The winter holidays in Vancouver are packed with wonderful theatre, ballet and musical productions to help you celebrate the season and give you something warm and cosy to do when the weather outside is “frightful.”  There’s Ballet BC’s presentation of the Alberta Ballet’s Nutcracker, the VSO’s Traditional Christmas concerts, and the family-friendly perennial favourites from the Arts Club Theatre Company, the largest theatre company in Western Canada.

When it comes to theatre that embodies the spirit of the season and pleases audience of all ages, you can’t beat the Arts Club Theatre Company’s holiday offerings: White Christmas: The Musical, It’s a Wonderful Life, and The Patron Saint of Stanley Park.

Back at the historic Stanley Industrial Alliance Theatre after its enormous success in 2009, the Arts Club’s White Christmas: The Musical has been lauded by critics as a “rich reminder of why the holiday spirit is truly timeless”.  The timeless crowd-pleaser It’s a Wonderful Life, based on the famous movie, is back for its fourth year, too, at the Granville Island Stage.

New for 2010 is the Arts Club premiere of The Patron Saint of Stanley Park, the story of  “a scruffy vagabond, who may be more than he appears to be” who helps a struggling family during a ferocious winter in Stanley Park.  The Georgia Straight praises Patron Saint as a “lovingly, eccentrically handmade Christmas gift that…will steal your heart.”

All shows are currently playing, and performances of White Christmas: The Musical are selling out fast, so don’t hesitate to buy tickets!

• White Christmas: The Musical runs until January 2, 2011.
• It’s a Wonderful Life runs until January 2, 2011.
• The Patron Saint of Stanley Park runs until December 26, 2010.

If you’ve been to any of these shows before, I’d love to hear what you think in the comments!