KIDS/SNEAK PEEK : PULL SOME STRINGS AND LET PUPPETS MAKE HOLIDAY MAGIC.

Byline: - Nancy Hewitt

Begin a holiday tradition by taking the family to see ``A Song for the Season,'' the annual holiday musical revue featuring the Steve Meltzer Puppets at the Santa Monica Puppet and Magic Center. The first show is 7:30 tonight.

Marionettes, ventriloquism and magic highlight this program of traditional and original holiday music. Shows are at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and matinees at 1 and 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets are $6 for all performances and include a tour of the museum and workshop after the show.

All performances are held at the center, 1253-B Third Street Promenade, Santa Monica. Information and reservations: [phone].

Spin to fame

If you're a kid 7 or older and would like to learn about the newest spinning maze craze - Spin Tech - then come to ZanyBrainy at 7 tonight.

You will learn basic skills in using the Spin Tech and how you could be chosen to attend the annual Toy Fair in New York City in February.

Stores are found in Thousand Oaks at Northgate Center, 111 S. Westlake Blvd., Suite 101, [phone]; Pasadena, Hastings Village, 3393 E. Foothill Blvd., [phone]; Valencia, Town Center Drive, 24201 Valencia Blvd., [phone].

One famous canine

Wishbone, canine star of the mystery television series of the same name, makes two public appearances Saturday.

At 11 a.m. he will meet and greet fans at Borders Books, Music & Cafe, 475 S. Lake Ave., Pasadena, [phone]. Then at 2:30 p.m., meet Wishbone at Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 160 W. Westlake Blvd., Thousand Oaks, [phone].

Trip to imagination

If you're age 3 to 8 and like fairy lore and fairy tales, then come to a fairy tea party hosted by author Marla Schram Schwartz at 11 a.m. Saturday at Pages Books for Children and Young Adults Inc.

Dressed in shimmering fairy garb, Schwartz will lead activities such as creating fairy kisses and other fairy treats, as well as autographing her new book, ``Fairy Fun.''

The $5 preregistration fee may be applied to the purchase of the book. The store is located at 18399 Ventura Blvd., Tarzana. Information and registration: [phone].

Holiday candles

Learn to create beeswax candles like those used by early California pioneers from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday at the Autry Museum of Western Heritage.

This activity is free with paid admission to the museum, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Los Angeles. Admission $7.50; seniors and students with ID $5; children 12 and under $3. Information and registration: [phone], Ext. 341.

Raptor review

Meet Science educator Molly Hogan and learn about raptors at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in the Discovery Center of the Natural History Museum.

This family fun day is free with paid admission to the museum, 900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles. Admission $8 adults; $5.50 students and seniors; $2 children ages 5 to 12; children under age 5 free. Information: [phone].

Legendary figure

Become better acquainted with the stage career of silent-film star William S. Hart when author Abraham Hoffman talks about the actor's early life at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Saugus Train Station in Hart Park.

Before Hart broke into movies at age 49, he spent more than a quarter-century with a touring company and on Broadway as a Shakespearean performer. Hoffman, who is writing a biography about Hart, has drawn from the archives at the Natural History Museum's Seaver Center for Western History Research to reveal this lesser-known period of Hart's career. Admission $7 museum members, $9 nonmembers. For information and reservations: [phone] or [phone]. Hart Park is located at 24151 N. San Fernando Road, Newhall.

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Photo

Photo: Wishbone, the star of the PBS children's series, appears Saturday at the Borders bookstore in Pasadena and at Barnes & Noble in Thousand Oaks.