Gingerbread Houses, Fire & Ice Fest, More Christmas Week Events in Boston

Ever been to a museum and seen a still life that looked good enough to eat? Probably not, because you can tell the difference between two- and three-dimensional objects, and anyways fruit isn’t that great to begin with. The Boston Society for Architects’ annual Gingerbread House Competition is a different story, so make sure to eat before you go. Then again, the designs were submitted by architectural firms and schools, who are great at building houses, maybe not so great at building flavor profiles. See the finalists on display, enjoy light refreshments, and vote for your favorite at tonight’s closing reception. (6 p.m., FREE, all ages)

It’s OK to bring your appetite to The Culinary Tastes of Washington Street fundraiser for Boston City Lights, a free performing arts school in the South End. The night will be filled with performances, music and food from local restaurants in the area — they mean Washington Street in the South End, not Downtown Crossing, so you can’t fill up on free chicken teriyaki samples from the Japanese place in the Corner Mall. (7 p.m., $100, all ages)

Going to the movies on Christmas is a time-honored tradition because most of us would rather spend time with fictional characters than see our extended family. The movies never asked you about your career or relationship status or whether you’ve seen Uncle Mike yet and when you do, don’t hug him because he’s already pissed himself. And if you’re going to hang out with actors, why not Bill Murray, a certified national treasure and number one seed in any “greatest celebrity to hang out with” tournament. The Brattle Theatre’s weeklong Not Just a Nut: The Essential Bill Murray retrospective kicks off on Christmas with “Scrooged” and “Ghostbusters” and wraps up with “Ghostbusters 2” (the scary one) on New Year’s Eve. (Various times, $8-10, all ages)

It’s a little cruel for Chelsea’s Apollinaire Theatre Company to premiere a play called “MidSummer” when we’re only like five days into winter, oh god there’s so much winter left, why don’t we hibernate like bears if we’re supposed to be so “evolved”? Running through January 11, the play (with songs) by David Greig and Gordon MacIntyre recounts a great lost weekend in Edinburgh, a story of “bridge-burning, car chases, wedding bust-ups, bondage miscalculations, midnight trysts, and self-loathing hangovers.” (8 p.m., $15-25, all ages)

If Christmas carols have been totally ruined for you by mall sound systems and a capella and the inexplicable continued existence of Michael Buble, maybe you need to hear some local bands’ takes on a few holiday classics to put you back in the spirit. You’re in luck because rootsy rock and soul band OldJack brings it’s third annual Holiday Homage concert to The Sinclair, also featuring Cropduster, Airport, The Curtis Mayflower, Nemes, and J. Clark Webber. (7 p.m., $12, 18+)

What’s the only thing missing from holiday classic ”Home Alone”? A visit from Child Protective Services, sure, but also live orchestral accompaniment from the Boston Pops (the score was composed by Pops Laureate Conductor John Williams). The movie’s almost 25 years old now and it’s hard not to notice how much things have changed: In 2014, Kevin would probably get mad because someone ate the last piece of gluten-free pizza (gluten makes his tummy hurt), and Kevin would use a moisturizing aftershave lotion instead of an alcohol-based aftershave that burns because everyone knows that alcohol dries out the skin and causes wrinkles. (8 p.m. Friday, 3 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, $43+, all ages)

Outdoor interactive space and male public hair euphemism The Lawn on D kicks off the season with its inaugural Winter on D event. This weekend’s Fire & Ice Festival features some of the city’s best fire art performers, a carved ice bar with hot cocoa/cider/grown-up drinks, and one of America’s largest ice labyrinths, because what’s the point of trying to find your way out of an endless terrifying labyrinth without the very real possibility of freezing to death. There’s also live music and food trucks. (11 a.m., FREE, all ages)

Photo credit: designLAB Architects/CDRC Boston

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