For Love of Bunny

12/6-12/20
It's a hare-raising adventure: Love brings a stuffed bunny to life in The Velveteen Rabbit -- and kids have been all ears since Margery Williams' book was first published in 1922. Childsplay's stage adaptation -- opening this weekend at the Scottsdale Center for the Arts -- finds the title character toying with the idea of existence. What happens when toys stop being toys and, thanks to the love of a human, start being "real"?Recommended for ages 3 and older, The Velveteen Rabbitopens with an ASL-interpreted performance at 2 p.m. Saturday, December 6. The production continues at 2 p.m. Sunday, December 7, and 2 and 4 p.m. December 13, 14 and 20 at the Center for the Arts, 7380 East Second Street in Scottsdale. Tickets are $19 for adults, $15 for students and seniors; call 480-994-2787 or log on to www.tickets.com to order. See www.childsplayaz.org for details on discounted play passes and to download study guides.- Jill Koch

Elf-Made Man

Grab a bite with Santa

Sat 12/6
Raise some toast with the man of the hour, when the Pointe Hilton at Squaw Peak's weekly Breakfasts With Santa begin this Saturday, December 6. Kids and parents can choose from two seatings -- 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. -- and join the North Pole posse for gingerbread cookie and ornament decorating, photos, sing-alongs and giveaways. St. Nick is set to return December 13 and 20 to the resort's Lantana Grille, 7677 North 16th Street. Breakfast is $20.95 for adults, $11.95 for kids 4 to 12, and free for children 3 and younger. Reservations are required; call 602-997-5850. - Jill Koch

Workshop 'Til They Drop

Kids get a jump on Chistmas presents

Sat 12/6
Turn that holiday hyperactivity into creative productivity. Kids with jingle fever can unleash their energy at the Arizona Museum for Youth, where a pair of Winter Workshops engage ages 6 to 11 in cookie decorating, craft projects and gift making.

The first of the one-day workshops convenes this Saturday, December 6; with the help of artist Jen Bortz, participants create pop-up holiday cards and, with oven-bake clay, transform ordinary pens into "ultimate writing instruments." The following Saturday, December 13, kids create candle lanterns and paint personalized pots.

The workshops run from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the museum, 35 North Robson in Mesa, and cost $20 per session. Preregistration is required; call 480-644-2467 to reserve a spot. - Jill Koch