Still Time for Last-Minute Shoppers: Your Week

Christmas arrives on Wednesday, which means activities slow down to allow many of us to take a break and enjoy the holiday with friends and loved ones.

If you aren’t quite ready, have no fear. You’ve got Monday and at least part of Tuesday to wrap up any last-minute gift shopping.

Stores in the Historic and the South Side downtowns figure to be bustling on Monday, which will be the last day to take in the Live Advent Calendar outside the Goundie House, 505 Main St., at 5:30 p.m.

Kids, if you haven’t seen Santa Claus yet, you’ve got one more shot to whisper in St. Nick’s ear and get your picture taken at the Shoppes at Main Street Commons from noon to 5 p.m. Monday.

And while activity in the Historic Downtown is likely to be winding down by Tuesday afternoon, some shops are bound to be open for at least limited shopping hours. Just one example: The Moravian Book Shop will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Christmas Eve.

Here are some other things to know about the week ahead in Bethlehem and the Lehigh Valley:

• Bethlehem Area School District schools and offices are closed for the whole week. Childcare is closed on Tuesday and Wednesday.

• The Spirit of the Lehigh Valley holds its annual Christmas Eve event from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Holiday Inn in Breinigsville. About 4,500 people are expected to attend.

• Bethlehem City Hall and the Bethlehem Township Municipal Building will be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday.

• You can expect every federal, state and local government office to be closed on Wednesday. There is no mail delivery on Christmas Day.

• The Northampton and Lehigh county courthouses will be closed on Wednesday, as will every local district magistrate court office.

• One building that will be open part of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day is the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks. On Tuesday, the Frank Banko Alehouse Cinemas will be open for afternoon matinee showings of the movies Nebraska and Philomena. The theaters reopen on Wednesday afternoon for the debut of The Wolf of Wall Street, the new film by Martin Scorsese.

• Sing for America presents Babes in Toyland—a re-imagining of the March of the Wooden Soldiers—at the Charles A. Brown Icehouse on Sand Island for four days starting Thursday at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for students and seniors.

• The Associated Mess, the Lehigh Valley’s premiere short-form comedy improv troupe performs at 8 p.m. Thursday at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks. Tickets are $8, less for students, seniors and ArtsQuest members.