Carmello’s of Historic Manassas, Va. is offering a Christmas Eve dinner, Thurs., Dec. 24 from 3 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and New Year’s Eve a la carte dinner on Thurs., Dec. 31 with seatings from 4:30 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. (Two-hour seatings are booked for parties of two to six people; larger parties have two and a half hour seatings). Complimentary Portuguese sparkling wine is served with all seatings. Late seatings receive party favorites if they stay until midnight. Children 10 and younger can eat free from the kids’ menu. Menu prices vary. For reservations, go to www.carmellos.com.

XMAS EVE MENU:
Appetizers – Family-Style House Appetizer, Brick-Oven Oysters Rockefeller, Spitada De Camarao, Mini Beef Wellingtons, Risotto Fritters, Calamari Fritti, Lobster Bisque, Roasted Butternut Squash

Salads - Autumn Mesclun Salad, Chopped House Salad, Caesar Salad

Metropolitan School of the Arts (MSA) of Alexandria and Lorton, Va. will present three, festive holiday performances in December, including:

The Nutcracker on Thurs., Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. and Fri., Dec. 4 at 7 p.m., as well as Sat., Dec. 5 at
1 p.m. and 7 p.m., held at the Richard J. Ernst Community Cultural Center at 8333 Little River Turnpike in Annandale, Va. Tickets are $27 per adult and $21 for seniors/students at www.metropolitanarts.org.

Breakfast with Santa will be featured on Sun., Dec. 6 at the Hotel Monaco at 480 King St. in Alexandria, Va. with two seatings: 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Tickets are $45 per adult and $35 for ages 9 and younger. Tickets at www.metropolitanarts.org.

It’s report-card time for many students and LearningRx brain training centers of Reston, Va., Fairfax, Va., Leesburg, Va., Vienna, Va., and N. Potomac, Md. are giving hope to kids and teens by offering two free hours of brain training in exchange for less-than-stellar report cards throughout November. For more information, go to www.learningrx.com.

LearningRx of the DC area is offering anyone 18 and younger two hours of free brain training when they bring in a copy of their report card. The interactive and fun brain training exercises strengthen the cognitive skills that students need to learn effectively (attention, memory, processing speed, problem solving, among others). And that means improved mental performance in the classroom, at home, and even on the sports field.