The end of the year marks the return of eggnog and latkes, gifting and regifting — and holiday-themed shows to bask in tradition, communal spirit and, yes, fun. In New York, we can always count on well-timed offerings on stages of all sizes.

One of the biggest, the Marquis Theater, is hosting “Elf the Musical” (through Jan. 4) in which Grey Henson gets the title role “delightfully, entirely right,” according to Laura Collins-Hughes’s review for The New York Times. And then, at the cavernous Theater at Madison Square Garden, Whoopi Goldberg’s Miss Hannigan will do her darnedest to prevent the darling orphan girls of “Annie” from enjoying Christmas at Oliver Warbucks’s mansion (Dec. 4-Jan. 4, with Goldberg joining the cast on Dec. 11).

In the middle is the Big Apple Circus, which once again pitched its tent in Damrosch Park at Lincoln Center. The company members may come from all over the globe, but the new show, “Hometown Playground,” is about New York City (through Jan. 5). And don’t overlook the jewel box New Victory Theater, which is presenting “Yuletide Factory” (through Dec. 29) by Cirque Mechanics, a Las Vegas troupe with, as Alexis Soloski described it in her review, “a giddily steampunk aesthetic.”

And there is more, so much more — with some selections from around the country because New York can’t have all the fun.

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