Milk and cookies: The San Diego LGBT Community Center will screen the award-winning film, Milk and provide cookies, coffee, tea and more at 7 p.m. Milk is a 2008 American biographical film on the life of GLBT rights activist and politician Harvey Milk. A $5 donation is requested to attend the event. The Center is located at 3909 Centre St. in Hillcrest. For more information, call 619-692-2077, ext. 212 or e-mail aschwartz@thecentersd.org.

Reindeer monologues: The Compass Theatre will perform The Eight: Reindeer Monologues at 7:30 p.m. The Eight: Reindeer Monologues is a dark Christmas comedy that starts at the North Pole when one of Santa’s eight reindeer accuses him of sexual harassment. As mass media descend, the other reindeer demand to share their stories and a hilarious and horrific tale of corruption and perversion emerges, which seems to implicate everyone from the littlest elf to the tainted saint himself. The Compass Theatre is located at 3704 6th Ave. in Hillcrest. For more information, call 619-688-9210 or visit www.compasstheatre.com.

DJ Joe Gauthreaux: DJ Joe Gauthreaux will perform at Spin at 9 p.m. New York DJ Joe Gauthreaux spins a diverse musical landscape that includes, soulful funk, progressive rhythms, tribal drums, disco house and melodic, driving trance. Spin is located at 2028 Hancock St. in Mission Hills. For more information, call 629-299-2583 or visit www.spinnightclub.com.

Lady Gaga: Lady Gaga will perform at the San Diego Sports Arena at 7 p.m. Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta aka Lady Gaga is an American singer/musician known for her hits “Just Dance” and “Poker Face”. She is perhaps even more famous for her over-the-top style: Kermit the frog jackets, granny panties and gimp masks. Her influences include pop singers Michael Jackson and Madonna, as well as glam rock stars such as David Bowie and the band Queen. The San Diego Sports Arena is located at 3500 Sports Arena Blvd. in Point Loma. For more information, call 619-225-8529 or visit www.sandiegoarena.com.

Family Matters’ holiday party: Family Matters will host a family holiday party at The Center from 4-7 p.m. Parents, bring the kids and join Family Matters for a holiday party. kids will make holiday gifts for their parents and volunteers will help with the wrapping. The event will feature a menorah, a holiday tree and a visit from Santa. A Mexican fiesta will be served at 4 pm. Organizers ask that each family bring their favorite holiday sweets to share for dessert. RSVP is required. The Center is located at 3909 Centre St. in Hillcrest. For more information, call 619-692-2077, ext. 121 or e-mail jschmoll@thecentersd.org.

Special Delivery benefit: We R Family will host a fundraiser for Special Delivery at Redwing Bar & Grill from 6-9 p.m. The benefit will feature door prizes, drink specials, a 50/50 raffle and a silent auction. Special Delivery delivers nutritious meals to people living with AIDS and other life-threatening illnesses. We R Family is an online Web store that sells gay-pride merchandise. For more information, call 619-282-1692 or visit www.wrfstore.com.

‘Sight & Sound’: Walk the Walk presents Sight & Sound at Architecture from 7 p.m. to midnight. Sight & Sound will feature performances by Shark Attack and Satanic Puppeteer Orchestra, an interactive art installation and sculpture display by Newfangled Collective and video art by Christian Michaels and Greg Lloyd. MC Flow will host the event. Proceeds will benefit the Green Scene Gallery. The event is $5 online or at the door. Architecture is located at 3956 30th St. in North Park. For more information, visit www.walkthewalkpresents.com.

Whale and dolphin watching: Hornblower Cruises will host a whale and dolphin watching cruise at 9:30 a.m. and again at 1:30 p.m. The cruise is a three and a half hour whale watching adventure, narrated by an experienced captain. Boarding begins 15 minutes before the cruise leaves. Adult admission is $37 with discounts from children and seniors. The cruise is located at South Broadway Float, one block south of the Hornblower Ticket Booth on Harbor Drive in Downtown. For more information, visit www.hornblower.com or call 1-888-Hornblower.

Tara Donovan: The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD) will exhibit a survey of artist Tara Donovan’s work from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Donovan is known for her sculptural installations that are based on the physical properties and capabilities of a single accumulated material. Donovan uses items including electrical cable, adding machine paper, straight pins, paper plates and toothpicks and arranges them in a manner that often mimics geological or biological forms. The exhibit is inside MCASD’s Jacobs Building located at 1100 Kettner Blvd. in Downtown. For more information, call 858-454-3541 or visit www.mcasd.org.

Ice-skating: Ice skate outdoors at Horton Square from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Skating sessions last two hours. Admission is $12 for adults. Fee includes skate rental. Horton Square ice-skating is located at 225 Broadway Circle, across from Horton Plaza, in Downtown. For more information, call 619-234-1031 or visit www.sdice.com/horton.

Tchaikovsky’s ‘Nutcracker’: The California Ballet Company will perform Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker at the San Diego Civic Theatre at 2:30 p.m. The Nutcracker is a fairy tale-ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, composed in 1891–92 and based on E.T.A. Hoffman’s The Nutcracker and the King of Mice. The ballet tells the story of a young German girl who dreams of a Nutcracker Prince and a fierce battle against a Mouse King with seven heads. Admission starts at $25. The San Diego Civic Theatre is located at 1100 3rd Ave. in Downtown. For more information, call 619-570-1100 or visit www.sdcivic.org.

Poinsettia Bowl: Qualcomm Stadium will host the fifth annual Poinsettia Bowl at 5 p.m. This year’s bowl will feature the University of Utah’s Utes competing against the University of California Berkeley’s Golden Bears. Tickets start at $38. Qualcomm Stadium is located at 9449 Friars Rd. in Mission Valley. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 619-220-TIXS or visit www.sandiego.gov/qualcomm.

Kathy Griffin: D-list superstar Kathy Griffin will sign her new memoir at Warwick’s Bookstore at 8 p.m. Writing with her trademark wit, in A Memoir According to Kathy Griffin, the feisty comic settles a few old scores, celebrates the friends and mentors who helped her claw her way to the top and shares insider gossip about celebrity behavior—the good, the bad, and the very ugly. In order to have a book signed, at least one copy must be purchased from Warwick’s. Warwick’s Bookstore is located at 7812 Girard Ave. in La Jolla. For more information, call 858-454-0347 or visit www.warwicks.com.

Holiday of Lights: The Del Mar Fairgrounds will host Holiday of Lights from 5:30-11 p.m. The Holiday of Lights at the Del Mar Fairgrounds is a spectacular drive-through light show and the largest holiday lighting display on the West Coast. This San Diego tradition contains more than 400 crowd-pleasing, family-oriented displays, accompanied by holiday tunes. Tickets are $14 per car for up to five people, and $19 per car for six people or more. The Del Mar Fairgrounds is located at 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd. in Del Mar. For more information, visit www.sdfair.com/holidayoflights or call 858-755-1161.