10 DAYS OF HOLIDAY ENTERTAINMENT : `NUTCRACKER' TO `SMASHING,' AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN.

OK, we know you're probably busy decking the halls with holly boughs, shopping for Hanukkah gifts or trying to plan the amount of insurance you'll need to cover the annual office party.

You're also trying to decide which of the gazillion ``Nutcrackers'' and ``Messiahs'' you'll drag your kids to for a treat, and where to spend those festive nights leading up to New Year's (if you're not too exhausted from wrapping presents).

We've been there, done that - and nearly went crazy.

That's why we're here to help. Here's our list of 10 events to catch between now and 1997. Call 'em the 10 days of Christmas, Kwaanza, whatever. We feel very open-minded at this time of year.

Happy holidays.

1 Fiesta Navidad, Veterans Wadsworth Theater, Wilshire Boulevard at San Vicente Boulevard, Westwood, 2 and 8 p.m. Dec. 28: From Mexico comes this traditional, family-oriented fete of music, dance and colorful theatrics. Beginning with the Fiesta of La Posada, a re-enactment of Joseph and Mary's pilgrimage to Bethlehem, the pageant also features music by the celebrated Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano troupe and an audience sing-along of traditional carols. Tickets are $9-$28. For tickets and showtimes, call [phone].

2 Charles Dickens' ``A Christmas Carol,'' Alex Theatre, 216 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale, Dec. 10-15: So you think you know Dickens' beloved classic of ghosts and goodwill, huh? Well, the classically minded theater company A Noise Within intends to do ``A Christmas Carol'' like it's never been done before, in what's being billed as ``a dark and frightening humanist exploration of one man's soul.'' Wow, we're shaking already. The production previews at the Lancaster Performing Arts Center (Dec. 5-7) and later transfers to the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center (Dec. 20-22). For tickets and showtimes, call [phone].

3 Mandy Patinkin in Concert, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Music Center of Los Angeles County, 135 N. Grand Ave., 8 p.m. Dec. 26-28: Mandy Patinkin isn't a doctor, but he plays one on TV (Dr. Jeffrey Geiger on CBS' ``Chicago Hope''). What his loyal TV fans may not know is how Patinkin uses his beautifully quavering tenor to turn a Broadway tune or a pop standard into a musical mini-drama. If you admire his acting, you owe it to yourself to savor his voice. Tickets are $15-$65. Call [phone].

4 Children's Hanukkah Celebration, Center Court, Santa Monica Place, between Second and Fourth streets in downtown Santa Monica, Dec. 8: Pack up the kids and head toward the beach for an afternoon of arts, crafts and commemorations. Begining at noon, children age 5 and up are invited to create their own menorahs and dreidels. Then at 3 p.m. they and their parents will gather for a community menorah lighting ceremony. All events are free. Call [phone].

5 ``The FA LA-LA-LA Follies (A Musical Mishmash of Holiday Mirth),'' Ventura Court Theatre, 12417 Ventura Court, Studio City, Nov. 22-Dec. 31: Presumably this show's title tells you everything you need to know. Suffice to say that one of the highlights is a tap-dance challenge between a Hanukkah bush and a Christmas tree. Tickets are $15. Call [phone].

6 ``The Nutcracker,'' presented by the West Valley Ballet Company of Performing Arts Institute at California State University, Northridge, Performing Arts Center, 18111 Nordhoff St., Dec. 7-22: This enterprising troupe advertises its ``Nutcracker'' as the ``lost English variation.'' Translation: Get ready for an unusually fast-paced production of the work that never pleased its composer, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, but has been embraced by generations. Tickets are $10-$12. For showtimes and to purchase tickets, call [phone].

7 ``The Nutcracker,'' San Francisco Ballet, Pasadena Center, 300 E. Green St., Dec. 12-24: Performed by America's oldest professional ballet company, this ``Nutcracker'' bears the choreographic imprint of the esteemed William Christensen, Lew Christensen and Helgi Tomasson and promises to be one of the most visually resplendent ever to visit our area. Tickets are $21-$61. Call [phone] to order or [phone] for information.

8 ``Stories of the Season,'' Gascon Center Theatre, 8735 Washington Blvd., Culver City, Dec. 5-22: Long before the birth of Christ, the winter solstice was a time when people gathered to tell stories, share blessings and reaffirm the myths that bound their cultures together. That spirit endures in this intimate celebration. The versatile cast stands ready to perform 10 different tales; the audience gets to pick five. So get ready to pick a package and tear into it. Tickets are $18.50. Call [phone].

9 ``The Harlem Nutcracker,'' Wiltern Theatre, 3790 Wilshire Blvd., Dec. 27-29: The story line is by Tchaikovsky, the score is by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, and the setting is Harlem in its renaissance heyday of the 1930s. And the choreographer? Who else but Donald Byrd, who sets his new interpretation at a dance pit reminiscent of the Cotton Club. Byrd, who started Donald Byrd/The Group in Los Angeles in 1978, brings to the production the conceptual daring and technique he honed while studying and/or performing with such artists as Twyla Tharp and the Alvin Ailey Dance Center. Tickets are $11-$35. For tickets and information, call [phone].

10 ``A Smashing Christmas,'' presented by the Cambridge Singers and members of the Little Symphony of Pasadena, Pasadena Presbyterian Church, 555 E. Colorado Blvd., 3 p.m., Dec. 8: We just liked the sound of this one, though parents may be glad that sound isn't occurring in their own living rooms. This concert of holiday music features everything and anything that can be ``beaten, struck, pounded or plucked,'' including piano, harp, guitar, glockenspiels, drums, marimbas, cymbals, chimes and triangles. It's free, though you'll have to provide your own earplugs. Call [phone].

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos

Photo: (1) America's oldest professional ballet company, the San Francisco Ballet, performs ``The Nutcracker'' Dec. 12-24 at the Pasadena Center.

(2) Celebrate a traditional Mexican Christmas with ``Fiesta Navidad'' at the Veterans Wadsworth Theater.

(3) A beloved holiday ballet gets a contemporary twist from choreographer Donald Byrd in ``The Harlem Nutcracker,'' at the Wiltern Theatre.