WATERY WONDERLANDS: One if by land but two if by sea. Marinas and harbors along our coast are decorated too and the lights reflected in the water doubles the brilliance of the displays. Some harbors have annual boat parades where decorated boats vie for prizes and cruise through the harbor each night. Dana Point Harbor's parade is on now through December 15th. The annual Newport Harbor parade starts on the 19th and runs nightly through the 23rd. However you can view the decorations either by boat or on shore anytime during the holidays to enjoy them. 

HOLIDAY BREAK: School wraps up for LAUSD - students get three weeks off this year. What is a parent to do?

• Kids Art Holiday Workshops
• Winter Camp
• Free Holiday Concert and Santa on the Pier
• Winter Sky, Here We Come! Astronomy Walk & Program
• The Tortoise and the Hare Make a Holiday Wish
• More on our Kids calendar. 

HO HO HO: 'Tis the season for silver bells, Nutcracker ballets and Dickens inspired carolers singing on street corners.

• CALARTS Winter Dance
• "What the Dickens?" Christmas Choral Concert
• Holiday Gala Concert
• The Nutcracker Swings Presented by City Ballet
• The Snow Queen
• Charles Phoenix will show off his Retro Holiday Show at the Natural History Museum on Sunday.
• More on our annual Holiday Guide

NO HO HO: But maybe some AHA or HA HA at these non-holiday events and happenings. Plus places to walk, explore, and discover while you have some extra time off or holiday visitors.

• Celebrate the birth of a new era at Birth 2012 this weekend at AGAPE in Culver City.
• Homeboy 5K Run/Walk
• 4th Annual Santa Monica Pub Crawl
• Watson Adventures' Murder at the Natural History Museum Scavenger Hunt 
• Find more things to do on our Recreation and Tours & Excursions calendars.
• Or check out some of our favorite Places To Go Anytime 

BRRRR? You'll find plenty of places to duck inside for some cool alternatives to the local cineplex on our  Entertainment calendar.

See all of this week's Editors Picks or view the full Eye Spy LA Calendar 

TIP: you can find events and other things to do near you - you'll find neighborhood and regional calendar links at the bottom of all Eye Spy LA web pages.

Have a wonderful weekend!  

A Cheeky Holiday One-Man Show: "In Heat in Hollywood Ho Ho Ho!"
by M.R. Hunter 

David Trudell's cheeky one-man debut is anything but jejune and is an amusing jaunt through the highs and lows of his personal trials and tribulations as a transplant living in Lala Land.

For those seeking more adult entertainment with such shows like "Bob's Holiday Office Party" and "Santasia" already under their belts, Trudell's boisterously forthcoming expose is a fast, frenetic interlude akin to watching a little kid tear through his Christmas gifts at mach speed. Ruminating on his childhood, diving into Hollywood and coming up for air from a serious brush with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, Trudell eschews away from the seriousness of his reality as if it were a lump of coal, pivoting instead on his sexual escapades and delirious pickup conquests.

Not intended for younger audiences and certainly aimed for the WeHo demographic, "In Heat..." really heats up around the time when Trudell drops trou...  

READ THE FULL REVIEW 

Salty Shakespeare is a Sweet Surprise by Andrea Kirk

Last Saturday I was lucky enough to witness flash Shakespeare at Peach Tree Pottery (this is one of the fantastic places to find local handmade holiday gifts - they will be open again this weekend). Salty Shakespeare is a theatrical company that performs spontaneously at all kinds of locations around town. Several of the company members were on hand at Peach Tree Pottery last Saturday afternoon - popping in periodically to halt shoppers in their tracks. You never know where they might disrupt the scene next. I checked their schedule and they will be flashing at the Broad in Santa Monica on Saturday, December 15, 1:15-2pm, before the matinee of CYMBELINE in the front patio and the back courtyard. The drunken porter from the Scottish Play will be staggering through, along with Hamlet and Bottom, Ophelia and Titania and the crazy teenagers from MIDSUMMER. And maybe even Rose Guildencrantz.  Find out more about them and their schedule at www.saltyshakespeare.org  

COLOR COORDINATED CHRISTMAS? 1958 by Charles Phoenix

 
Happy birthday to these celebrity December Sagittarians: Bette Midler (12/01), Lucy Liu (12/02), Brendan Fraser (12/03), Jay Z (12/04), Paula Patton (12/05), Steven Wright (12/06), Ellen Burstyn (12/07), Nicki Minaj (12/08), John Malkovich (12/09), Bobby Flay (12/10), Mo'nique (12/11), Bob Barker (12/12), Taylor Swift (12/13), Patty Duke (12/14), Tim Conway (12/15), Flo Rida (12/16), Milla Jovovich (12/17), Christina Aguilera (12/18), Criss Angel (12/19), Dick Wolf (12/20), Samuel L. Jackson (12/21), Diane Sawyer (12/22)

SAGITTARIUS - Fearless

CAPRICORN - Hot or Fake
AQUARIUS - Remain Objective
PISCES - Reassess Your Goals
ARIES - Ducks
TAURUS - Riding High
GEMINI - Go Party
CANCER - Quality over Quantity
LEO - Mistletoe
VIRGO - Good Works

LIBRA - Meld

SCORPIO - Peace of Mind  

This is an excellent time to explore a new neighborhood, shop at local boutiques and attend seasonal festivities. Most signs will do better if they stick to a budget and practice frugality. Find ways to save by attending free events, using coupons or visit swap meets. Due to crowds, traffic and overall congestion, tempers might wear a bit thin. Remember the spirit of the holidays by not being a Scrooge. The next few weeks are optimal for starting your new year's resolutions

Read your full EYESTROLOGICAL Forecast

Eye Spy LA has been the online Local's Guide to L.A. since 2003. Content is written, edited and maintained by locals and focuses on local and nearby events and the local creative community.

Editorial policy: Eye Spy LA editorials are stories written about places, entertainment and events that we go to. The opinions are those of our editorial staff and the writer of the piece. Calendar listings are ads posted by the people producing events and activities in the local area. Each week we pick and recommend events and other things to do based on our experience or sometimes because they look particularly unusual, unique or in some other way interesting. We do not recommend them based on any fees they may or may not have paid us for advertising.

You'll always find the latest events & activities plus commentary about where we've been at eyespyLA.com - updated daily. 

Andrea Kirk, publisher (editor@eyespyLA.com)

 EYE SPY LA CONTRIBUTORS:

M.R. Hunter - editorial and reviews

Mark Share - reviews

Kelly Hargraves - dance and reviews

Abby Abanes - food adventures

Charles Phoenix - retro slide of the week