FEELING blue because there's nothing to do at Christmas? Got the hump because nobody's invited you to any good parties on New Year's Eve? Don't despair, there's plenty happening this holiday season to get you into the festive mood. Music, movies and more - there are entertainers and organisers out there who have come to the party to wrap up 1994. Tonight: John F Kennedy presents his John Kennedy and Friends Urban and Western X'mas Show at the Fringe Club from 8 pm. Joining him are friends May Ip, in one of her last Hong Kong performances, Shadowboxers Gerard and John and Suzie Wilkins, who will all be presenting their favourite Christmas songs, with a twist. Recently returned from a concert tour in Germany, John Kennedy will be strumming and singing a selection of pop, country, folk and rock songs. Ticket prices are $80 and $60 for students. The Jazz Club is blowing up a storm this holiday season, only resting on its Christmas laurels on Sunday. Tonight Dominique Le Vac takes to the stage. The Arts Centre is holding a Christmas Carols evening tonight at its regular Friday night outdoor cafe setting in its front garden area. Music students from the Academy For The Performing Arts are this evening's talent. Splash It About play Portico at Citibank Plaza in Central tonight. Mothership, now with a nine-piece line-up, play LA Cafe tonight from 11 pm. Free admission. Captain Mabullah play the newly opened Bahama Mama's, whose claim to fame is being the first Caribbean-style beach bar in Hong Kong, at Tsim Sha Tsui. Happy hour and live music from 6 pm. Bambi and his band Nothing Heavy will be playing in the Wanch tonight at 10pm. The Lobby Lounge in the Conrad Hotel has been attracting a jazz and blues crowd of late with visiting jazz trio, Roscoe and Co. They play in the foyer bar between 5 pm and 9 pm tonight, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The Tony Carpio Quartet will also be playing on these nights between 9 pm and 1 am. John 'Buddy' Connor is mixing sweet jazz refrains with easy listening blues at Quo quo's throughout the holiday period. Tomorrow: Mickey Smith is turning back the clock for The Return of Shaft, a fun and funky fancy dress 70s night at The Viceroy, 10 pm until late. Mickey and Joel Lai will spin the Christmas Eve discs for this back-to-the-70s rave up. The Return of Shaft is a new impromptu club which will be running throughout '95, at venues and dates to be announced. Jazz Club Friends will set a festive mood at The Jazz Club, while Captain Mabullah play F-Stop in Lan Kwai Fong, 10pm-midnight. This busy band will then be on stage at Judgement AD from 12.30 pm. Matchbox play Portico. And Bambi and his band Nothing Heavy will be at the Kowloon Bull And Bear from 10 pm. The Fringe Club is keeping the Christmas theme going tomorrow night with Christmas Eve at The Fringe, 8.30 pm to 10 pm, with Christmas songs from a cappella singing group, Tapestry, a string quartet. David Quah will be on piano. At 10.30 pm the Fringe Club's regular Saturday Night Open Mike gets underway. Free admission to the bar for both events. On Monday the Jazz Club reopens with a Musical Mystery Tour. A special Boxing Day party is being held at Yin Yang. The fun dance party, in the tradition of Jealous Bitch and hosted by Siren, will last from 10 pm until dawn. On Tuesday the soul jazz ensemble Ube take to the Jazz Club stage and on Wednesday the Victoria Jazz Band play there. On Wednesday you can catch The Through Train at Le Bar Bat, where you don't always have to be a member to get in the door, depending on how crowded it is with members and guests. The three-member Through Train play hard bop jazz of the 50s and 60s between 10 pm and 1 am. Hard working Ube are back before the crowds at Le Bar Bat on Thursday night, also from 10 pm to 1 am. These two performances are the last in the Lan Kwai Fong bar's jazz series. At the Jazz Club, Eugene Pao Group plays Thursday. A CHRISTMAS remake from the creator of The Breakfast Club, the Home Alone movies and others, John Hughes - Miracle on 34th Street - opens today in Hong Kong. It stars Sir Richard Attenborough as the Santa who makes this Christmas a special one, putting meaning back into the commercial day. Miracle on 34th Street is screening at the Windsor Cinema. Also opening today is the Walt Disney classic, Aristocats, the animated feature originally released in 1970 about a family of French felines who are named the heirs to their mistress's millions. The Aristocats is screening at Tuen Mun and Yuen Long theatres, UA Sha Tin and Columbia Classics. Running until next Saturday is a special film programme at the Arts Centre, Truffaut - The Man In Love With Women. French director Francois Truffaut died 10 years ago at the age of 52. During his 25-year career he made more than 20 feature films and several short ones. Screening on December 27 and 31 is Shoot the Pianist, a 1960 film starring Charles Aznavour; on December 26 and 29 is Jules and Jim, with Oskar Werner; on December 27 and 30 is Stolen Kisses ; on December 28 is Two English Girls and the Continent ; on December 26 and 21 is The Man Who Loved Women; on December 23 and 27 is The Last Metro with Gerard Depardieu and Catherine Deneuve; The Woman Next Door, starring Depardieu, screens on December 26 and 31; and Confidentially Yours! screens on December 30. ON New Year's Eve most of your favourite bars will be heaving, but if you'd like something more than a beer and a balloon, here are a few thoughts on how to spend that big night of the year. The Rebirth of Cool at Cossacks Vodka Bar in the Ritz Carlton Hotel sets a groovy mood for the new year with a New Year's Eve party, 10 pm to 6 am, admission $200. DJs Mickey Smith and Joel Lai spin the discs. JJs disco in the Grand Hyatt is throwing a Night At The Oscars party, with hostess Siren making sure the event is bigger than Ben-Hur, as they say in showbiz. Inspired by movie epics, JJs will be decked out in a series of sound stages. And Siren tells us there will definitely be an Oscar up for grabs on the night. It costs $420 to get in the door, including a glass of champagne. There is also a $850 set dinner. You could see the New Year in with a bang, courtesy of the Demon Drummers - Ondekoza - of Japan. With its origins in traditional Japanese puppet theatre, the massive drums are hit by very fit men wearing not a lot. They'll be performing at the Cultural Grand Theatre on December 30 and 31 at 7:30 pm. Ticket prices range from $70 to $140 and are available through Urbtix. If the idea of something totally appeals, you could head for The Peninsula. Besides the usual hotel set dinners at Christmas and New Year's Eve, there's the Peninsula Bar, where Derick Lewis will tinkle away at the piano from 9 pm; there's a $500 cover charge. If you missed the grand launch a few weeks ago, you could make your way to the lobby of the Peninsula for their Carnival where the Nonoy Lopez Big Band will fiesta the night away from 8 pm. Tickets, $1,680. You can also drop in after 1 am for $300. It is possible to have a cheap and cheerful New Year's Eve - Countdown 95, the Urban Council-organised party in Victoria Park gets underway at 8.30 pm with a theme of music, fireworks and fun. Expected to be the biggest New Year's Eve party in Hong Kong and with an expected turnout of 40,000, entertainment includes American band Up With People, a futuristic fashion show and lots of local celebrities and booths stretched out over six football pitches. One warning - no alcohol allowed. Admission, $25. The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra presents Glorious Sounds for New Year's Eve at the Cultural Centre Concert Hall. The programme includes classical music from Mozart and Strauss, plus some sing-a-long favourites from Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Lowe, Bernstein and Gershwin. American Pamela Hinchman is the guest soprano. Tickets are from $35 to $210 and are available through Urbtix.
