Christmas Is Near: Lights, Tinsel, Action!

The halls are decked with boughs of holly, chestnuts are ready to roast on the open fire, and many people are dreaming of a white Christmas. Well, that dream has about as much of a chance as a snowball in Hollywood, but that doesn’t mean Southern Californians won’t get into the holiday spirit.

One way to celebrate the holidays in California is to mix traditional Mexican and American Christmas customs. The “Puente Valley Christmas--1928” will do just that at the Workman Temple Family Homestead Museum, 15415 E. Don Julian Road, City of Industry.

An 1870s Christmas

Relive Christmas past without any help from Dickens’ Jacob Marley at the open house Dec. 11, from 1 to 6 p.m., through holiday decorations, tours, music and refreshments popular in the 1920s. Christmas tours continue Dec. 13-Jan. 6. Admission is free, but reservations are required: (818) 968-8492.

If you find this Southern California-style Christmas appealing, hook up a one-horse open sleigh (or the family wagon) and mosey on down to Rancho Los Cerritos Historic Site, 4600 Virginia Road, Long Beach, from Friday. Characters in historic garb will demonstrate preparations for an 1870s Christmas in the adobe ranch house. Tours are by reservation only. Test your sense of direction at the pinata- breaking at 6:30 p.m. Friday and next Saturday. Old-fashioned refreshments and music will set the stage for a merry little Christmas at the open house Dec. 11 from 1 to 3 p.m. The pinata ceremony and open house are free, no reservations required. Dress warmly. Donation for reserved tours: adults, $1; children 2 through 12, 50 cents. Information: (213) 424-9423.

Naturalists and sun worshipers will appreciate Descanso Garden’s transformation into sort of a “wintergreen” wonderland today through Dec. 11, at 1418 Descanso Drive, La Canada Flintridge. Interior designers decorated each room of the Hospitality House, former mansion of Manchester Boddy, for the “Country Christmas.” Rudolph will lead the way for free tram tours of the gardens and children can take the model train ride for $1. There will be wreath-making demonstrations. Christmas trees and handmade goods, including dolls, crafts and ornaments, will be for sale. Holiday buffet available. Hours: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Admission: Adults, $3; seniors 62 and older and teens 13 through 17, $1.50; children 5 through 12, 75 cents; 4 and younger, free. Information: (818) 790-5571.

For anyone who feels it is better to give than to receive, or at least to give and receive, Echo Park United Methodist Church’s Alternative Christmas Fair, 1226 N. Alvarado St., is offering that opportunity. Do your gift shopping while giving to American Indians, the homeless, Boy Scouts and refugee and youth organizations, to name just a few, who have used their expertise to make crafts and gifts, many representative of their different cultures. Get into the true spirit of Christmas today, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday, 1 to 6 p.m., and enjoy the music, food and free pinata and doll-making workshops for children. Information: (213) 484-8214.

‘Country Christmas’

If you’re looking for a lot of country in your Christmas, join country music stars Kris Kristofferson, Eddie Rabbitt, Mickey Gilley, Moe Bandy, Keith Carradine, Highway 101, Jim Stafford, Earl Thomas Conley, Sawyer Brown and the Desert Rose Band, along with the H. B. Barnum “LIFE” Choir for a “Country Christmas With LIFE” Sunday at 5 p.m. at the Universal Amphitheatre. The concert will benefit the LIFE (Love Is Feeding Everyone) food recovery and distribution organization, founded by Valerie Harper and Dennis Weaver. Tickets: (Ticketmaster or the box office) $18.50-$20. Bring a non-perishable food item. Information: (213) 936-0895. Holiday shoppers can eat their way through the Ventura Holiday Street Festival on Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be entertainment, food booths, arts and crafts, food booths, a visit from Santa, food booths, and a children’s craft section. Certified Farmers Market will have fresh produce and materials to make gift packs. Albinger Archaeological Museum will serve free wassail. Take the Ventura Freeway to the California Street exit in Ventura.

Scents of holiday cooking will also engulf Banning Residence Museum today and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Help prepare--and taste--traditional plum pudding, Christmas cookies and other treats during the Victorian Christmas Open House. The Greek Revival home, built in 1864 by harbor pioneer Phineas Banning, is at 401 E. M St., Wilmington. Admission: $4; children 12 and younger free. Information: (213) 548-7777.

The Swede Life

For a look at how Scandinavians celebrate the holidays, the Swedish Women’s Educational Assn. hosts its annual Swedish Christmas Fair Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., at Colorado Place, 2425 Colorado Ave., Santa Monica. Swedish foods, traditional dancing around the Christmas tree and a chance to meet jolly old Jultomten (Santa Claus) and “Lucia,” the Swedish Queen of Light. Get ideas for Christmas gifts from handicrafts by Swedish artisans; a children’s corner will keep the youngsters busy. This event benefits a scholarship fund. Admission: $3; children $1.

Now for a down-to-earth celebration: The Los Angeles State and County Arboretum in Arcadia hosts its Christmas open house Dec. 11, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This is the one day when visitors may stroll inside the Queen Anne Cottage. The $1 narrated tour will explain the period furnishings and Baldwin family memorabilia, decorated with Victorian-style holiday trimmings. The tour benefits the Historical Preservation Fund. Docents will demonstrate uses of Baldwin’s restored farm tools on display in the Coach Barn. Admission: adults $3; seniors and students with ID, $1.50; ages 5 through 12, 75 cents. Information: (818) 446-8251.

