A Guide: Grosse Pointe Holiday Happenings

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, with holiday tours, Santa visits, concerts, and living Nativity scenes -- and much more -- going on.

Holiday Tours at the Ford House

• Where:
• When: Noon-4 p.m. Sundays, 10 a.m-4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Dec. 24 and 31, and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Dec. 26-30
• Pricing: $8 children, $11 seniors, $12 adults
• Why Go: Get into the holiday spirit with a tour of the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House, festively decked out for Christmas with lights, elegant ornaments and more.

Holly Fest

• Where:
• When: 6 p.m. Dec. 8
• Pricing: $85
• Why Go: Holly Fest returns for its 9th year, benefiting the Family Center of Grosse Pointe & Harper Woods. Enjoy an evening cocktails, dinner, plus silent and live auctions.

Bedtime Stories with Santa

• Where:
• When: 7 p.m. Dec. 12, 14, 15
  
• Pricing: $10
  
• Why Go:  Enjoy storytime with Santa Claus, followed by milk and cookies. Let the kids wear their pajamas to make it extra fun.

Holiday Luncheon

• Where:
• When: Noon Dec. 7
• Pricing: $25
• Why Go: Enjoy a festive Christmas luncheon at Grosse Pointe War Memorial, with an elegant lunch, surrounded by beautiful decorations and soft piano music, plus you'll have a chance to shop the gift boutique and could win door prizes and more.

Senior Holiday Social

• Where:
• When: Noon-4 p.m. Dec. 8
• Pricing: $23 Grosse Pointe Woods residents, $30 guests
• Why Go: Grosse Pointe Woods holds its Senior Holiday Social, featuring dinner, drinks, gifts, and dancing to the Ray Battani Band.

Nutcracker Tea

• Where:
• When: 4 p.m. Dec. 8, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 18, and 6 p.m. Dec. 8, 12, 15, 18 and 20
• Pricing: $15
• Why Go: The Ford House holds its annual Nutcracker Teas, child-friendly services with warm drinks and tasty treats. Plus, Santa Claus will be in the Playhouse awaiting their wish lists. Be sure to make reservations quickly, as these dates tend to sell out.

Ugly Sweater Party

• Where:
• When: 6-10 p.m. Dec. 9
• Pricing: Free
• Why Go: Have an ugly sweater that you don't know what to do with? Wear it to the Art Center's Ugly Sweater Party, and enjoy an evening of fine art, beautiful gifts and, of course, hideous knitwear.

Tour by Candlelight

• Where:
• When: 5-8 p.m. Dec. 9-10, Dec. 16-17, and Dec. 23
• Pricing: $15
• Why Go: Get into the holiday spirit with a Candlelight Stroll through the festively decorated Ford House. Enjoy the beautiful lighting and carols performed by area students.

Cookie Mart

• Where:
• When: 10 a.m. Dec. 10
• Pricing: $8 per pound
• Why Go: hosts its cookie mart this Saturday. Shop from a variety of holiday treats, at $8 a pound.

See Santa's Workshop

• Where:
• When: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 10 and 17, and Tuesday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. during the holiday tours, which run through Dec. 31
• Pricing: Free to visit with regular admission: $12 per adult, $11 per senior, and $8 per child.
• Why Go: Make this year's holidays extra special for your child by taking him or her to the Santa's workshop set up at Ford House. Santa will be there, and kids can enjoy the trains, antique toys and more. 

Breakfast with Santa

• Where:
• When: 10:30 a.m.-noon Dec. 10 and 11
• Pricing: $16 per person; children under 1 get in free
• Why Go: Enjoy a family-style breakfast featuring all the favorites -- scrambled eggs, bacon, French toast, hash browns and more -- while awaiting Santa's arrival, by helicopter, no less. After breakfast the Merry Music Maker will entertain the crowds.

Living Nativity

• Where:
• When: 12:30-3:30 p.m. Dec. 11
• Pricing: Free, but free-will donations will be accepted.
• Why Go: hosts an annual Living Nativity, for the community to experience and enjoy. See local children re-enacting the birth of Jesus Christ, live animals and hear holiday carols. Tours are held every 45 minutes, and guests can enjoy pizza and hot beverages afterwards.

Hear Handel's 'Messiah'

• Where:
• When: 4:30 p.m. Dec. 11
• Pricing: $25
• Why Go: Christ Church Grosse Pointe has a reputation for its musical offerings, including this weekend's performance of George Frideric Handel's buoyant Messiah.

Dinner with a Side of Harmony

• Where:
• When: 6 p.m. Dec. 11
• Pricing: Performance is free; dinner menu varies
• Why Go: Dine at Jumps and enjoy a Christmas performance by Noteworthy, an area a cappella group. Dinner reservations are required; call 313-926-6134.

'Yule Be Boppin''

• Where:
• When: 7 p.m. Dec. 14
• Pricing: Donations accepted
• Why Go: The Grosse Pointe South Band & Orchestra performs its "Yule Be Boppin'" Winter Jazz Concert, which includes the Pierce Middle School Jazz Ensemble, the Jazz Too Ensemble, and the award-winning South High School Jazz Ensemble, performing holiday classics and more.

'Stroll through the Conservatory'

• Where: Belle Isle Conservancy, 8109 Jefferson, Detroit
• When: 5-8 p.m. Dec. 16
• Pricing: Free
• Why Go: The Belle Isle Conservancy invites people to tour the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory, which will be decorated for the holidays with red and green — especially green — with its display of poinsettias and plants from the tropics, rain forest and desert. Christmas lights will make it all the cheerier to behold. Also enjoy donuts and cider, paired with a holiday performance by the Deep River Community Choir, provided by the Boll family YMCA. 

All Aboard The Polar Express

• Where:
• When: 5:30, 6, 6:30, 7 and 7:30 p.m. departures Saturday, Dec. 17, through Wednesday, Dec. 21
• Pricing: $4 per person
• Why Go: Grosse Pointe Woods children, parents and special guests are invited to tour the Polar Express, featuring a bus ride from the Community Center which takes a tour of brightly decorated homes in the Pointes, while listening to The Polar Express on their way to the "North Pole," where they'll enjoy cocoa and cookies, meet with Santa and get a souvenir to take home.

Judelaires Concert

• Where:
• When: 7 p.m. Dec. 17
• Pricing: Freewill donations
• Why Go: The Judelaires perform their 2011 Christmas program at Our Lady Star of the Sea.

Christmas and Faith, Through a Child's Eyes

• Where: St Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church
• When: 10:30 a.m. Dec. 18
• Pricing: No charge, as it's the Sunday School Christmas service, but donations are always accepted
• Why Go: The Sunday School at St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church presents its Children's Christmas Program, "We Love to Tell the Story," where the kids will tell the story of Jesus' birth and more.

Christmas Organ Improvisation Festival

• Where:
• When: 4 p.m. Dec. 18
• Pricing: A suggested donation of $10
• Why Go: St. Michael's Episcopal Church hosts its Christmas Organ Improvisation Festival, featuring a holiday repertoire by Karg-Elert, Reger, Daquin and others. The skill of improvisation will be displayed with familiar songs of the season.

Hungry for more holiday happenings? Visit our Holiday 2011 Events page here. Or suggest your can't-miss events in the comments section below.