3 . Sawdust Winter Fantasy

If you’re looking for the best way to kick off the holiday, check out Sawdust’s Winter Fantasy, where you can support local artists and get into the spirit of the holidays. This annual event features live music, delicious food and drinks, as well as 165 local artists with their products.

Location: 935 Laguna Canyon Road

Dates: Nov.19 to Dec.18

Times: 10 a. m. to 7 p. m.

Price: Adults $10, Children $5

LA County Parks Winter Wonderland

Los Angeles County Parks will host a Winter Wonderland with tons of snow. The free event will feature photo opportunities, holiday treats, and a craft village where kids can decorate their own stockings.

Location: 1324 5th St. in Downtown Santa Monica

Dates: Dec.2 to Dec.17

Times: Times vary

Price: Free

The Polar Express Train Ride

This magical one-hour trip to the North Pole features a read-along of the timeless story, hot chocolate, caroling, a golden ticket, and delicious treats. Santa and his little helpers are also scheduled to come on board to greet the passengers and give each guest their first gift of Christmas.

Location: 2201 SA St., Perris, CA 92570

Dates: Dec.20 to Dec.28

Times: 11:30 a. m. to 8 p. m.

Price: Range from $44 to $70

Christmas on the Farm

Celebrate the holiday season at a farm featuring an animal center, tractor wagon rides, reindeer, and more. There’s also a holiday train and plenty of sleigh rides to go around. This is the perfect family event for all to enjoy.

Location: Moorpark, CA 93021

Dates: Nov.25 to Dec.24

Times: 9 a. m. to 6 p. m.

Price: $10 to $ 14

7 . Longing for the most amazing places on the planet? You can do no wrong with these lakes across the globe.

Five Flower Lake

Set in the striking karst landscape of the Jiuzhaigou Valley in Sichuan province, China, Five Flower Lake is extraordinarily clear, with visibility to a depth of 40 metres. Five Flower is one of a series of blue-, green-and sky-colored lakes blocked by rock falls, but it differs from the others as its waters change color, looking sometimes yellow, sometimes green, but usually diamond blue. In winter, Five Flower never freezes; in summer, it never dries up. Local wildlife living in the surrounding mountain forests include the rare giant panda and the golden snub-nose monkey.

Crater Lake

The deep-blue waters of Crater Lake in Oregon, US, fill the outlet of an ancient volcano that collapsed 7,700 years ago. Its strangest occupant is the “Old Man of the Lake”, a nine-metre-tall tree stump(树桩), which has stood upright in the water for more than a century. No rivers or streams enter the lake. Water loss in summer is compensated by winter snow and rain, the entire body of water being replaced every 250 years.

Lake Ohrid

Ancient Lake Ohrid has been around for about five million years and crosses the mountainous border between Macedonia and Albania. It has unique plants and wildlife, including the Ohrid “plashica”, a fish native to the lake, whose scales(鳞片) are used to make Ohrid pearls.

Lake Maggiore

Surrounded on three sides by the Lipontine Alps and touching the plain of Lombardy to the south, Lake Maggiore is Italy’s longest lake. Considered part of the country’s lake district, it is shared with Switzerland. Characterized by a Mediterranean-style climate, temperatures here are mild all year. This has given rise to some of northern Italy’s most wonderful gardens, which appear to float like flower-decked boats on the water.

8 . The UNESCO World Heritage List is a prestigious honour awarded to sites of outstanding universal value around the world. Did you know there are 1,157 UNESCO World Heritage Sites spanning across 167 countries? We’ve picked out our top 4 for you to visit below.

The Acropolis, Greece

The Acropolis is an ancient castle that stands proud in the Greek city of Athens. Back in the fifth century BC after battle with the Persians, the plans of Pericles came to life under the influence of Pheidias, the sculptor. It then became a place for thought and art to flourish, where symbols of classical spirit and civilisation came alive.

Historic centre of Rome, Italy

According to Roman mythology, the Eternal City was founded in 753 BC and became the capital of the mighty Roman Empire. Rome is home to a number of attractions including the Forum, the Pantheon and the Colosseum! This World Heritage site contains the whole historic centre within the city walls and reflects the influence of the Renaissance and Baroque periods in making it one of Italy’s most popular cities.

Ayutthaya Historical Park, Thailand

The historic city of Ayutthaya in Thailand was founded around 1350 and was subsequently destroyed in the 18th century by the Burmese. What’s left today is the ruins and some key highlights include the Buddhist temples of Wat Ratchaburana, Wat Mahathat and Wat Phra Sri Sanphet. The area is home to the remains of tall prang (reliquary towers) and should not be missed.

Cultural landscape of Bali, Indonesia

The landscape in Bali is unlike anything else on Earth. Consisting of five rice terraces (梯田) and water temples covering 19,500 hectares, the cultural landscape takes your breath away. This site gains honour through an ancient farming ceremony dating back to the 9th century known as subak. This concept reflects the spirit, the human world and nature, also known as Tri Hita Karana.

About one year ago, 24-year-old Alex Wong found himself struggling with his mental health. With     1     (anxious), he couldn’t fall asleep, especially at night.

“I would hole up in my room during the day and stay awake all night because I didn’t want to interact     2     others and let them see me at my worst,” says Wong.

It was during this time that Wong     3     (feel)that he needed to find purpose and meaning in his life, so he signed up to volunteer with ImpactHK, a charity that     4     (primary)helps homeless people.

Wong took part in the group’s “kindness walks,”     5     (walk)through Tsim Sha Tsui to hand out food and other essential     6     (item)to homeless people. Today, he volunteers     7     (lead)these walks once or twice a week.

“Doing this work makes me feel grateful for everything I have. My homeless friends may be down on     8     (they)luck and have nothing, yet they’re content, and they’ve helped me understand that I can be happy too, even when things aren’t going my way. I’ve also developed strong bonds with my fellow volunteers, many of     9     I’ve become close friends with.”

Wong says that he’s in     10     better emotional space these days. “Helping my homeless friends has given my days new meaning and purpose and made me realize how good life can be.”

When the V&A Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green was founded in 1872, it was East   London’s first public museum. Today, we are transforming this beloved building into a new national museum of design and creativity dedicated entirely to children.

Relaunching later this year as Young V&A, the museum will be a place to imagine, play, create, debate and design. Young V&A will help children to develop abilities such as creative thinking, problem-solving and collaboration through imaginative, hands-on gallery displays and creative programming for schools, families and community groups.

In a climate of growing inequality and reduced funding for the arts, it is vital that we young people’s creative development. We rely on your generous donations and are thankful for   your support. Whether you can give E 25 or f 25,000, all donations will help to complete this project.

25 could buy books for the new Reading Room.

75 could buy sensory materials to help bring the collection to life for young visitors

150 could conserve and display an international object in the permanent galleries

5000 could help furnish the new creative studios in the Learning Centre.

*To pay by debit, credit card, use the QR code, visit www.vam.ac.uk appeal or call 020 7942 2905 to speak to a member of the Development team.

*Return a completed donation form or post a cheque directly to the museum or hand it in all the V&A Membership Desk or the Members’ Room.

*To find out about donating by bank transfer, making a regular monthly donation, or to make a larger gift, please email the Development team at appeals@vam.ac.uk.