FRIDAY
Kids: In “Disney’s Phineas and Ferb: The Best LiveTour Ever,” the beloved characters from Disney Channel’s animated series make the most of the last day of summer by building an invention bigger, better and more amazing than ever. Showtimes are 4 and 7 p.m. Dec. 17; 12:30, 3:30 and 6:30 p.m. Dec. 18 at Philips Arena.
Music: It’s a fairly new Atlanta tradition, but Jeffrey Bützer and T.T Mahony present Vince Guaraldi’s “A Charlie Brown Christmas” is getting bigger this year. The musicians will do their usual shows at the EARL at 9 p.m. Dec. 16 and 17, but they’ve added two shows at the Strand Theatre in Marietta at 3 and 8 p.m. Dec. 20.
Music, family, holiday: Georgia Shakespeare Holiday Cabaret, titled “Cocoa and Carols,” offers something for the whole family, and raises funds for the theatre company. It begins at 7 p.m. Dec. 16 and 17 at Oglethorpe University’s Conant Performing Arts Center, but get there early for cocoa and activities for the kids.
Music: Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s “A Very Merry Holiday Pops Concert” features Tony-nominated Montego Glover and rising star Tony DeSare, along with Principal Pops Conductor Michael Krajewski and the Lassiter and Walton High School Choruses. 8 p.m. Dec. 16 aand 2 and 8 p.m. Dec. 17 at Atlanta Symphony Hall.
Music: Christmas with the Georgia Boy Choir spotlights the season at 7 p.m. Dec. 16 and 17 at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church in Atlanta.
Music: The new Winter Wonder Jam series continues at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 16 at Atlantic Station with Gavin DeGraw. the free concert series concludes Dec. 23.
Stage: Chris Kayser returns to the Alliance Theatre as the miserly Scrooge in “A Christmas Carol,” which continues through Dec. 24.
Stage: “The Nativity: A Gospel Celebration” is True Colors Theatre Company’s gospel telling of the Christmas story written, directed and choreographed by Patdro Harris. It continues through Dec. 30 at Southwest Arts Center in Atlanta.
Stage: Atlanta Shakespeare Company presents its annual production of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” at the The New American Shakespeare Tavern through Dec. 23.
Stage: Atlanta Lyric Theatre presents the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic “The Sound of Music” to the Earl Smith Strand Theatre through Dec. 18.
Stage: When a young man brings his Jewish fiancee home to meet his Catholic parents at Christmas, the holidays get tense in “Greetings.” The Stage Door Players present the Tom Dudzick comedy at North DeKalb Cultural Arts Center in Dunwoody through Dec. 18.
Stage: Megan Gogerty returns to Synchronicity Theatre following her 2010 hit “Hillary Clinton Got Me Pregnant” with the new “Feet First in the Water With a Baby in My Teeth.” Her “whopper” son is now the size of a frozen turkey and is presenting new challenges as she tries to solve the Jenga puzzle that is her life as mother, career woman and feminist. Performances run through Dec. 18 at the Balzer Theatre at Herren’s in downtown Atlanta.
Stage: “Christmas Canteen 2011” is a nostalgic musical revue that revisits the best of wartime canteens and sprinkles in some new Christmas standards. It continues at Aurora Theatre in Lawrenceville through Dec. 23.
Stage: The beloved Rankin-Bass cartoon “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer” comes to life in this puppet-tastic version from Jon Ludwig at the Center for Puppetry Arts. The show continues through Dec. 31.
Dance: The Gwinnett Ballet Theatre brings “The Nutcracker” to the Gwinnett Performing Arts Center in Duluth through Dec. 17.
Stage: There are several takes on “A Christmas Carol” on offer these days, but Act1 Theater in Alpharetta revisits another Dickens classic with “Oliver,” the musical based on the author’s novel “Oliver Twist.” The show continues through Dec. 18.
Holiday: More than 1 million lights and hundreds of individual light displays fill Atlanta Motor Speedway in Gift of Lights, a 1.5 mile drive-through experience. It runs trough Jan. 1.
Stage: Another long-running holiday tradition, “Sanders Family Christmas” is back at Theatre in the Square in Marietta for the 13th season. Visit with the bluegrass gospel singing family through Dec. 31.
Stage: See what happens behind the scenes as a group of radio players attempt the Dickens holiday tale in “A 1940’s Radio Christmas Carol.” This latest production from OnStage Atlanta in Decatur runs through Dec. 18.
Stage: If you’re looking for a different take on a holiday favorite, check out Dad’s Garage Theatre Company’s “Invasion: Christmas Carol.” The company’s talented improvisers have a new character added to the Dickens classic for each performance, but the performers don’t know who (or what) it will be. The show continues through Dec. 23.
Stage: Revisit the biblical tale of Joseph and his brothers in the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice musical “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” It’s a production of the New London Theatre in Snellville and runs through Dec. 18.
Holiday: It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at Lake Lanier as the Magical Nights of Lights spectacular gets going this weekend, for those who like to start their holiday activities a little early. The display happens nightly through Jan. 1.
Holiday, families: At Stone Mountain Christmas, Crossroads at the base of Stone Mountain is decked out with more than 2 million lights. The park also offers many more Christmas-themed activities and entertainment options. The season continues through Jan. 1 at Stone Mountain Park.
Holiday: The Atlanta Botanical Garden kicks off the holiday season with Garden Lights, Holiday Nights, a dazzling show that features nearly 1 million lights crafted into displays inspired by nature. The show runs through Jan. 7.
Exhibition, religion: “Passages” is a traveling exhibition of the world’s largest private collection of rare biblical texts and artifacts. It continues at the Perimeter Expo in Dunwoody through May 13.
SATURDAY
Music, performance: The 19th annual Atlanta Celtic Christmas Concert moves to a new venue. This year’s line-up includes Nova Scotia’s Mary Jane Lamond and Cape Breton fiddler Wendy MacIsaac and returning Atlanta native multi-instrumentalist Joe Craven performing at Agnes Scott College’s Presser Hall beginning at 8 p.m. Dec. 17.
Music: The Atlanta Freedom Bands, representing Atlanta’s lesbian and gay community, presents “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” at 8 p.m. Dec. 17 at Inman Middle School in Atlanta.
SUNDAY
Music: A cappella outfit Straight No Chaser, which originated at Indiana University, performs an evening of holiday favorites beginning at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 18 at Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center.
Music: Join the Michael O’Neal Singers for the annual Messiah Sing-Along at Roswell United Methodist Church at 3 p.m. Dec. 18.
Music: Sean Hannity’s Holiday Concert Salute To the Troops is a fundraiser for the Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund, with Michael W. Smith, Five for Fighting, Jeff Foxworthy and Oliver North. The shows begins at 7 p.m. Dec. 18 at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre.