Christmas Cinema: Elf

Thinktank is bringing Elf to the big screen on Saturday 5 December, as part of their Christmas Cinema programme. It's a cinema-style screening of the holiday classic, and the venue has billed the whole thing as 'Cinema under the stars'.

The screening takes place inside the planetarium's 360° dome on Level 3 of the Thinktank Birmingham Science Museum, rather than in a traditional cinema. The museum describes the dome as sparkling with cosmic cheer, where twinkling stars meet holiday magic, so you'll be watching the film surrounded by the planetarium's star-filled ceiling. It's a bit of a different way to see a movie, especially one as bright and loud as this.

As for the film, it's the one most of us know by heart: Buddy the Elf, raised by elves at the North Pole, heads to New York City to find his father and ends up spreading cheer, chaos and Christmas spirit across the city in the process. It's a festive favourite that works just as well on a big screen as it does on the telly, and the planetarium setting adds a bit of extra occasion to it.

Practical details: it's on Saturday 5 December, and you can arrive from 4pm, with the film starting promptly at 4:30pm. The session is rated PG, and pre-booking is essential because places are limited. If you're planning to go, it's worth getting your tickets sorted early rather than leaving it to the day.