Sydney is a stuffed stocking of imminent Christmas shows, concerts and events. From and to Rockettes-inspired dance and magic spectaculars, immersive North Pole worlds, Christmas cabarets, yuletide movies with live orchestras and buses and streets decorated with tinsel, baubles and millions of lights. Ring in the season with these bell-jingling festivities. The traditional festive tale of Clara, the Sugar Plum Fairy, the Rat King and the Nutcracker Prince twirls through the Kingdom of Sweets in two shows. of Sir Peter Wright’s classic production is led by soloist Mia Heathcote amid swirling snowflakes, toy soldiers and a Christmas tree growing to the ceiling (until December 18, Sydney Opera House). (December 13-22, Pier 2/3, Walsh Bay) features ballet and live classical music in collaboration with David McAllister, former artistic director of the Australian Ballet. A livestream of the Australian Ballet production runs December 12-26. , an all-ages, all-twinkling, old-fashioned Christmas concert with a choreographed battalion of 40 dancers, live orchestra and choir trilling carols and Christmas songs will fill the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall (December 1). (December 20-22, State Theatre) is a sequinned carousel of magic tricks, circus skills, high-kicking chorus dancers and -inspired choreography. Led by Prinnie Stevens, it also features conjurer Michael Boy. The (December 12-26, Blacktown Showgrounds) has a double-decker carousel, bumper cars, circus shows, jumping castles, toboggan snow slides, a Santa train, a petting zoo and a walk-through enchanted forest with falling “snow”. The Sydney Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Benjamin Northey, presents , a live performance of John Williams’ score with a screening of the 1990 Christmas film classic starring Macaulay Culkin (December 5-8, Sydney Opera House). , a stage adaptation of the beloved 2003 Will Ferrell Christmas movie about a human raised by Santa’s elves at the North Pole searching for his father in New York, features ( , ) as Buddy and ( , ) as Walter Hobbs, the father who knows nothing of his son (December 19-29, Sydney Opera House). Hayes Theatre’s (until December 22), based on the 1942 film and directed by Sally Dashwood, follows crooner Jim Hardy’s new life in Connecticut, with classic tunes , and . You can also revisit Nancy Meyers’ romance , starring Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz, with its Hans Zimmer score played live-to-film by Southern Cross Symphony (December 14, Darling Harbour Theatre, International Convention Centre), and then Richard Curtis’ 2003 Christmas film , with the soundtrack played live by Sydney Lyric Orchestra and conducted by Guy Noble (Darling Harbour Theatre, ICC, December 21) as well as its hits (Mariah Carey, Joni Mitchell, the Beatles and more) sung live in at the Sydney Coliseum Theatre, Rooty Hill (December 21). Created over 12 months by artists, designers, engineers and sculptors at MacGyver Models in Marrickville, the feature more than 50 motorised puppets in scenes based on , illustrated by Lachlan Creagh. Elizabeth Street, Sydney CBD. Dress as Wednesday, Beetlejuice, Pumpkin King Jack Skellington or any character from Burton’s oeuvre ( seems a ripe choice) at this gathering of festive gloom, emo music and makeovers, with prizes for best costume (December 14, Oxford Art Factory). Raising money for the Wayside Chapel, the Hayes Theatre’s returns for its 11th year with an evening of tunes sung by musical theatre and cabaret performers, plus Christmas cocktails (December 9, Hayes Theatre). A mix of CGI animations, festooned Christmas trees, a North Pole post office and Mrs Claus baking in her kitchen, is a walk-through experience with elves, a gigantic advent calendar, a wishing well and a visit from Santa (until December 24, Wundr Store, 31 Market Street, Sydney CBD). Have a picnic with harbour views, Christmas choir carols, dancing elves and festive disco action at (December 14, Taronga Zoo concert lawns). (December 21) features performances from the Wiggles, Samantha Jade and Rhonda Burchmore, plus dancers, a youth orchestra and two choirs. Santa is also expected. (December 17) features carols, choirs, harp-playing, the NSW Police Band and music from the 134-year-old grand organ. The Brandenburg’s annual Christmas concert, a collection of traditional chamber music, chorales and festive music performed with the Brandenburg Choir, has swelled to include extra performances