Sick of carols, stuffed to the gills or simply wanting to get out of the house? Here are some suggestions.
Christmas Eve
A Christmas Carol: Shake & Stir's adaptation of the classic Charles Dickens story is, aptly enough, playing right up until the night before Christmas. It takes place one Christmas Eve when the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge receives visits from four ghosts and is whisked away on a journey through Christmases past, present and future. Is Scrooge capable of changing his ways before it's too late? It's on at the Canberra Theatre at various times until Saturday. See: canberratheatrecentre.com.au.
Smith's Alternative: Looking for some pre-Christmas music that isn't carols? On Christmas Eve from 3pm to 6pm (doors open at 2.30pm), Il Bruto, the Snake Oil Preachers and Jason Recliner will perform an afternoon of rock'n'roll. Tickets $20/$15. Smith's Alternative is at 76 Alinga Street, Canberra City. See: smithsalternative.com.
Christmas Day
Christmas morning 5k walk/run: If you want to stave off guilt about how much food you're going to eat later in the day. this five-kilometre walk/run, taking place at Weston Park at 8am, might be just the thing. You'll have to gauge your own fitness level - if it's not what it might be, walking rather than running might be the way to go. Come alone or with others. See: allevents.in/.
Every day but Christmas
Feared and Revered: Subtitled Feminine Power through the Ages: This exhibition from the British Museum, celebrates the power and diversity of female spiritual beings in cultural traditions and beliefs across the globe. It's on at the National Museum of Australia. Feared and Revered has varying hours and an admission charge. See: nma.gov.au.
Cressida Campbell: Among the National Gallery of Australia's current exhibitions is this overview of work by a painter and printmaker who's been creating for more than 40 years. Combining keen observation with a delicacy of line, Campbell's woodblock paintings and prints capture the overlooked beauty of the everyday. See: nga.gov.au.
The Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House has several exhibitions showing, among them Blueprint, about Australian democracy. Behind the Lines 2022: the year in political cartoons is a humorous look at the last 12 months. And Changemakers celebrates 120 years of women's rights in Australia. See: moadoph.gov.au.
Open most days
The National Library of Australia's free exhibition Viewfinder: Photography from the 1970s takes a look at the journey of Australian documentary photography over the last five decades. Drawing exclusively from the National Library of Australia, the 125 images in this exhibition, curated by Matthew Jones, reveal a changing Australia. The library is closed from December 25 to 27. See: nla.gov.au.
