Christmas comes but once a year — so milk it for all it is worth.
Brooklyn has been tree-lighting, Nutcracker-ing, caroling, toy driving, and ugly sweater-partying all December long, but there are still five days left in which to cram as much festive cheer as you can handle. Forget lords a-leaping and maids a-milking — there are far better things to do and see on the final few days of Christmas.
Dec. 20: Good grief
It would not be Christmas without at least one rendition of “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” This year, skip the small-screen version, and head to Park Slope’s Brooklyn Lyceum, where the Pig Brooch Theatre Company is once again teaching Charlie Brown what Christmas is all about, with a live performance accompanied by a jazz trio.
7 pm at Brooklyn Lyceum (227 Fourth Ave. between Union and President streets in Park Slope, www.brooklynlyceum.ploud.com). $10.
Dec. 21: Seasonal soul
There is nothing very Christmas-y about most of the tunes being performed at the Brooklyn Center for Performing Arts’ “An R&B Christmas,” but what would you really rather listen to — another gloomy rendition of “Little Drummer Boy” or an actual member of the Drifters performing “Under the Boardwalk”? Other stars on the bill include Blue Magic, with original lead singer Ted Wizard Mills, and Shirley Alston Reeves, the original lead singer of the Shirelles.
8 pm at Brooklyn College, Walt Whitman Theatre (2900 Avenue H, between Campus Road and Hillel Place in Midwood, www.brooklyncenteronline.org). $36–$45.
Dec. 22: Country carols
Brooklyn-based country band the Sweetback Sisters has been throwing its “Country Christmas Singalong Spectacular” every year since 2009, and now tours the show all over the East Coast. See it where it all began at Red Hook’s Jalopy Theatre, where the band will perform its country-fried covers of classic Christmas tunes.
8 pm at the Jalopy Theatre [315 Columbia St. between Hamilton Avenue and Woodhull Street in Redhook, (718) 395–3214, www.jalopy.biz]. $18–$20.
Dec. 23: Christmas comedy
The special Christmas edition of funny-man Wyatt Cenac’s monthly comedy night “Night Train” also happens to be the final show of the year. The all-star line-up includes Todd Barry (“Louie,” “The Wrestler”) and Janeane Garofalo (every single comedy movie made in the ’90s).
8 pm at Littlefield [622 Degraw St. between Third and Fourth avenues in Gowanus, (718) 855–3388, www.littlefieldnyc.com]. $5–$8.
Dec, 24: Fish food
If you have been meaning to check out chef Saul Bolton’s beloved self-titled restaurant Saul since it relocated from Boerum Hill to the Brooklyn Museum in October, this is the perfect opportunity. The digs may be new, but the eatery is still cooking up its traditional Christmas Eve “Feast of the Seven Fishes.” Fishy dishes include fried anchovies, roasted monkfish, and charred Spanish octopus.
From 5:30 pm at Saul, the Brooklyn Museum [200 Eastern Parkway near Washington Avenue, (718) 935–9842, www.saulrestaurant.com]. $125.
