Five Things to do on Christmas Day

Christmas can mean hanging around with friends and family you haven't seen in ages, and gastronomic delight to the point of gluttony. And if all goes to plan you get the day off from feeling any guilt about it, too.

But if you're in town on holiday, grew up in a Christmas-free tradition or are otherwise disinterested in the big day, you might find yourself looking for something to help fill an otherwise quiet afternoon. To help, Concrete Playground has put together this brief guide of things to do on Christmas Day if you don't have a party of your own to go to.

1. Lunch in Chinatown

Most of Sydney shuts down for Christmas Day. A lot of Chinatown stays open. A mainstay of the Haymarket Christmas lunch is yum cha at the Marigold, whose holiday dining room may be only slightly less packed than its usual state of chockers. If the Marigold isn't your thing, a stroll around its smaller competitors along Sussex or Dixon Streets may turn up something more to your taste.

The Marigold, Level 5, 683 George St

2. Movies

The beaches are always open, and if the weather stays in that glorious middle range then our Beach Guide might be just the thing. But if it's just too crushingly hot, or if this summer's early impression of a British winter weather carries on to Christmas, then the climate controlled calm of the movie-theatre may be the best option. Due in cinemas by Christmas are Lars Von Trier's Melancholia and the Pixar-heritaged Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, giving you at least two aperitifs to settle your filmic plate before the celluloid banquet of the Boxing Day release schedule.

Cinemas everywhere.

3. Street Art

Big galleries may be closed, but street art is keeps up its all hours viewing. If you missed the Laneway Art at Art and About, you'll find it's still open along with companion street art show Streetware 2011. These shows are easy to see, and no other day offers such an empty, calm and uninterrupted viewing. If you've long past had a go at both already, then the Queen Street Gallery in Glebe is an ongoing solo exhibition by sculptor Hilik Mirankar, who has talked his neighbours into hosting his intricate wooden sculpture on their front porches, with visitors welcome to sidle serenely by the art out front, while residents celebrate their Christmases inside.

Laneway Art and Streetware are in Skittle Lane, Bridge Lane, Mullins Street & Market Row, Tank Stream Way, Bulletin Place and in South Sydney alleyways. The Queen Street Gallery runs the length of Queen Street, Glebe.

4. The Zoo

Animals either never get a time off, or every day off, depending how you see it. You can take advantage of their zookeepers' equally unwavering work ethic by joining them and their charges for a day of giraffe ogling, jaunts through nocturnal enclosures or a ponder of Happy Feet around the penguin enclosure. The Zoo's new tiger cubs may decide to make an appearance, or take the Sky Safari over it all and gaze at the spectacular harbour views.

Taronga is open 9-5 on Christmas Day.

5. Wayside Chapel Christmas Day Street Party

If you're missing out on Christmas by circumstance, not by choice, the Wayside Chapel puts on a Christmas with an open invitation. Their Street Party fills a dual obligation: it provides food, gifts and a welcome to those in financial need, but it also welcomes anyone feeling the need to dip into a borrowed community for this one day when the maddening crowds completely disappear. You can join their service if you feel devotional, but the main offer here is a drop-in Christmas for those without one: meals, a street party, music and some good company that you might not normally keep.

The Wayside Chapel, from 9.30am. Volunteer positions for the party are full this year, but you can always donate to the party's wish list of donations, attending or not.

Most, but not all, public transport will be running to Sunday or weekend timetables. Ferries are doing their own thing. If you're planning to drive into the CBD for a day of easy parking, remember parking meters are still around on public holidays.

If Christmas is an especially rough time of the year for you, and the Wayside's fabulous do isn't help enough, you might want to contact SANE Australia or talk to your local GP or health professional. Image of xiao long boa by avlxyz. Image of cinema by bfdingo. Image of tiger by Tambako the Jaguar. Image of christmas cracker by foilman.