in various Sydney churches. The programs, which range from and to excerpts from Vivaldi’s and Monteverdi’s , is at St Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, Paddington (December 10); Parish of Holy Name Church, Wahroonga (December 11); City Recital Hall, Angel Place, Sydney CBD (December 12,14); and St Patrick’s Cathedral, Parramatta (December 17). Catch via steam tram, steam train or electric train with the bearded one onboard. Routes include Blue Mountains departures (December 7-8, 14-15), Central to Rhodes (December 7-8) and Thirlmere to Buxton (December 7-8). Santa is also flying in for train rides at the in Clarence (December 7-8). The annual , with city buses decked inside and out with tinsel, baubles, twinkling coloured lights and Santa hat-wearing drivers, is also expected to return. Festive markets festoon the city in November and December. Grab hams, fresh-cut Christmas trees, fruit puddings, mince pies, Christmas tree-shaped crumpets, farm produce and chats with Santa on a velvet throne in full sunshine. are at Centenary Square, Parramatta (November 28); Steyne Park, Double Bay (November 30); Royal Randwick Racecourse (December 6); Burwood Park (December 14); and Green Square Plaza (December 21). Swing between (running between November 28 and December 21), and the wooden chalets, wine bars and melted cheese stations of French-themed in Belmore Park, Haymarket (December 13-22) and (December 12). The (December 7) at Carriageworks offers fresh produce, cut and potted Christmas trees and cooking demonstrations from Nadine Ingram of Flour and Stone bakery. Gather meat, vegetables, baked goods, jams, pickles and preserves at the (December 21), also featuring handmade ceramics and a Christmas DJ. Then gird yourself for the (December 23-24) at Pyrmont. The annual , the tallest Christmas tree in NSW, lights up with Santa’s arrival on a sleigh on November 28 (until January 3) with more than 110,000 LED lights, 330 baubles, a 3.4-metre colour-changing star and 15,000 decorations comprising waratah, bottlebrush, wattle, eucalyptus gum flower, kangaroo paw, flannel flower, pink wax flower and white wax flower. Choirs sing each day at 6pm, December 1-24. There is also a , with 80,000 suspended lights, across Pitt Street Mall (November 28-January 1), the Queen Victoria Building’s with artwork created with First Nations artists from Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-operative, and the lighting of a 16-metre-high tree at Parramatta Square (November 28) with carols and live music. returns (with live DJs on December 7, 14 and 21). is running its light shows and projections, along with trees, stalls and live entertainment (December 12-25). An army of tinsel-loving residents, bravely casting aside thoughts of their electricity bills, decorate their homes with millions of flashing bulbs across hundreds of Sydney streets each year. Visit the biggest and most creative displays on Cumberland Road, Whalans Road and Vernon Street in Greystanes, Benaud Street in St Clair, O’Neill Street in Guildford and Lochview Crescent, The Rapids and Caley Way in Mount Annan. There are also South Street in Tempe, Alice Street in Rooty Hill, Avoca Street in North Bondi, Magic Grove in Mosman, Dunmore Street in Bexley North, Sydney Road in Hornsby, and First, Second, Third and Fourth avenues in Willoughby. Payten Avenue in Roselands goes all-out. Check for a map of streets with Christmas displays. Call Father Christmas at his North Pole workshop for free from any Telstra Payphone (dial #HO HO HO or #46 46 46). For written messages, visit any Australia Post Office before December 24 to hand-deliver letters, wish-lists or drawings, and you’ll receive Santa’s reply on the spot. People can donate money, volunteer their time and buy products to help charity organisations across Sydney to help others at Christmas. Check out Two Good Co, which supports women escaping violence and abuse; Variety Australia, which fundraises for sick, disadvantaged and disabled children; Share the Dignity, for providing access to sanitary products; Orange Sky, which offers laundry services to homeless people; Wayside Chapel, which provides year-round assistance and a free Christmas lunch for people affected by homelessness or social isolation; and OzHarvest, which provides food and meals to people in need.Nonesuper ace jili hack 。

Christmas unwrapped: Where to get your festive fix in Sydney

