THERE'S simply no excuse to be bored in Worcestershire this weekend.

It's Christmas, after all!

Here are five suggestions to make your long weekend bright, despite the chilly weather and worries about that last-minute Christmas shopping.

Catch up with A Christmas Night at the Opera, with London Festival Opera, at Malvern Theatres on Saturday December 22 from 7.45pm.

Tickets: 01684 892277.

See a live screening of The Nutcracker, performed by the Bolshoi, at Pershore Number 8, on Sunday, December 23, from 3pm.

Tickets: 01386 555488.

Find sweetness that's good for you, with Jamie Knight & The Manuka Band, at Worcester's Huntingdon Hall on Saturday December 22 from 7.30pm

Tickets: 01905 611427.

Why not get an invite to Santa's Christmas Party, especially if you are very young?

This will take place at The Artrix in Bromsgrove, on Christmas Eve, at 10.30am and 1pm.

Tickets: 01527 577330.

Also on Christmas Eve, at 4pm: cross the border into Herefordshire for a Christingle service in St Michael and All Angels Church, Ledbury, hailed as the finest medieval church in the county. Hundreds usually attend to see the church lit up by candles.