Welcome, listeners, to Things to Do in Los Angeles with your globe-trotting sports nut pal, Oly Bennet, coming to you from the City of Angels on a sparkling Christmas Day. LA’s serving up classic SoCal winter vibes today: cool, sunny, and bright enough that sunglasses are basically dress code.

Here’s today’s snapshot: downtown is buzzing with Christmas brunches, including a big buffet in the historic Crystal Ballroom in DTLA, where listeners can swap presents for pancakes and prime rib. Over at Crypto.com Arena, the Lakers are hosting a Christmas Day game this evening, so expect a purple-and-gold tide rolling through downtown as tipoff approaches. And if you were up at dawn, you might’ve caught holiday runners down the coast for the Jingle All the Way Christmas Day run in Long Beach, kicking off the day with jingling shoelaces instead of sleigh bells.

For events, you’ve got options. Holiday lovers can glide into Pershing Square’s outdoor ice rink, which returns every winter with twinkle lights, music, and prime people-watching. The Los Angeles Zoo is glowing at night with LA Zoo Lights: Animals Aglow, a lantern-filled after-dark experience that feels like walking through a neon jungle. Discover Los Angeles also highlights the LA Ballet’s Nutcracker at the Dolby Theatre this week, so if you’re still in festive mode, that’s your sugar-plum fix. And night owls can dive into Winter Lights, a house and tech-house party on Sunset Boulevard, where Christmas officially hands the baton to rave season.

On the local news front, the Los Angeles Sentinel recently spotlighted Mayor Karen Bass hosting a big holiday food and toy distribution in South LA, a reminder that the city’s heart is just as big as its skyline. Transit-wise, expect holiday schedules on Metro buses and trains today, with fewer trips but lighter traffic for those gliding between brunch, games, and light displays. According to Discover Los Angeles and local event calendars, many museums are closed for Christmas, so plan your culture crawl for later in the week.

If you’re plotting your perfect LA day, here are some must-dos. Hit the beach in the afternoon—Santa Monica or Venice—for that surreal “Christmas in a hoodie and flip-flops” experience. Swing by Miracle Mile where Craft Contemporary offers youth-friendly contemporary art, then roll through Griffith Park at golden hour for city views and, if it’s open, a stroll near Griffith Observatory. Tonight, pair the Lakers game with a late-night taco run along Figueroa or an after-dark walk through Zoo Lights for a double-header of sports and sparkle.

Local tip: LA may be huge, but today it runs on side streets. Use corridors like Fountain, Beverly, and 7th to dodge holiday traffic, and if you’re Metro-curious, the Expo (E) Line is clutch for getting between downtown and Santa Monica without touching a steering wheel.

Before we wrap, tomorrow the city shifts from Christmas to end-of-year mode: more Nutcracker performances, DJ nights ramping up in Hollywood, and sports fans gearing up for weekend NFL and NBA action. Tune in tomorrow for a fresh lineup of quirky LA adventures, from high culture to high-energy nightlife.

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