While Dec. 25 may be getting close, there’s still plenty of holiday entertainment on the calendar, and much of it calls for a special thanks to the performers: Many of these stalwarts are our friends and neighbors -- or, in several cases, their children.

For example, Macon Little Kids Theatre and the Academy of the Performing Arts are teaming up to present “Little Drummer Boy” for four performances this weekend, with Mike Fuller’s Holiday Magic and Variety Show due in on Thursday.

Downtown on Cherry Street, “Christmas Cabaret” at Theatre Macon features Bryson Holloway, J.J. Hobbs and others presenting carols, pop classics and Broadway tunes. An unwrapped present (destined for Toys for Tots) shaves $10 off your ticket price.

Theatre Macon is also excited to announce that “Les Miserables” will be presented this summer, with “Spamalot” pushed back to the 2013/2014 season.

Meanwhile, back to 2012, the Perry Players’ run of “Southern Hospitality” continues through Sunday. While not a Christmas show, it ties in with last year’s “Christmas Belles.”

In Griffin, the Main Street Players are presenting “It’s a Wonderful Life” as a radio play (complete with a foley artist and live sound effects) through Sunday.

This weekend is also our last chance to catch the Nutcracker of Middle Georgia on the stage of the Grand Opera House. If you miss that, not to worry: Kali Dance Studio for the Arts is doing a variation on this classic, “The Urban Nutcracker,” on Friday.

Music, too

Thanks to Mercer University and several local churches, we still have some attractive musical opportunities to look forward to. Richard Kosowski will lead the Mercer Children’s Choir in “Sing and Rejoice” on Friday night at St. Joseph Catholic Church. On Sunday at 4 p.m., St. Paul’s Episcopal Church will be presenting Vivaldi’s “Gloria,” with Wesleyan professor Nadine Cheek leading the choir and Susan McDuffie at the organ.

“A Christmas Carol”

While we’ve had several Christmas-related theater productions in the midstate, I’m afraid that to see Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” performed on stage we’ll have to choose between Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre and the Atlanta Shakespeare Tavern (a more intimate production).

Contact Larry Fennelly at LarryFennelly@AvantGuild.com.