It’s not that we have any problems with the annual presentations of The Nutcracker and A Christmas Carol — these are holiday staples as firmly entrenched as Santa and eggnog. But we thought this weekend we would round up some of the non-traditional holiday fare available around North Texas:

We all know the American holiday traditions, but why not use this time of year to learn a little about other cultures? DFW International Community Alliance hosts the third annual Navidad Latinoamericana, a concert featuring the traditional Christmas rhythms of villancicos, aguinaldos and posadas from Latin America and Spain. Meanwhile, the Southwest Celtic Music Association presents Celtic Christmas, a night of music from Irish entertainer Seamus Kennedy and “Scottish Texan” Ed Miller. Also European in origin, the Kimbell Art Museum will display A Nativity from Naples: Presepe Sculpture of the 18th Century. Seventy nativity figures and animals will be displayed in the traditional manner of the region.

Holiday Pajama Parties — Several branches of the Arlington Public Library are inviting readers to come by for a holiday story and arts and crafts, all decked out in their PJs. The guess here is that they are courting folks young enough to own a pair of footie pajamas, but don’t let that stop you.

A Boogie Woogie Christmas Carol — So what makes Contemporary Ballet of Dallas’ take on A Christmas Carol (pictured above) any different than the other local options? How about music from everyone from Tommy Dorsey to Coldplay to Linkin Park and a disco rendition of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” And if you want to see a deconstructed Christmas Carol, Greater Lewisville Community Theatre’s A Dickens’ Christmas Carol: A Traveling Travesty in Two Tumultuous Acts imagines a production of the play gone horribly wrong.

Fair Park Holiday Lights offers all kinds of fun holiday activities, but what caught our eye was the chance to watch a pair of movies — The Polar Express and Elf — while sitting on the Cotton Bowl turf. Should you decide it necessary to quietly simulate a touchdown run and subsequent end-zone dance, that’s up to you.

Finally, a pair of local theater groups are lampooning the thought of the Christmas pageant. Flower Mound Performing Arts Theatre plays fairly nice with The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, the story of an unlucky couple forced to cast the most unruly kids in town in the show. Decidedly more irreverent is A Very Merry Unauthorized Children’s Scientology Pageant at Circle Theatre. The name alone says it all on that one.

Photo: Sharen Bradford/Contemporary Ballet Dallas