AROUND TOWN

Delivering festive fun to the heart of the city, Dundee’s Christmas (until Sunday 5 January) brings together an ice rink, market, Santa experience and funfair, ensuring there’s something to keep the whole family amused.

At Edinburgh’s The Pitt, they’ll be helping you shop small and local with their appealingly indie Christmas Craft & Flea (Saturday 14 December), featuring everything from illustration and vintage bric-a-brac to plants, ceramics, food and jewellery.

Winter light trails are a huge deal these days and Monteviot Lights (until Sunday 22 December) have apparently made theirs bigger and better than ever. This stunning Scottish Borders attraction will see Monteviot House And Gardens transformed into a sparkling wonderland.

MUSIC

Led by the inimitable Boy George, the '80s-tastic Culture Club (Friday 13 December) will be belting out the likes of ‘Karma Chameleon’ and ‘Do You Really Want To Hurt Me’ when they bring their own distinctive brand of new wave nostalgia to Glasgow’s OVO Hydro.

Over at Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall you can enjoy a classic Christmas film and epic orchestral performance from the RSNO in Home Alone In Concert (Saturday 14 December), with matinee and evening performances available.

Meanwhile, Glasgow’s SWG3 is the setting for a gig from American country star Kameron Marlowe (Sunday 15 December). Hear tracks from his latest album, Keepin’ The Lights On.

STAGE

Edinburgh’s Assembly Hall is where you can find Swamplesque (until Saturday 4 January), an ogre-inspired burlesque and drag parody from Far Far Away, which took the Fringe by storm earlier this year. Expect a festive twist this time.

Also taking place at the Assembly Hall as part of Edinburgh’s Christmas is In The Company Of Books (Sunday 15 December), in which friends and book lovers Nicola Sturgeon and Val McDermid are joined by special guests Alan Cumming and Paula Hawkins to explore the joys of reading, over a few glasses of mulled wine.

Join Josie Long and co for Mum’s Christmas Night Out (Thursday 12 December), a fun, chaotic night of stand-up and silliness featuring Christopher MacArthur-Boyd amongst others, plus festive surprises. Glasgow’s The Rum Shack is where it’s at.

SCREEN

Daniel Craig turns in a career-best performance that has him tipped for Oscar glory in Queer, an adaptation of the William S Burroughs novella from Luca Guadagnino and his Challengers collaborator, screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes, which follows a gay American in 1950s Mexico City.

Set nearly 200 years before the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, The Lord Of The Rings: The War Of The Rohirrim is an anime fantasy following Helm Hammerland, King of Rohan, as he defends his kingdom. Brian Cox, Luke Pasqualino and Miranda Otto are amongst the voice cast.

Described as a ‘sort of opera’, Pass The Spoon (Wednesday 18 December) was a collaboration between artist David Shrigley, composer David Fennessy and artistic director Nicolas Bone. It was a hit when it was performed more than a decade ago, so now's your chance to catch it on the big screen at Edinburgh’s Fruitmarket.

PODCASTS

Empire’s Helen O’Hara is back with her Christmas movies podcast, Bah Humbug, which gives you the lowdown on what seasonal films you should be watching, as well as the ones you should be avoiding like the festive plague. Hot Frosty, Red One and That Christmas are under scrutiny.

If you’ve still got gifts to gather, Greg Foot and the Sliced Bread team have a special festive episode for you. They’ll be running down the products that have been naughty and nice, letting you know which ones deliver on their bold claims.

History’s Heroes becomes History’s Youngest Heroes in this new spin on the popular podcast, Bridgerton’s Nicola Coughlan takes over from Helena Bonham Carter as she shines a light on 12 extraordinary rebels and risk-takers, starting off with a young Nelson Mandela.

VISUAL ART

Displayed across two galleries at Edinburgh Printmakers, Hope/Dòchas (until Sunday 16 March) is the organisation’s biggest display of members’ work to date, with 97 featured artists and more than 100 works across a range of printmaking techniques.

Meanwhile, V&A Dundee's Winter Design Workshops (until Sunday 15 December) are drawing to a close with their final events: a paper wreath-making class and some festive upcycling.

And finally, the whole family can get stuck into a free Christmas Crafternoon (Saturday 14 December) over at Glasgow’s Kelvin Hall, where they’ll be showing you how to make gift tags, present trimmings and Christmas cards.

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