Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah, Aspen! There's no better place on earth to celebrate the holidays and the next 10 days have unlimited ways in which to make the most of our winter wonderland. We're in the midst of the annual 12 Days of Aspen, with daily happenings from free ice skating, holiday treats, and carolers to carriage rides, crafts, and concerts. Here are a few of our top picks to add even more holiday cheer to your weekend. 

Friday, December 23

Teddy Bear Story Hour
10:30 a.m., Wheeler/Stallard Museum
This tot-focused event includes storytellers sharing spirited renditions of classic holiday tales. BYOTB.
$3, aspenhistory.org

25th Aspen Film Academy Screenings
12, 3, & 8:15 p.m., Paepcke Auditorium
Catch up before awards season at this film series (select dates through January 1), which highlights 20 acclaimed films actively campaigning for Academy Award consideration. Free to voting members of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences, British Film and Television Arts, and associated guilds, this annual tradition on Aspen’s holiday calendar is also open to the general public. 
$20 (general admission), $15 (members), aspenfilm.org

Santa Paws Yappy Hour
4–6 p.m., Sky Hotel
All dogs are welcome to bring their owners to the annual happy hour just for hounds in support of the Aspen Animal Shelter. Find a perfect addition to the family, too, with plenty of adoptable pets available, along with pictures with Santa and drink specials. 
Free, theskyhotel.com

Anthony Quinn Opening Reception
5:30 p.m., Gallery 1949
Anthony Quinn is best known throughout the world as the multiple Academy Award and Golden Globe winning star of 200 some films, but he privately lived a parallel life as a brilliant painter and sculptor. Celebrate the opening of this rare and unique collection, which comes to Aspen following a worldwide tour of more than 15 museums and universities.
Free, gallery1949.com

Ullr Nights 
5 p.m., Snowmass Mountain
Bundle up and ride the Snowmass gondola to some family-friendly snow play, including lift-served tubing ($34 per hour; reserve in advance), free ice skating, free snowshoe tours, snowbiking ($69 guided rides for ages 12 and up, free minibikes for younger kids), and climbing on a massive snow sculpture. Elk Camp restaurant serves dinner with live music, followed by s’mores and hot cocoa by the bonfire.
$10 (gondola ride), gosnowmass.com

Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol
6:30 p.m., Wheeler Opera House
Scrooge, the ghosts, and Tiny Tim all find new life in this original touring musical version of the story that champions the true Christmas spirit.
$58 (adult), $38 (child), wheeleroperahouse.com 

JAS Café
7 & 9:15 p.m., Cooking School of Aspen
Jazz Aspen Snowmass presents this winter-long series of intimate shows by leading musicians and vocalists, launching its lineup for the season with Jamie Davis and the James Horowitz Trio playing a “Nat King Cole Christmas.”
$40, jazzaspensnowmass.org

The Last Romance
7:30 p.m., Thunder River Theatre Company, Carbondale
This production of Joe DiPietro’s bittersweet comedy about courtship in the twilight years (he also wrote the musicals Memphis and I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change) is directed by longtime Aspen theater veteran Mike Monroney.
$30 (adults), $15 (students), thunderrivertheatre.com

Saturday, December 24

The Last Romance
7:30 p.m., Thunder River Theatre Company, Carbondale
This production of Joe DiPietro’s bittersweet comedy about courtship in the twilight years (he also wrote the musicals Memphis and I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change) is directed by longtime Aspen theater veteran Mike Monroney. 
$30 (adults), $15 (students), thunderrivertheatre.com 

Library Cinema
7:30 p.m., Pitkin County Library
The Wheeler Film Society’s Jon Busch has resurrected his avant-garde film series in partnership with the Pitkin County Library and this holiday weekend's pick is Little Men—a critical yet empathetic look at the dangers of gentrification from director Ira Sachs, starring Greg Kinnear and Alfred Molina.  
$8 (available at the door or at The Wheeler Opera House), pitcolib.org

Sunday, December 25

The Ten Tenors: Home for the Holidays
6:30 p.m., Wheeler Opera House
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and what better way to celebrate the holiday season than with international singing sensation The Ten Tenors, whose magical performance is for the whole family? Australia’s rock stars of the opera will perform a unique selection of traditional and contemporary seasonal favorites.
$38, wheeleroperahouse.com 

Library Cinema
7:30 p.m., Pitkin County Library
The Wheeler Film Society’s Jon Busch has resurrected his avant-garde film series in partnership with the Pitkin County Library and this holiday weekend's pick is Little Men—a critical yet empathetic look at the dangers of gentrification from director Ira Sachs, starring Greg Kinnear and Alfred Molina.  
$8 (available at the door or at The Wheeler Opera House), pitcolib.org