Christmastime Is (Almost) Here, 'Despicable Me 2' at Sparta Library

Here's what you need to know for Christmas Week.

• Winter Break is already underway for Sparta Township Public Schools students, who have Monday through the start of the new year off from school. In Hopatcong Borough, public school students are scheduled for a half day on Monday, so their holiday begins at midday. Both schools return to class on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2014.
• For folks age 18 and up, the fun's at the Stanhope House, which hosts its third annual Christmas Eve Eve Show. On Monday night's bill are a pair of Hackettstown combos: jamband Quimby Mountain Band and straight up rock and roll stewmakers Only Living Boy. Tickets are $12 per person and may be purchased online. Doors open at 6 p.m. The Stanhope House in at 45 Main St. in Stanhope.
• Tuesday is Christmas Eve, when many of us will be immersed in last-minute holiday tasks (okay, trapped in some shopping mall, paying for our procrastination) or dreaming wistfully and expectantly of that red-suited, super superman we call Santa. 
• Christmas Day comes Wednesday. Patch wishes all who celebrate the holiday in whatever way suits them the grandest of holidays, one filled with joy, warmth, gingerbread, peace and love.
• Fill your child's post-Christmas day with some educational fun. The Louise Childs branch of the Sussex County Public Library System presents Mad Science Dry Ice Capades. From 2-3 p.m., children from kindergarten through sixth grade can see how matter, in all its three states, can be manipulated: how metal can melt in boiling water, how a mere breath's worth of dry ice can freeze water and more. The kids even get to take home a Thermocolor cup to test the temperature of various liquids around the house. Because of the nature of the program, space is limited to 20 children and pre-registration is a must; the library adds that each child in a family must be registered separately. Seats are going quickly—if you register and find you cannot attend, please cancel so that a child on the waiting list can be notified. For more info, contact the library at The Louise Childs Library is at 21 Sparta Road in Stanhope.
  
• For many, on the day following Christmas, all is still calm and bright. And then some of us still need to bring the noise, bring the rock. The Stanhope House gives the community a post-yuletide gift: a free night of live music. Thursday brings the Stanhope House R&B Revue, featuring rock, soul, funk and blues artists coming together for a multigenre sonic fusion adventure. Yes, we said free—there is no cover. Doors open at 6 p.m.; the music starts at 8 p.m. 
• Before your kids have gotten bored with their Christmas loot, whisk them off to join the minions for an afternoon of fun Friday at the Sparta Township Public Library. A free screening of the Steve Carell children's chuckler "Despicable Me 2" takes place at the library from 3-5 p.m. Kids from grade one and up are invited, and registration, which can be done online, is required.