As if you needed a reminder, the Christmas season isn’t just upon us — it’s here in its full technicolor glory.

You’ll find favorite traditions, new offerings and more than enough options to keep you (and the family) busy in Baltimore all weekend.

Thursday

Washington Monument lighting

For more than 50 years, locals and visitors have gathered around Mount Vernon Place for warm drinks, fireworks and the lighting of the Washington Monument. This year’s festivities will include musical performances by the Morgan State University Choir, touring “Wicked” actress Allison Bailey and the Baltimore School for the Arts.

Aside from lots of food and drink options, the event will host an Ivy Bookstore holiday pop-up shop, free arts and crafts with the Walters Art Museum and much more. Fireworks, beginning at 8 p.m., cap the night.

Time: 5-8 p.m.

Price: Free

Location: Mount Vernon Place (699 Washington Place)

Family friendly? Yes

‘Juxtapose: A Theatrical Shadow Box’

The latest imaginative production from Rockville’s Happenstance Theatre centers on a human shooting star whose arrival forces a group of eccentrics to confront ideas of mortality, extinction and hope. Opens Thursday and runs through Dec. 21.

Time: 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Friday; 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday; 3 p.m. Sunday

Price: $15-$25 (Thursday is pay what you can)

Location: Baltimore Theatre Project (45 W. Preston St.)

Family friendly? Recommended for ages 10-plus

Friday

Play it Forward: A Benefit for Ron Holloway

Local musicians are pitching in for saxophonist Ron Holloway — a veteran of Washington, D.C.’s music scene who’s played with Dizzy Gillespie, the Allman Brothers Band and Gil Scott-Heron — as he deals with health issues and medical bills. Sunny Trippel’s Dark Side of the Moon Experience, Ed Hough & Friends, Great Northern and others will perform.

Time: 7 p.m.

Price: $24.72

Location: The 8x10 (10 E. Cross St.)

Family friendly? 18+

Art With a Heart Open House

Looking for a unique, locally made gift this holiday season? Stop by this open house in Hampden, hosted by the nonprofit Art With a Heart, which provides thousands of community art classes each year. Expect jewelry, houseware items, paintings and other gifts, all made by members of the organization’s workforce development program.

Other festive markets opening this weekend include the MICA Art Market and the holiday makers’ market at the Johns Hopkins University’s Evergreen Museum and Library.

Time: 5-7 p.m.

Price: Free to enter

Location: HeARTwares (1104 W. 36th St.)

Family friendly? Yes

Katie Boyle

New York City-based Irish comedian Katie Boyle headlines two nights at the Port Comedy Club in Fells Point. For a taste, check out her 2024 special, “Terapy,” which covers everything from Catholic guilt and therapy to dating in America.

Time: 7:30 and 9:45 p.m. Friday; 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Saturday

Price: $28.59

Location: The Port Comedy Club (813 S. Broadway)

Family friendly? 18-plus

The Heavy Heavy

Hailing from the United Kingdom, this band led by Georgie Fuller and William Turner channels hook-heavy ’60s and ’70s rock — as heard on August’s “Live” album, which includes tracks from concerts in London and Chicago. See them in-person, along with opener Laney Jones and the Spirits.

Time: 7 p.m.

Price: $34.16

Location: Union Craft Brewing (1700 W. 41st St., No. 420)

Family friendly? 21-plus

Art After Hours: Step Into the Sublime

Who says museums are stuffy? The Baltimore Museum of Art’s latest after-hours dance party is inspired by Amy Sherald’s new exhibition, “American Sublime.”

Attendees will sip cocktails, dance to DJ Saucee, explore the galleries and see live performances by Black Assets and Kenny Allen. Transdisciplinary artist VILLAGER will lead a mixed-media collage portrait workshop.

Time: 8-11 p.m.

Price: $35-$45

Location: Baltimore Museum of Art (10 Art Museum Dr.)

Family friendly? 21-plus

‘A Tuna Christmas’

For those in search of belly laughs, this holiday comedy directed by Adrienne Bergeron follows a Christmas yard display contest in the fictional town of Tuna, Texas. Runs through Dec. 21.

Time: 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday

Price: $24

Location: Spotlighters Theatre (817 St. Paul St.)

Family friendly? Spotlighters encourages parents and guardians “to use your judgment based on your child’s age and maturity level.”

‘Goddesses, Myths & Monsters’

DanaidX, a Baltimore-based artist collaboration by Angela Yarian and Hope Brooks, presents this new art exhibition, which explores misogyny through the eyes of trans women and cis pregnancy. The exhibit, curated by Goucher College’s Liz Faust, runs through Dec. 31 and will feature an artist talk on Dec. 13 from 2-4 p.m.

Time: 6-9 p.m.

Price: Free

Location: Maryland Art Place (218 W. Saratoga St., fifth floor)

Family friendly? Art is subjective — use your judgment

Saturday

Olde Tyme Christmas and lighted boat parade

Start your Saturday with holiday festivities in Fells Point, where Santa will arrive by tugboat at 9 a.m. The fun continues throughout the day with an eggnog contest, strolling carolers and live “carol-oke” for any brave performers.

The party culminates at 5:30 p.m. for the lighting of the Broadway Square tree and the photogenic parade of lighted boats that slowly makes its way from Canton to the Inner Harbor.

Time: 9 a.m.

Price: Free to attend (though some activities have a cost)

Location: Broadway Pier (920 S. Broadway)

Family friendly? Yes

‘Elf’ in concert

For many, it’s not Christmastime without an umpteenth viewing of “Elf,” the silly-yet-sweet 2003 comedy starring Will Ferrell as Buddy the Elf. This weekend, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra will perform John Debney’s score as the movie plays on a big screen.

Time: 7:30 p.m. Saturday; 3 p.m. Sunday

Price: $31-$109

Location: Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (1212 Cathedral St.)

Family friendly? Movie is rated PG

Culturally Curated: The Sneaker Chic Edition

The Reginald F. Lewis Museum hosts a night of dancing, food and drinks as attendees show off their coolest sneakers and best holiday outfits. Soul singer Davon Fleming will perform, while DJ Infame provides the rest of the evening’s soundtrack.

Time: 7-10 p.m.

Price: $20-$30

Location: The Reginald F. Lewis Museum (830 E. Pratt St.)

Family friendly? 21-plus

‘Nutcracker! Magic of Christmas Ballet’

This touring ballet of international ballerinas and danseurs — which has delivered graceful dancing, puppetry and acrobatics for more than 30 years — stops by to perform Tchaikovsky’s classic.

Time: 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Price: $118.50-$219

Location: The Hippodrome Theatre (12 N. Eutaw St.)

Family friendly? Yes

‘The Bmore Broadway Show!’

Dance & Bmore, a nonprofit organization that aims to make art accessible to all ages, will perform joyous Broadway classics, while adding some of its own Baltimore flair.

Time: 3:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Price: $10-$15

Location: 4001 Clifton Ave.

Family friendly? Yes

Sunday

Claire Rousay

Los Angeles experimental musician and composer Claire Rousay, who builds her powerful, atmospheric sound through field recordings, found sounds and an array of instruments, performs a seated show. Baltimore’s Ami Dang will open.

Time: 6 p.m.

Price: $18.10-$28.37

Location: 2640 Space (2640 St. Paul St.)

Family friendly? All ages