Menlo Park is chock-a-block with holiday events the weekend of Dec.6-8

If your goal is to get your family into the holiday spirit, you’ll have lots of opportunities this coming weekend in Menlo Park. Here’s a rundown (those marked with * are free):

*Menlo Park Holiday Tree Lighting Friday, December 6th, 2013; 5:00  to 7:30 pm; Fremont Park. Join the Menlo Park Chamber of Commerce for the Menlo Park Holiday Tree Lighting. Free holiday attractions include a visit from Santa, holiday treats, music & caroling, holiday movie sing-along, and tree lighting.

Breakfast with Santa Saturday, December 7th, 2013; 7:30 to 11:30 am; Arrillaga Family Recreation Center, 700 Alma Street. $7.00 for adults and $5.00 for children ($1 off with unwrapped toy donation). The City of Menlo Park Community Services Department will be hosting the annual Breakfast with Santa. Activities will include pancake breakfast, letter writing to Santa, holiday crafts, visiting and picture taking with Santa. Reservations are required — call (650) 330-2220.

*A Christmas Carol Saturday, December 7th, 2013; 11:00 am; Menlo Park City Council Chambers, 701 Laurel Street. Stage & film actor Duffy Hudson brings Dickens’ beloved holiday classic to life in a special one-man performance for the whole family. Hudson portrays all 46 characters during the 75-minute production, without the need for sets, props or costumes. Hudson is an actor, director, writer, teacher and filmmaker who attended the Circle in the Square Theatre School in New York before moving on to perform in several Broadway productions and found a number of theatrical companies. For more information, call Roberta Roth at 650-330-2512 or email Roberta at rlroth@menlopark.org.

*Holiday Train at Menlo Park Sunday, December 8th, 2013; 7:45 to 8:05 pm; CalTrain Station, 1120 Merrill Street. Presented by Silicon Valley Community Foundation, the Caltrain Holiday Train is a Bay Area tradition since 2001. Decorated with 60,000 glittering lights, the dazzling show-train will visit nine Caltrain stations between San Francisco and Santa Clara over two nights in December, providing holiday entertainment and collecting donations of toys for local children who otherwise might not receive a gift during the holidays. Come early to see the model trains running at the West Bay Model Railroad Association, which has open house starting at 6:00 pm.

West Bay Opera presents Opera Classics 2013-14 Sunday, December 8th, 2013; 4:00 pm; Menlo-Atherton Performing Arts Center 555 Middlefield Road. $45-$50 per person. Enjoy an afternoon of your favorite opera arias and ensembles sung by a stellar cast of principal singers and chorus. Special appearance by Mezzo Soprano Catherine Cook. Works by Mozart, Verdi, Bellini, Puccini, Offenbach, Handel and other composers. Audience sing-along and silent auction. A benefit for West Bay Opera.  West Bay Opera is a recipient of the Menlo Park Grant for the Arts (MPGA).