Holiday Pops - Lexington Symphony - Cary Hall, Lexington
Fri 12/6
$8 and up        

Join Lexington Symphony as it celebrates the holiday season with a special family-friendly Holiday POPS! concert, which features popular holiday carols, costumed elves, and a guest appearance by Santa. [Details]

Christmas Pajama Story Time - Mass Hort, Wellesley
Fri 12/7
Included with admission: Adults $8; Children under 12 free        

Mass Hort's Children's Garden educator reads classic Christmas and holiday tales in her pajamas; kids are encouraged to wear theirs, too. Stories include 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, The Littlest Christmas Tree and The Grinch that Stole Christmas. This is one of many holiday-inspired events at Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s Festival of Trees running through Saturday, December 8. [Details]

First Friday - Free Admission - Discovery Museums, Acton
Fri 12/6
FREE

Families can visit the museums for free this evening. Donations for the Acton Food Pantry and Open Table in Concord are gratefully accepted. [Details]

ChristmasTime - Holiday Musical Spectacular - Reagle Music Theatre, Waltham
Opens 12/6
Tickets $35-$57        

Reagle Music Theatre of Greater Boston (RMT) presents ChristmasTime, a holiday season musical revue spectacular, a regional tradition featuring singing and dancing galore. Children can enjoy Santa’s Workshop, Teddy Bears’ Nutcracker, Parade of the Wooden Soldiers, Victorian Christmas, precision dancers and The Living Nativity. [Details]

Bay State Model Railroad Museum Open House - Roslindale
Sat 12/7-Sun 12/8
Adults $5; Children Free (no cost to visit Santa)        

Join the Bay State Model Railroad Museum for its annual holiday celebration - one of the two times each year the museum is open to the public. Visitors can see:

• Santa arrives in style at 12 noon (Sunday only)
• Visits with Santa at Birch Street House & Garden (bring a camera for this photo opp)
• O scale layout with 1940s Roslindale Village
• N scale layout featuring scenic New England
• HO scale layout spanning from Atlantic to Pacific
• HOn3 scale Colorado narrow gauge

[Details]

Flavorful Fantasies: The Gingerbread Express - Wenham Museum, Wenham
Sat 12/7 - Sun 12/15
Included with admission

The Gingerbread Express model train travels through a sugar coated village filled with cleverly crafted buildings that make the world a sweeter place: a candy cane factory, pizza parlor or even a green grocer. [Details]

Polar Express Story Hour - The Shops at Prudential Center, Boston
Sat 12/7
FREE

The Shops at Prudential Center and Barnes & Noble for readings of the Polar Express, plus a concert a concert featuring Boston-based singer-songwriter and children’s performer Vanessa Trien. Kids can also enjoy hot chocolate, cookies, a small gift, and holiday craft activities. [Details]

Ben Rudnick and Friends Concert and Family Works - TICO, Boston
Sat 12/7
Concert free; Brunch available for a fee        

Join Ben Rudnick and Friends for a concert and Family Works event to benefit Helping Our Troops MA send packages to Massachusetts troops based overseas. The two-part event includes:

• Family Works event (10am-11am): Includes a holiday craft and collection of travel sized hand sanitizer, skin cream, ChapStick, white tube socks, notepads puzzle books, tea bags, sunflower seeds or Dunkin' Coffee to benefit Helping our Troops MA, a Stoneham, MA based 501(c)(3).
• Concert with Ben Rudnick (11am-12n): The band is guaranteed to play songs the kids and parents can both enjoy.

Stay for a TICO brunch - we hear it's really, really good! [Details]

Stacey Peasley in Concert - Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline
Sat 12/7
Adults $10; Children $8        

Stacey Peasley combines her love of children and music into a lively act that engages kids and creates memorable and fun sing-along songs. [Details]

Holidays on the Green at The Pinehills - The Village Green, Plymouth
Sat 12/7
FREE

Enjoy roaming carolers, march in or just watch your four legged friends in the Reindog Parade, take pictures with Santa, and decorate cookies and ornaments. Watch the lighting of the Christmas tree on the Village Green. Plus, enjoy seasonal shopping at the Artisan Fair and at the quaint Village Green shops. [Details]

The Velveteen Rabbit - Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA, Boston
12/7 - 12/22
Tickets $25        

Boston Children's Theatre presents the enchanting play adapted by Burgess Clark, features puppetry combined with live actors. Celebrating the holiday themes of hope, family and belief, and featuring original music and puppets, The Velveteen Rabbit is about the strength and power of a child’s imagination. [Details]

Image: Gingerbread Express, Wenham Museum