1. Lift your feet at Brooklyn Swings: Cookie Night where all are welcome, no partner needed to learn and participate in swing dancing. Plus bring cookies to swap ‘n share. (Friday, Brooklyn Swings, $5-10)
2. Reflect on 2017 at Winter Solstice Goddess Circle that will include a fire ritual to release the burdens and setbacks of the past year while acknowledging its wisdom to nurture in the year ahead. (Friday, Root Mamma, $25)
3. Journey to the upside down at JoJo’s Stranger Adventure, a Stranger Things themed party, with demogorgons and other live 3D projections, vendors, a photo booth, DJs and more. (Friday, Brooklyn Bazaar, $20)
4. Watch a certain kind of holiday classic at Silent Night, Deadly Night, which tells the tale of Billy who puts on a Santa costume at his new job and starts hacking people to bits. (Friday, Nighthawk Cinema, $12)
Don’t panic over last-minute holiday shopping: Skip the big-box stores and meet the makers at Artists and Fleas. You can browse handcrafted goods and unique gifts while enjoying Cutty Sark winter cocktails and an adults-only GIF booth. (Friday, Artists & Fleas Brooklyn) {sponsored}
5. Sit back for the 7th annual House of Yes Xmas Spectacular, “featuring reindeer, dancing gifts, Christmas trees, Mariah Carey, milk & cookies, Jesus, space dolphin,s and all of your other holiday favorites.” (Fri-Sat, House of Yes, $35)
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6. Don’t procrastinate at the The Last Minute Gift Fair featuring Brainery teachers and their creations. Shop from an assortment of gifts, from flowers and food to home goods and ceramics. (Saturday, Brooklyn Brainery, FREE)
7. Grab a last minute gift at the Betty Holiday Art + Craft Market, with an eclectic group of vendors making stuff for you and your honey with a focus on POC, LGBTQ and women creators. (Saturday, Secret Project Robot, FREE)
8. Slap it like a ’90s bracelet at Maps & Slaps, where artists will be showing off their graffiti and slaps stickers, with some presented on NYC maps. (Saturday, Silent Barn, FREE)
9. Werk that sweater at the Ugly Christmas Sweater Soirée. “‘Twas two nights before Christmas and all through Bushwick, we donned ugly sweaters and toasted Saint Nick.” (Saturday, Our Wicked Lady, FREE)
10. See a special Side Ponytail Comedy Show on the weekend during the holidays, featuring Ayanna Dookie, Khalid A. Rahmaan, Rob Cantrell and more. (Saturday, Friends & Lovers, FREE)
11. Cast a spell at Cultmas 23 – Yuletide/Solstice Show where the darkest of days brings light to our unconscious, with lots of feasting and drinking, and many performance artists throughout the evening. (Saturday, Cult 23, $13)
12. Dig some drag at Spread Joy: The Not-Holiday Show hosted by Allegra Spread, with amazing and hilarious drag performances by Lee VaLone, Viva Vidalia, Jayse Vegas and many more. (Saturday, Gold Sounds, $7-20)
13. Go international at Mood Swings, a new gathering that brings like-minded people together to enjoy a variety of dance music from around the world, with DJs Greb D & Speakerbot. (Saturday, Trophy Bar, FREE)
14. Light some sparks at Young Adult Friction an indie and alternative dance party spinning both new and old jams of the genres, plus a little holiday music thrown in for spirit. (Saturday, Brooklyn Bazaar, FREE)
15. Slide down the chimney at Misfit Christmas with JunXion with, “cookies and milk, fake snow, real snow, yellow snow, mistletoe makeout booths, runaway reindeer, drunk santas, sober snowflakes,” and all the dancing you can handle. (Saturday, House of Yes, $20)
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16. The walls come alive at the Bodega Advent Calendar Walk, a real life advent calendar, where 25 pieces of commissioned art have been installed in 25 bodega windows through Bushwick and Ridgewood, led by Vince Anderson. (Sunday, Bushwick Abbey, FREE)
17. Test your luck at We Got You A Little Something, where each drink gets you a ticket for a gift being raffled every hour on the hour from open to close. (Sunday, Threes Brewing, FREE)
18. Bring your pillows and blankets to Planetarium, an immersive experience dedicated to music that’s not for dancing. Lie on the floor, stretch out on the couch, and get lost in music. (Sunday, Nowadays, $20)
19. Make it to midnight mass for MicroKORGmas with the Kings County MicroKORG Choir, plus a candlelight service where anyone is welcome. (Sunday, The Park Church Co-op, FREE)
20. Dance it out at Christmas for Techno Orphans with a potluck dinner served at 6pm, and sets by Connie, Eddie Krilov, Hardtusei and more. (Sunday, TBA Brooklyn, FREE)
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