8 pm: Music

In his first Los Angeles-area appearance since the 1994 Three Tenors event at Dodger Stadium, Spanish tenor Jose Carreras returns to give an indoor solo recital. He will be assisted by Italian pianist Lorenzo Bavaj.

* Jose Carreras, Pasadena Civic Auditorium, 300 E. Green St. $35-$150. (626) 449-7360.

11 am: Family

The UCLA Armand Hammer Museum is spreading plenty of cheer with children’s holiday activities for everyone. Children can sing songs, hear stories and learn about African traditions in “The Seven Rhythms of Kwanzaa” at 11 a.m. and Jewish traditions in “Hanukkah Tales and Tunes” at noon. Then, at 1 p.m., artists ages 4 to 6 can make crafts to decorate their homes for Kwanzaa, Navidad and Hanukkah, while children ages 7 and up learn how to create decorations using the Mexican technique of papel picado.

* Children’s Holiday Activities, UCLA Armand Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Blvd. Free. (310) 443-7000.

2 pm: Holidays

Cast members from “Touched by an Angel,” including Della Reese, Roma Downey and John Dye, will join walkers in AIDS Service Center’s ninth annual Posada in Pasadena. The candlelight vigil will start and end at City Hall, where opening and closing ceremonies will also take place. Food, art and gift items will be sold at a marketplace nearby. An afternoon inter-faith service is also planned. The event is a fund-raiser for the center, which provides services to adults and children with HIV and AIDS.

* Pasadena Posada, City Hall, 100 N. Garfield Ave. 2-9 p.m. Free. (800) 376-7232.

4 pm: Family

Every Picture Tells a Story gallery and bookstore hosts a free holiday program of book readings, comedy, music and refreshments for children and parents. Scheduled to appear at “Holiday Jam” are authors Mark Buehner (“Taxi Dog”), Edward Valfre (“Backseat Buckaroo”) and Deborah Nourse Lattimore (“Cinder Hazel”).

* “Holiday Jam,” Every Picture Tells a Story, 7525 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles. Free. (213) 932-6070.

8 pm: Theater

A Noise Within’s 1996 award-winning production of Charles Dickens’ “Great Expectations,” about young Pip’s odyssey of self-discovery in 19th century England, returns with original cast members for a holiday run.

* “Great Expectations,” A Noise Within, 234 S. Brand Blvd., Glendale. Regular schedule: Thursdays-Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 2 and 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 and 7 p.m. Ends Dec. 21. $22-$27; opening night with reception, $35. (818) 546-1924.

2:30 & 7:30 pm: Theater

A reprise production of “A Jive Bomber’s Christmas,” Saachiko and Dom Magwili’s musical about a young woman’s plan to provide holiday cheer to families in an internment camp for Japanese Americans in December, 1943, begins its holiday tour at Centenary United Methodist Church.

* “A Jive Bomber’s Christmas,” Centenary United Methodist Church, 300 S. Central Ave., Los Angeles. Also Faith United Methodist Church, 2115 W. 182nd St., Torrance, Dec. 14, 3 and 7 p.m.; West L.A. United Methodist Church, 1913 Purdue Ave., West L.A., Dec. 18-19, 8 p.m.; Dec. 21, 7 p.m. $10. (310) 217-1643.

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FREEBIE: Holiday Open House at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, Simi Valley. 10:30 a.m. (800) 410-8354.