Another Bay Area tradition will be returning this year as Caltrain’s festive Holiday Train rolls through Peninsula stations on Dec. 4 and 5. The train, kept on ice last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, is decorated with more than 75,000 lights and brings a lot of smiles at every stop.

Of course, there’ll be entertainment at each station, as Santa Claus stops by to greet kids and families with other costumed characters and performers. His elves also will be accepting donations of toys to be distributed to kids who might otherwise go without this year. The Holiday Train departs from San Francisco each day at 4 p.m. and will stop in Redwood City, Mountain View, Sunnyvale and Santa Clara on Dec. 4 and Millbrae, Burlingame, San Mateo and Menlo Park on Dec. 5.

As usual, no one is allowed to board the train — all the fun stuff happens on the platforms — but face coverings are required for anyone attending because it’s at a public transportation facility. You can check out the complete schedule at www.holiday-train.org.

GET ON BOARD THIS TOY DRIVE: With Christmas in the Park back at downtown San Jose’s Plaza de Cesar Chavez, the Toys For Tots Stuff the Bus toy drive is also making its return on Dec. 4. The event is a partnership between the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and VTA, which provides the aforementioned bus that gets filled with new, unwrapped toys.

You can drop off donations between 9 a.m. at 5 p.m., and there will be a drive-thru lane set up on the northbound side of Market Street, near the former Fairmont Hotel. After being forced to take a year off, it would be great to see this campaign come back strong — and it’s not a bad way to start a new family tradition.

SNOW BUSINESS: It’s been quite a year for CMT San Jose, which moved into an impressive new facility and had to keep performers, parents and audiences engaged all during a pandemic. The youth theater company — still led by Artistic Director Kevin Hauge and Managing Director Dana Zell — is on firm footing for its 54th season, which opens this weekend with “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas” at the Montgomery Theatre in downtown San Jose.

The classic Christmas musical is a Marquee Production, which means the cast has younger performers, CMT alumni and other adult actors, and for this production that includes David Mister, James Creer, Joy Osborne, Elizabeth Santana and Shannon Self. “White Christmas” will run for six performances Dec. 3-5, followed by five more shows Dec. 9-12. You can check out schedule and ticket information — along with the rest of CMT San Jose’s season — at www.cmtsj.org.

DECKING THE HALLS: Singer-songwriter Ren Geisick will be back for the seventh annual Ren’s Winter Wonderland at City Lights Theater Company on Dec. 5 and 12. The jazz/blues/country artist performed her holiday show virtually last year, but it’ll be a real treat to see her in person again. And the two shows will be slightly different, so you could go to both — or watch the Dec. 12 performance on a livestream. Tickets are being sold only in advance, so head to www.cltc.org to put them on your shopping list.

Meanwhile, Tabard Theatre’s getting into the holiday spirit, too, with “A Merry Little Christmas Cabaret,” running Dec. 10-19. Doug Baird is directing the show about a record executive in 1964 who decides to goose sales with a Christmas album that has to be recorded in sunny Los Angeles in July. Well, with the weather we’ve been having lately, it could have been San Jose in December. The Nineteen Jazz Orchestra, led by Gus Kambeitz, is providing the music for the show. Check out the dates and tickets at www.tabardtheatre.org.

Speaking of dates, I got mine crossed up when I wrote about the San Jose State Jazz Orchestra’s “Cool Yule” show at the Hammer Theatre Center. It’s happening Dec. 7 at 7:30 p.m., and you can still get tickets at hammertheatre.com.