FOR THE KIDS : Snow in Forecast for Santa Barbara Zoo : There will be tons of the stuff for youngsters to frolic in Saturday and Sunday.

Christmas is almost here. The tree is up, the presents are wrapped and maybe the stockings are even hung. So where’s the snow, your kids ask?

Tell them Santa Barbara.

The Santa Barbara Zoo will have literally tons of the white stuff for kids to play in Saturday and Sunday.

The zoo people call it their Wild Winter Wonderland and, along with the snow, they will have Santa, a North Pole exhibit and such activities as making tree ornaments.

It’s the second year that the zoo has done this, according to Craig Issod, the zoo’s public relations coordinator. Last year’s snow extravaganza drew some 4,000 people--four times the usual weekend crowd.

The snow actually comes via North Hollywood Ice, a Los Angeles area company that makes snow. They will be trucking 300-pound blocks--64 of them--to the zoo before it opens. Then they feed the blocks into a snow blower that spits out what the ice pros call “fluffy” snow.

The snow, four to six inches deep, will cover a hillside 40 feet by 80 feet. Kids can make snow angels or snowmen and roll down the hill. Sledding won’t be allowed, though, and snowball fights are discouraged.

“For a lot of children, it’s their first exposure to snow,” Issod said. Even though it may be balmy, kids should wear boots and mittens and maybe bring along a change of clothes.

The zoo will use the snow as an opportunity to spread knowledge about such cold weather animals as polar bears, penguins and ptarmigans. For instance, polar bears can swim more than 100 miles without stopping, and ptarmigans have feathers growing between their toes that act as snowshoes.

Don’t look for these guys at the zoo, though. Southern California’s weather is too balmy for them.

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Clement C. Moore’s famous poem, “The Night Before Christmas,” was written in 1922 in Troy, N. Y., where snow is no big deal. Now, Ojai’s Illusions Theatre has put a Southern California spin on the poem.

The children’s production, which winds up this weekend with shows Saturday and Sunday, weaves a Christmas Eve tale from the perspective of the mice and the family living in the house. It has everything from a silly sugar plum fairy dance to the story of “The Giving Tree.” And, it’s all to live music performed by Michael Bolotin.

Show times are 2 and 4 p.m. both days. Tickets are $6.50 for adults, $4.50 for senior citizens and children under 12. The theater is at the Ojai Center for the Arts, 113 S. Montgomery St. For information, call 649-2324.

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Kids can make some last-minute holiday decorations Saturday. Ventura’s Department of Community Services has a one-hour class for kids 5 to 12 years old at the Barranca Vista Center.

They’ll make three glittery ornaments to go on wreaths, mantels or trees during the class, which will run from 9 to 10 a.m. The cost is $7. Call 658-4726 for information.

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If you want to escape the holiday razzle-dazzle, here’s a way. Nursery Nature Walks has openings for some of its December walks. (This is the group that promotes nature outings for parents and their kids, 2 months to 6 years.)

Scheduled this month in the Santa Monica Mountains are: two walks in Big Sycamore Canyon, just below Point Mugu, at 10 a.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Dec. 22, and a jaunt in Rocky Oaks park, near Agoura Hills, at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

The group requests donations from walkers. For reservations, call (310) 998-1151.

Details

* WHAT: Wild Winter Wonderland at the Santa Barbara Zoo.

* WHEN: Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

* WHERE: Cabrillo Boulevard and Ninos Drive, Santa Barbara.

* HOW MUCH: Regular zoo admission. Adults, $5; senior citizens and children 2-12, $3; children under 2 will be admitted free.

* CALL: 962-5339.