THE YOUNG ONES: If you’ve seen the Dallas Theater Center’s A Christmas Carol, you may have noticed that the roles of Tiny Tim and Young Scrooge are played by a girl. Or you may not have noticed. That’s because 8-year-old Marlhy Murphy plays the parts some days, alternating with 6-year-old Mark Fisher. They each spoke with dallasnews.com about how acting in the play has only fueled their theatrical dreams.

MUSIC BITS: If you became a big fan of Sarah Jaffe in 2010, it sounds like you’ll have more reasons to like her in 2011. (DC9 at Night) … Wanna know what to get John Pedigo and Taylor Young of The O’s for Christmas? They’ve been kind enough to write up a list. (quickdfw.com) … Smile Smile has released a free mp3 of “Santa Baby.” Santa says you should download it now. (smilesmilemusic.com)

ART BY THE MILE: If you’ve checked out “Big New Field: Artists in the Cowboys Stadium Art Program” at the Dallas Museum of Art, you’ve seen Annette Lawrence’s Free Paper 12 / 05, a mixed-media sculpture the artist created out of all the junk mail she received over the course of a year. And since there’s still plenty of excess paper out there, Lawrence is working with the DMA’s Center for Creative Connections on a similar project – this one much more linear. And she could use your help. The DMA’s Uncrated Blog has details on how you can participate.