It’s the most wonderful time of the year for rockin’ around the (cool) Baltimore family fun this weekend! Kick off the season of celebration with our annual Milk & Cookies Social Wednesday night at Harbor East. Then head out for a night of lights, decorate gingerbricks at Port Discovery, shop local at a holiday market or introduce the family to George and Zuzu with a showing of It’s A Wonderful Life that gives back to the community. Looking for a place to see Santa? He’s definitely been sighted around Baltimore.

Looking forward to next week, join us for a Cookie Decorating Pop-Up Play Date at Eddies on Tuesday at 4:00 PM!

(cool) baltimore family fun this weekend

Handmade in Hampden Happy Hour (kids edition)
December 9 | 4 PM – 6 PM
“Handmade in Hampden” by kids! BYOB happy hour at Play Cafe where neighborhood kids will be selling their handmade crafts, mosaics and prints. Perfect timing for getting a little Christmas shopping done AND checking out the 34th street lights. MORE

Disney Live!
December 9 | 7 PM- 9 PM
Open the door to reveal mesmerizing worlds of unforgettable Disney moments and grand illusions with Disney Live! Mickey and Minnie’s Doorway to Magic. Join Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and the comical duo of Donald and Goofy as 25 of your favorite Disney characters surprise and captivate at every turn of the knob! See the Fairy Godmother transform Cinderella’s rags into a beautiful ball gown in a split second; the Toy Story gang defy the dimensions of Andy’s toy box with the help of the green army men; and the spectacular stage debut of Rapunzel and Flynn Rider as they rise into the sky amidst the floating lanterns. With special appearances by Snow White, Tinker Bell and Aladdin’s Genie, you never know what to expect or who might join in the fun. MORE

It’s A Wonderful Life @ The Senator Theatre
December 10 | 10 AM
Ring in the holidays with at The Senator Theatre with this WONDERFUL annual screening & food drive to benefit the GEDCO CARES Food Pantry! Admission is FREE. Suggested donation of at least $5 worth of non perishable food items to be collected by GEDCO in our rotunda lobby the morning of the show. An angel helps a compassionate but despairingly frustrated businessman by showing what life would have been like if he never existed. MORE

Gingerbricks @ Port Discovery
December 10 | 10 AM- 3 PM
Join the crew at Port Discovery for a day of decorating gingerbricks for their super (cool) oversized train station! Event activities include; Magic Carpet, Kindersinger, puppetry, face painting, magical mats and exploration station and MORE!

Christmas Village @ West Shore Park
December 10 | 11 AM- 5 PM
Christmas Village in Baltimore is a combination of an outdoor and indoor Holiday Market at West Shore Park in the Inner Harbor. The event is modeled after the traditional Christmas Markets in Germany like the famous Christkindl Market in Nuremberg. From Thanksgiving through Christmas Eve, vendors in more than 50 booths will sell traditional European food, sweets, and drinks. They also offer a great shopping experience with a large variety of international holiday gifts, ornaments, jewelry and high-quality arts and crafts. MORE

Christmas Lights on 34th
December 10 | 5 PM- 9 PM
It’s a Baltimore tradition, Hon. There’s nothing like a trip down 34th Street to get help get the whole family into the holiday spirit. See their faces light up as historic Hampden homes transform into an illuminated Christmas village. MORE

Holiday Heap
December 10 | 10 AM- 5 PM
See 50+ amazing independent crafters at the 10th annual HOLIDAY HEAP CRAFT FAIR presented by the Charm City Craft Mafia! Shop handmade and local for all your holiday needs on Saturday, December 10th from 10am-5pm. FREE! There is a ticketed “early bird” shopping hour from 9am-10am. MORE

A Christmas Story @ The Hippodrome 
December 10 – 11 | times vary
Ralphie Parker wants only one thing for Christmas: an official Red Ryder® Carbine-Actions 200-shot Range Model Air Rifle. A Christmas Story, The Musical is the hilarious account of Ralphie’s desperate quest to ensure that this most perfect of gifts ends up under his tree this Christmas. Honored with 3 Tony Award nominations for Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score, A Christmas Story is directed by Tony Award-winner John Rando and choreographed by Warren Carlyle. MORE

Holiday Train Garden @ The Fire Museum of Maryland
December 10 | 10 AM- 5 PM
Where can you see O-Scale trains circling around the Bromo Seltzer Tower, or watch a fire at the Sparrows Point Shipyard, complete with fireboat? At the annual Train Garden at the Fire Museum of Maryland. Free photos with Santa. MORE

Magical Holiday Express @ The B&O Railroad Museum
December 10 | 10 AM- 4 PM
Trains are magical during the holidays. There is no better place to be a child than at the B&O Railroad Museum! All aboard the B&O’s Magical Holiday Express, a holiday spectacular celebration in the B&O Roundhouse devoted to trains of all sizes and shapes, holiday festivities, and a winter wonderland of family fun and activities. There is something to see and do every day at this annual holiday event. ALL ABOARD for holiday magical memory making! MORE

Santa, Firetrucks, and Cookies at Wee Chic
December 11 | 11 AM – 1 PM
Join Chestnut Ridge Volunteer Fire department and Santa at Wee Chic. Check out the Chestnut Ridge Fire Engine, snack on cookies and hot chocolate and mingle with Santa!! PLUS Free Kids Brunch* at Tarks Grillwith the purchase of a regular entree from 9-3p on 12/11 Make a day of it! *(kids 12 and under only please, one free kids brunch for each purchased entree, not in combination) MORE

A Christmas Carol
December 11 | 2 PM- 4 PM
A Christmas Carol is a crowd-pleasing classic that warms the heart with holiday spirit. . . Inspired by the landmark Victorian bank building that we have transformed into a theater, our Founding Artistic Director Ian Gallanar has adapted the beloved story by Charles Dickens, giving it a Baltimore twist and all the magic and music of the season. . It’s Baltimore’s hottest holiday ticket – typically selling out as we get closer to Christmas, so reserve tickets early! Join the staff of Baltimore’s Child magazine for a holiday cookie party, crafts, and carols at today’s matinee performance of A Christmas Carol. Festivities begin at 1pm, performance begins at 2pm.  Meet the actors after the show! MORE

Dot @ Everyman Theatre 
December 11 | 7 PM- 10 PM
For the holiday season, hot off its hit New York run, comes an uproariously funny new play from playwright/actor Colman Domingo (Wild With Happy / star of Fear the Walking Dead) that takes a touching look at shifting family dynamics and the fragility of the mind affecting an African-American family from West Philly. Dotty and her three adult children are home for the holidays, but this year there is more than presents and yuletide on their mind. While Dotty fights to maintain a grasp on her fading memory, brother and sisters collide in a riotous and raw familial brawl where losing your mind and losing your sanity are two different things. Leave the littles at home and enjoy some holiday cheer grownup style! MORE