Just when you thought the parade of Christmas parades was over . . . Huntington Park’s televised “Fabulous Christmas Lane Parade” rolls downtown along Pacific Boulevard Sunday at 1 p.m. Celebrities joining the “Youth and the Spirit of Christmas” parade theme include Adam Rich, Willie Ames, Iron Eyes Cody, Sal Jenco of “21 Jump Street,” Danny Nucci from “Falcon Crest” and some radio personalities, including Steve Morris of KRTH and Bruce Vidal of KIIS. Information: (213) 582-0909 or (213) 585-1155.

Tree-Lighting Event

Santa will forgo his reindeer and arrive by mule train Sunday at a community tree-lighting ceremony sponsored by the Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Health Foundation and Valencia Co. Free refreshments and pictures with Santa, petting zoo, Looney Toons characters, live entertainment and caroling under the decorated tree on the hospital’s front lawn, 23845 W. McBean Parkway, Valencia. Tree ornaments represent donations of $10 to $1,000. Hours: 3-5:30 p.m. Information: (805) 253-8082.

If you equate Christmas with Paradise, have a “Holiday in the Garden” at South Coast Botanic Garden, 26300 Crenshaw Blvd., Palos Verdes Peninsula, today and Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. A craft workshop will offer demonstrations and ideas for Christmas gifts. Light refreshments will be available. At 1 p.m. today Kendrake the Magician will appear (or disappear), and Sunday at 2 p.m. a puppeteer will perform. Dec. 11 the all-male Ellis Orpheus Chorus will sing, and Dec. 18 the Palos Verdes Symphonic Band will perform its Christmas medley. Admission: adults $3; seniors and students with ID, $1.50; ages 5 through 12, 75 cents. Information: (213) 544-1948.

Santa Claus, bearing a striking resemblance to actor Vic Tayback, will make an appearance at “Christmas Spectacular ‘88” at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Catherine Bach, Jamie Farr, Dan Frischman, Peter Marshall and Terre Thomas will perform, along with a symphony orchestra and 17 combined Orthodox church choirs. The event will benefit the Ronald McDonald House. Admission: $18.50; $50 for Founders Circle. Information: (213) 972-7211.

No Blues With the Blues

Wipe away holiday blues with Christmas Blues Cruises today at 6 and 10 p.m. Keyboardist Charles Brown and the Chris Cain Band will flood the decks with blues tunes for the 3-hour tour of the harbor and Queen Mary/Spruce Goose complex. Meals and no-host bar available. Board the Catalina Cruise boat at Catalina Cruises Landing, 300 Golden Shore, Long Beach, half an hour before departure time. Admission: (dockside) $25. Information: (213) 426-4616.

Ghost Town streets will be decorated in an 1880s Christmas setting, and artisans will demonstrate and sell their handicrafts for Knott’s Berry Farm’s Christmas Crafts Festival through Dec. 24. Other attractions include Santa’s Workshop, Mrs. Claus’ Kitchen, carolers and Knott’s version of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” (Wednesdays through Sundays). Information: (714) 827-1776.

Roger Rabbit and Mickey Mouse headline their own Christmas shows at Disneyland this month. Also the “Very Merry Christmas Parade” is held daily till Jan. 2. The Incredible Acrobats of China will perform Dec. 25. Extended hours Dec. 25 to 30: 8 a.m.-midnight. Admission: adults $21.50, children 3 to 11, $16.50.

Queen and Goose

Queen Mary/Spruce Goose Old-Fashioned Christmas now till Dec. 30 features Santa in his Christmas Village, entertainment, a free toy for each child and, each weekend (and daily beginning Dec. 17) the Christmas Cartoon Festival in the Spruce Goose Theater. Fireworks nightly at 7 p.m., Dec. 17-30. Hours: now till Dec. 16, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Dec. 17-30, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Admission: adults, $14.95; children 11 and younger, $8.95.

The girls of Marlborough School, 250 S. Rossmore Ave., Los Angeles, are readying Christmas trees, garlands, wreaths and boutique items and baked goods for the Marlborough Merry Mart, Dec. 8-11. The fund-raiser will benefit the school’s scholarship fund. Boutique hours: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday and Friday. Tree lot hours: 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday and Friday; 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Information: (213) 935-1147.

Torrance Memorial Hospital Medical Center’s annual Festival of the Trees returns this weekend. The event, on the first floor parking structure of Torrance Marriott Hotel, 3635 Fashion Way (next to Del Amo Mall), features 50 decorated trees, a Santa’s boutique, kitchen full of holiday treats and ongoing entertainment. Hours: today, 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sunday, noon-5 p.m. Admission: $1; free to children 3 and younger. Information: (213) 517-4706.

Dana Point Ceremony

The donated 18-foot desert Christmas tree, the pride of Dana Point, is in place just in time for the annual tree-lighting ceremony scheduled for 6 p.m. today at Lantern Bay Park near Dana Point Harbor. The ceremony kicks off a series of Christmas events, including a boat parade Friday and next Saturday at the harbor; free boat rides with Santa, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Dec. 10-11, and Santa’s Walk through town next Saturday and Dec. 17.

Feast on an old-fashioned Christmas dinner, then walk it off on a tour of a landmark Victorian home Dec. 9-11 and Dec. 16-18, from 5 to 8 p.m. The “Victorian Christmas” begins with catered traditional English turkey dinner and flaming Christmas pudding at Gwen’s Pantry, 443 E. Broadway, Long Beach. Dinner guests will tour Linden House, a private Victorian home, circa 1907. Admission: $15. Discount for groups. Reservations required: (213) 432-3103. “The Story of Silent Night,” a Christmas opera by Mary E. Caldwell, will be presented twice Sunday, at 5 and 7:30 p.m., at San Marino Community Church, 1750 Virginia Road, San Marino. Donation: adults $3, students $1. Information: (818) 282-4181.