Well this month we’re combining our usual 'what's on' around the region with some general reflections of yuletide or la Navidad in Spain.

Our plans for Christmas, such as they are, as we go to press in mid November, are shaping up to be very different from Christmas in the UK. I'm not religious and in truth have never been a huge fan of the UK style celebration of the birth of the infant Jesus, well bah humbug to that! Since being blessed with our children, I have mellowed somewhat, but since moving to Spain some 4 years ago I have learned that a Spanish Christmas is a joy. Truly, I have found it to be joyful. No commercial onslaught from October onwards, although I acknowledge this is changing, but in the main there is no huge pressure to buy unnecessary gifts for the kids - the Spanish do give gifts, but not on the scale of back home and not until the Night of the Magic Kings in early January. Instead, it will be a gradual build up from mid December of making plans, 'dekkies' up, stress-free shopping and no office parties! It feels like a celebration of family and community rather than an excuse to spend what we cannot afford and to drink too much.

On the Saturday evening before Christmas day, our village brass band will play in the village church; a mixture of traditional Spanish Christmas tunes, together with more popular numbers. Brass bands are magnificent - anybody who says otherwise is daft or a toff or both. Most of the villagers will be there and we might be the only non-Spaniards present. Look out for these events in your village or town. They are of course primarily religious but you will be welcomed as members of the community and they do have a special feeling.

The cities of our region are great places to be in the last week of Christmas. Both Murcia and Cartagena will have an atmospheric Christmas market and lights - check the cities' websites for details. Markets or not, my advice is to go over to either city on a busy evening, the Saturday before Christmas, ideally not with shopping in mind, but simply to sample the atmosphere.

So what other treats are there for Navidad?

Ceutimagina is an art and science centre situated in Ceutí, only 20 or so kilometres away from the capital, Murcia. Once an old canned foods factory, the building complex was completely renovated by the architect Fernando de Retes, resulting in a spectacular multi-purpose space. The centre brings art and science exhibitions from the most important museums around the world, and its programme changes every four to five months. Ceutimagina is for everyone. Its diverse programme attracts people of all ages and interests and has covered a variety of themes such as maths, optical illusions, dinosaurs, music, earth's fury, myths and monsters and colour. They have also displayed works of art from Goya, Salvador Dalí and the most important collection of 'Glass of the Avant-Garde' in the world. Children have learnt about the life and works of art of Picasso, Magritte, Leonardo da Vinci and Toulouse Lautrec. Ceutimagina is a hands-on museum, where people can touch, experience, learn, and better understand the world around us. At the moment the museum has a great exhibition for kids both young and those more wrinkly.

'Are we alone? The Science of Aliens' is a journey through four alien zones and into the furthest reaches of your imagination. Using a series of innovative interactives, get up-close and personal with some of the iconic objects from sci-fi culture and the come face-to-face with weird creatures that inhabit Earth. Enter the 'Alien Worlds' and discover creatures from another planet in unique hands-on environments and create your personal message to an Alien. Sounds great!