December birthday trip for senior & family

My siblings and I are trying to plan a birthday celebration for our mother, who will be turning 75 in December. Our parents live about an hour from Philly but do not get downtown very often. Sibs and I are from out of state. We are trying plan a fun day that could include perhaps a concert and nice dinner, perhaps some kind of holiday entertainment earlier in the day. We could stay downtown overnight and then head home on Sunday. Any suggestions would be most appreciated!

December birthday trip for senior %26amp; family

You can probably find a suitable concert at the Kimmel Center, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, Philly Pops (a program of holiday music during December), or a touring company of a Broadway show. www.kimmelcenter.org

All of the local theatre companies will have choices as well. Some the notable ones that always do excellent productions are the Arden Theatre, Walnut Street Theatre amd the Philadelphia Theatre Company. All have web sites, so Google them for their season offerings.

There are many good restaurants in the theater district, so our recommendations will depend on your budget and food preferences. Can you give us some guidance?

December birthday trip for senior %26amp; family

I would also consider tickets to the Nutcracker, if it meets your time frame and tastes. It runs a good part of December at various times, and is always a good show. Tickets sell fast for prime seats however...

www.paballet.org/calendar/index.aspx…

Thanks for the suggestions! Our group will include my parents, six middle-aged adults, one 20-something and three teens. We%26#39;d like to stay below $200/night for the hotel. My parents are not very adventurous diners (i.e. no Thai or Indian!) and while we%26#39;d rather spend less than more, we%26#39;d like either something elegant without being intimidating OR something fun and quirky. Does that help? :) Thanks again!

Just to confirm, I will assume you mean $200 per night PER ROOM :)

Maggianos would be an excellent choice near 12th and Arch. Family style italian, huge portions, reasonable prices. They are a chain, but its not obvious.

The Nutcracker is probably a good choice for the diverse age group. If you are there earlier in the month, the touring production of Legally Blonde will be in town. The Wilma Theater, a local theater company, will be staging a comedy ';Shmucks'; (Groucho Marks meets Lenny Bruce?) which could also be fun for the group, though, I might wait to see the reviews of it.