This weekend we want to go to...

Neck of the Woods:

95bFM throws some of the best parties in town, so you'd be silly to miss their silly season send-off. The 95bFM Christmas Party '18 features the groovy electronica sounds of Imugi, who play Laneway 2019; sublime ambient electronica artist Peach Milk; trippy DJ Christopher El Truento, and thrill rockers CINDY. There's also be DJ sets from Top Ten tastemaker Pearl Little, Morning Glory host Jenn and The Grow Room's Nelson. It's free, and features support from Rudi's and Jumping Goat Liquor.

Neck of the Woods, 95bFM Christmas Party, tonight, 8pm

Basement Theatre:

If you missed out on tickets to Work Do, this year's raunchy and hilarious edition of the Basement Theatre's annual Christmas show, the theatre still has a couple tricks up its sleeve before closing for the year. For starters, Work Do runs until next Friday, December 21 but this weekend, there's a few treats in store. On Saturday, it's the Basement Christmas Market at 2pm, with stalls featuring local art, gifts and trinkets – perfect for some ethical, locally-focused last-minute gift buying. That night, they're hosting No Homo, a new regular queer comedy night that brings some of Auckland's best LGBTQI+ comedians together. This week features Leon Wadham, Eli Matthewson and China Gonzalez.

Basement Theatre, Saturday, 2pm then 8pm

Holy Trinity Cathedral:

It's almost a wrap for the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra but before the city's favourite classical musicians end 2018, there's the small matter of celebrating Christmas with its annual and much-loved festive season concerts. Conductor Hamish McKeich, bass-baritone James Ioelu and the Graduate Choir NZ (directed by Terence Maskell) join the orchestra to perform yuletide favourites like Tchaikovsky's

The Nutcracker

, Vaughan Williams'

Fantasia

on Greensleeves and excerpts from Handel's rousing

Messiah

. And of course, you can't have Christmas without a healthy selection of carols!

Maybe, though, you're a little worried about taking your pre-schoolers along so the APO also has the answer to that dilemma. Fresh from its Holy Trinity Cathedral shows, it heads west on Sunday for the APO 4 Kids Christmas performances. Actor Kevin Keys presents a concert with a chance to sing-along, dance-along and conduct-along to favourite carols and Christmas songs plus they'll be joined by special guest Moe from The Moe Show and maybe a visit from a white-bearded man in a red suit...
Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Holy Trinity Cathedral Parnell, tomorrow at 7.30pm and Saturday at 3pm; APO 4 Kids Christmas, Trusts Arena, Henderson, Sunday at 10 and 11.30am.
Auckland Town Hall: And sticking with Christmas traditions, this could possibly be Auckland's longest running yuletide one. Every performance of Handel's Messiah is special but 2018's is extra-special, as it's the choir's 100th consecutive year of Messiah performances. Since the choir's founding in 1855 there have only been two exceptions – the outbreak of World War I and the flu epidemic of 1918. To celebrate this momentous milestone, the choir is joined by visiting singers from choral groups and soloists including NZ's most famous tenor Simon O'Neill, mezzo-soprano Deborah Humble, soprano Marlena Devoe and bass Martin Snell, whose Trumpet Shall Sound stays in the memory all year round. Join in to part of an amazing "one hundred not-out" tradition.
Auckland Town Hall, Auckland Choral, A Century of Messiahs, Saturday and Sunday.