WASHINGTON — Tech entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy came to Capitol Hill Thursday to join Republicans in a celebration of the new initiative named the “Department of Government Efficiency,” or DOGE. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) proclaimed it a “new day in Washington and a new day in America” and said Thursday’s meeting marked “the beginning of a journey.” Just don’t ask where the journey’s going or what DOGE, whose name is a nod to both a meme and a digital currency , will actually do. “There won’t be a lot of detail for the press today — and that’s by design, because this is a brainstorming session,” Johnson told reporters, before ducking into a meeting with Musk, Ramaswamy and a bunch of Republican lawmakers. The two men, who have outsize influence in Trump’s forthcoming White House without being in Trump’s Cabinet, created a spectacle on the Hill. The Tesla CEO moved between meetings carrying one of his young children on his shoulders, flanked by an entourage. Neither he nor Ramaswamy responded to questions from reporters. (Editor’s note: Ramaswamy owns a stake in HuffPost’s parent company, BuzzFeed.) Earlier on Thursday, Ramaswamy met alone with GOP senators, some of whom stressed afterwards that it is still up to Congress, not Musk and Ramaswamy, to set spending levels. President-elect Donald Trump has described DOGE as a non-governmental project that would function as more of an advisory panel for ways to root out waste, rather than a traditional government agency. “They’re more of an advisory group that works behind the scenes with the White House,” Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) told reporters after leaving the meeting. Asked why DOGE would succeed when previous efforts to drive down spending with the help of an outside commission, like the 2010 deficit commission , have failed, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) told reporters, “That question is way too early for this process.” Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who’s leading the House group working with DOGE, told reporters the lawmakers talked with Musk and Ramaswamy about the national debt. “It’s unsustainable and our country is on a crash course,” she said. Greene also offered some insight into how DOGE would rate lawmakers: “Elon and Vivek talked about having a naughty list and a nice list for members of Congress and senators, and how we vote and how we’re spending the American people’s money,” she said . While lawmakers await DOGE recommendations, its leaders are both in favor of dramatically slashing federal spending. Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur who ran for president and then became a top surrogate for Trump, wants to eliminate 75% of the federal workforce. Musk has talked about wanting to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget — a goal that budget experts consider laughably unrealistic without reductions to Social Security and Medicare, which Trump has previously vowed not to touch. But Rep. Aaron Bean (R-Fla.), co-founder of the House DOGE caucus, told reporters that lawmakers would, in fact, examine cuts to “mandatory spending,” a category that includes these popular programs for older Americans. “I don’t want to take away benefits, but we do want to look at how we give those benefits away to do it in the most efficient way possible,” Bean said. Bean and many other Republicans are excited that Musk and Ramaswamy have brought renewed interest in cutting spending. Bean mused about other ways of driving attention to the project. Don't let this be the end of the free press. The free press is under attack — and America's future hangs in the balance. As other newsrooms bow to political pressure, HuffPost is not backing down. 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Log in to hide these messages. “I envision some type of scoreboard where we can go to a website and see exactly how many positions we’ve cut, agencies we’ve cut,” he said. The House DOGE group includes at least one Democrat, Florida Rep. Jared Moskowitz, who said eliminating waste and fraud “shouldn’t be a partisan issue.” But Democrats weren’t invited to attend Thursday’s meeting. As he left the meeting, Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) offered a pessimistic take on the DOGE mission. “If Congress doesn’t have the guts to do those things they’re talking real big about, it’s just a waste of time,” Burchett said. Related From Our Partner

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