Let’s start — where else? — with The Nutcracker. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s family-friendly, festive and frequently performed ballet has kept dance companies around the country financially afloat for decades by casting scores of aspiring young ballerinas whose parents, uncles, aunts and family friends buy tickets to productions every winter holiday season.

Yes, the tale of Clara, the Prince and the Sugar Plum Fairy has been done nearly to death since 1954, when the New York City Ballet discovered it was a gold mine of ticket sales. But the enduring popularity of this 1892 show speaks to its broad appeal. Even if you never listen to anything the rest of the year other than Kanye West, Garth Brooks and Taylor Swift, you already know the music from Nutcracker.

As a city with two professional ballets, Eugene offers a couple opportunities to take part in this holiday ritual. 

Eugene Ballet does a classical version of The Nutcracker opening at 7:30 pm Friday, Dec. 19, at the Hult Center’s Silva Concert Hall, with live music performed by OrchestraNext. Performances continue at 2 pm and 7:30 pm Dec. 20, 1 pm and 5:30 pm Dec. 21 and 2 pm Dec. 24. Tickets are $20.50 to $98.20 at EugeneBallet.com.

Ballet Fantastique, whose vibe runs younger and more hip, is performing a jazzy Nutcracker take off with Christmas in Toyland, which weaves together music from Duke Ellington’s jazzy 1960 album Nutcracker Suite with other holiday classics. Performances are 7:30 pm Saturday, Nov. 29, and Sunday, Nov. 30, at the Silva. Tickets are $22 to $120 at BalletFantastique.org.

Dance not your thing? Eugene Symphony is offering two holiday-themed shows, at wildly different ends of the cultural spectrum. At 2 pm Sunday, Dec. 7, the orchestra, with guest conductor Andrew Bryan, performs John Debney’s score to John Favreau’s 2003 comedy film Elf, as the holiday movie, starring Will Farrell, is projected above the Silva Concert Hall stage. For the more serious-minded, at 7:30 pm Thursday, Dec. 11, the orchestra and chorus, conducted by the symphony’s new music director, Alex Prior, perform Handel’s Messiah, which is actually about Easter but is nearly always performed around Christmas.

Finally, for an easy-viewing and budget-friendly family experience, take the kids — any age from birth to 12 years, accompanied by an adult — to Family Musical Adventures: Rhythms of a Winter Wonderland and experience a percussion ensemble from the orchestra up close and personal in the Hult Center lobby. The fun runs from 11 am to noon Saturday, Dec. 13. Admission is free. Arrive after 10 am and the kids can enjoy a pre-show petting zoo of musical instruments, also in the lobby.

•••

For a lighter look at the holidays, check out O Christmas Tea: A British Comedy, which flavors the season with the sharp humor of Monty Python and Mr. Bean. On a national tour, the show runs in the Hult Center’s Soreng Theatre at 3 pm and 7:30 pm Saturday, Dec. 6, and 3 pm Sunday, Dec. 7. Tickets are $24 and up at HultCenter.org.

For a little more edge, try A Drag Queen Christmas, hosted by Nina West, which bills itself as the longest running drag tour in America. It features Lexi, Shea Coulee, Jewels Sparkles, Crystal Methyd, Suzie Toot, Brooke Lynn Hytes and Lydia B. Kollins. Tickets start at $34 at HultCenter.org; for more cash you can add on the VIP Meet & Greet. Recommended age is 18 and over.

The traditionally minded should check out Glad Tidings We Bring, as The Shedd celebrates the 20th anniversary, performing a straight-up Christmas show with music from carols to jazz and Tin Pan Alley. Artistic director Shirley Andress explained the show this way when she first proposed it two decades back: “I’m tired of dancing Santas and silly reindeer. We can have fun, sure. But we also should have the history, the heart, the spirit, the sacredness and the love and wisdom of what Christmas is all about.” Shows are 7:30 pm Friday, Dec. 19, and 3 pm Sunday, Dec. 21. Tickets are $15.75 to $36 at TheShedd.org.

More traditional music comes your way at 2:30 pm Sunday, Dec. 14, when Eugene Concert Choir performs Carols of Peace, an assortment of Dona Nobis Pacem (Grant Us Peace) choruses from such works as Bach’s B Minor Mass and Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, as well as the finale of Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem cantata and a “Song of Peace,” based on Sibelius’ Finlandia, and seasonal carols. Pre-concert activities kick off at 1:30 pm in the Hult lobby with complimentary Christmas cookies and hot peppermint tea, festive music by the Oregon Tuba Ensemble and a carol sing-along. Tickets are $29 to $56, $12 for students, at EugeneConcertChoir.org.

The Eugene Gleemen performs its annual holiday choral extravaganza 2 pm Sunday, Nov. 30, at First Christian Church, 1166 Oak Street. Expect an eclectic holiday program with international selections as well as new arrangements of traditional favorites. Opera tenor David Gustafson will be soloist, and bell choirs from First United Methodist and First Christian churches will also perform. Tickets are $25, $20 for seniors, students and disabled, at EugeneGleemen.org; buy early as the show may sell out.

•••

For an immersive outdoor holiday experience, head for Cottage Grove Speedway’s Walking in a Winter Wonderland, which features thousands of Christmas lights most evenings between Nov. 27 and Dec. 31 illuminating the race track, while hot cocoa is served at the Hot Chocolate Bar and dinner is served in an enclosed tent. Make dinner reservations at 541-729-8666. Admission tickets run $7.18 for children 3-13, $12.38 for a single adult and $27.38 for a family of six. Buy them at MyRacePass.com/tracks/1377/tickets. The speedway warns that the grounds can be muddy, and that it is a cash-only facility.

•••

Celebrating the holidays at the coast? Check out a couple shows at the feisty little Liberty Theatre in North Bend (for Oregon newcomers, North Bend is just north of Coos Bay — far from the central Oregon city of Bend). The Liberty is home to Little Theatre on the Bay, which has been staging community productions since 1948 — making it the second oldest continuously operating community theater in Oregon, behind Eugene’s Very Little Theatre, in business since 1929.

One of LTOB’s annual gems is its Little Ole Christmas Opry, modeled on Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry and packed full of local tongue-in-cheek hayseed talent. This year’s show offers four performances, at 7 pm Friday, Dec. 5, 2 pm and 7 pm Saturday, Dec. 6, and 7 pm Sunday, Dec. 7. Tickets are $24 at TheLibertyTheatre.org. 

If you can’t make it to the Opry, LTOB is also staging A Charlie Brown Christmas and The Worst Best Christmas Ever in a double feature that opens Nov. 21 and runs through Nov. 30. Tickets are $17 to $24.

While you’re on the south coast, visit nearby Shore Acres State Park, just past Charleston, to check out the amazing holiday lights in the formal garden that once adorned a mansion built by early 20th century timber baron Louis J. Simpson.

The Shore Acres lights switch on 4:30 pm Thursday, Nov. 27, and run evenings through Dec. 31. The show has become so popular that not only do you pay $10 for a one-day parking pass, the passes are limited to timed entry hourly from 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm. Passes and more info at StateParks.Oregon.gov.

What would the holidays be without shopping? Eugene Holiday Market offers art, crafts, food, music and more at the Lane Events Center. It opens Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 22 and 23, and runs every weekend through Dec. 21. Hours are 10 am to 6 pm.The WhitPrint Holiday Show & Sale offers original work by local artists from 2 pm to 7 pm Friday, Dec. 5, from 9 am to 7 pm, Saturday, Dec. 6, and from 9 am to 5 pm Sunday, Dec. 7, at Whiteaker Printmakers, 1328 West 2nd Avenue.