Museum, Little Rock. Details at historicarkansas.org. Call (501) 324-9351.
PEN A PAL
15 Write a Friend Month, and who could that friend possibly be? Hint: The jolly old soul's address is: c/o North Pole.
CHRISTMAS TREE
BRANCH OFFICE
Holiday Crafts and Open House with hot cider, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Plantation Agriculture Museum, Scott. Call (501) 961-1409.
WILD AND WOOLLY
16 Ugly Sweater Race and children's elf dash, 8 a.m. at Outlets of Little Rock. Details at uglysweaterrace.com.
BY GEORGE, IT'S COLD!
17 George Washington's ragged Continental Army settles in for the winter at Valley Forge, Pa., 1777, only wishing they had ugly Christmas sweaters.
M-I-C-K-E-WHY?
Winner-by-a-squeak quiz answer: (B) Mortimer. Walt Disney's wife, Lillian, came up with Mickey. Walt eventually gave the name Mortimer to another, also-ran mouse, whose Hollywood career failed. Poor Mortimer -- had to go live in a clock.
PAN CLUB
18 Bake Cookies Day -- like anybody needs to be told.
OINK-OINK HERE
19 Day after National Roast Suckling Pig Day and time for kitchen cleanup, when Mom vows next year the family is going out for Chinese.
THAT'S USIN' THE OL' BEAN
20 Bingo Birthday Month celebrates the game's invention nearly a century ago. Similar games date back hundreds of years, almost as far back as church basements.
UPS AND DOWNS
21 Crossword Puzzle Day. Newspaper crosswords -- the only reason why millions of readers know that "etui" is a needle case, "Epps" is actor Omar Epps, "Els" is golfer Ernie Els, and "Asta" is a dog.
RAM-I-AM
22 CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Is today your birthday? If so, be the goat that never gets got. Trip-trop over the bridge with fellow Capricorns: "Margaritaville" singer Jimmy Buffett, 72 on Christmas Day, and Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling, born Dec. 25, 1924. Margaritaville: the Twilight Zone with a hangover.
PROCEED TO SECOND STAR,
LOCATION ON THE RIGHT
Broadway musical Finding Neverland, through Dec. 23 at Robinson Center Performance Hall, Little Rock. Details at celebrityattractions.com. Call (501) 244-8800.
RINGS ON HER FINGERS,
BONKS ON HER TOES
23 Food Safety Month warning: Don't drop the fruitcake.
See Dec. 27.
UP ON THE ROOFTOP
24 Christmas Eve -- the night when Santa's elves all quit to go work for Amazon.
REINDEER PAUSE
25 Christmas Day.
OUT SLUMPS DEAR OLD
SANTA CLAUS
26 Like the day after Thanksgiving is Black Friday, the day after Christmas is Back Wednesday -- back to work.
THE ONLY THING HEAVIER
THAN FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH
27 National Fruitcake Day. Other leftovers go in the fridge. The fruitcake goes back in the closet.
"THINGS WE DIDN'T KNOW"
28 Country singer, actor and comedian Rodney Carrington, 7 p.m. at Perot Theatre, Texarkana. Details at trahc.org. Call (903) 792-4992.
• "I didn't plan on being a comedian." -- Rodney Carrington.
TEXAS TALL TALE
29 Texas Admission Day, 1845. The Lone Star State admits to big britches. Texans want to tell the whole consarned country how the longhorn ate the cabbage. Austin will be the nation's capital the day Willie Nelson is elected president.
SIZZLE-DEE-DEE
30 How to celebrate Bacon Day: pretty much the same as every other day that starts with bacon, goes out for bacon, brings home the bacon, and ends happily ever after -- with bacon.
RESOLUTION ABSOLUTION
31 New Year's Eve. But no resolutions this year. It's enough just to have made it through the last one.
Coming next month: January! Write to Ron Wolfe at
rwolfe@arkansasonline.com
by Dec. 15 to suggest January calendar entries or how to celebrate January as National Soup Month, such as: Eat your soup like Superman. Slurp, slurp and away! All entries require a Web address and/ or phone number that is answered during business hours.
Style on 11/27/2018