If you ate yourself into a food coma yesterday, the last thing on your mind is probably going out. But is there really a better way to work off those extra pounds than by getting up off the couch and moving? The holidays are officially here, so step away from the leftovers and let one of the following events kickstart the season.

While most malls have the standard cheesy/creepy Santa that your kids can get a picture with, we like one who is a bit more interactive and educational. Bring your kids to NorthPark for story time with Santa Claus. It’s at 10:30 a.m. today, through Dec. 23rd.

If you’re a history buff or would just like to know some more about our nation’s colorful past, local historian James V. Lee will  be signing his nonfiction works at the Lincoln Park Barnes & Noble on Saturday at 10 a.m.

As Dan mentioned here, University Park resident Christy Rost will be signing copies of her book Celebrating Home: A Handbook for Gracious Living, at noon on Saturday at Champagne’s Luxe.

Weekends at NorthPark are full of fun, family activities and performances during the holidays. The Christmas Celebration Children’s Choir will be performing at 1 p.m., Dallas Symphony Chorus will be performing at 2 p.m., and Emmy award-winning family entertainer David Chicken will be performing at 3 p.m. All performances are on Saturday in the NorthCourt.

If you’re a high school student, join Congregation Shearith Israel at Zinga Frozen Yogurt on Sunday at 2 p.m. for “ZoYo FroYo.” Fifteen percent of yogurt sales during this event will be donated to Zohar USY for Tikkun Olam.

The Jewish Community Center of Dallas is hosting an opening reception at 2 p.m. Sunday for social and political artist/activist Bernard Bortnick’s paintings.

If you’re like me and think that there are not many sounds more angelic than children singing, you may want to attend the children’s music program at Northaven United Methodist Church on Sunday at 4:30 p.m.

If you didn’t make it to Jesuit last weekend for their theater production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, you’ve still got two more chances to see it before it closes, at 7 p.m. tonight and Saturday. Purchase tickets here or at the door.

Although I’ve seen Legally Blonde more times than I like to admit, and although I’ve been known to bend and snap when the situation warrants it, I have yet to see the musical. I’ve heard it’s even more hilarious than the film, which isn’t hard to imagine because setting just about anything to music increases the comedic value. Hillcrest High School students perform the musical tonight and Saturday at 7 p.m.

Got some Xtremely Nergetic Kidz? Looking for an afternoon of Xtreme Ntertainment? head to NorthPark on Saturday when Debbie Day of Xtreme Kidz Ntertainment (it seriously pains me to spell those words like that!) will present “Poca Poca Ding Dong Wig Wam.” 2 p.m. in the North Court. I have no idea what type of presentation she’ll be putting on, but it sounds like it will be very Ntertaining.

Remember Project Runway Season 5′s breakout star, Korto Momolu? She’ll be here this weekend, hosting the Designers Choice Fashion Preview along with Page Parkes and Remi Ayodele, at the Dallas World Trade Center. The show, 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, will feature collections by local DFW designers and the proceeds will benefit W.T. White High School. Click here for more information and to purchase your ticket.

The Jewish Community Center of Dallas is hosting a fun, family event where you’re actually supposed to attend in your pajamas. Bring your kids and learn about the prayers Jews say upon rising from bed in the morning and before going to sleep each night, and decorate a pillowcase with Shema – the watchword of the Jewish faith. It’s 10:30 a.m., Sunday, at the Mankoff Center for Jewish Learning.

Congregation Shearith Israel will be hosting popular Jewish A Cappella group the Maccabeats live and in concert at 2 p.m. Sunday. Originally formed at Yeshiva University in NYC, they have travelled the world performing and have more than 10 million hits on their YouTube channel. Last year’s concert sold out early, and they only have a few tickets left, so purchase your tickets here while you still can.

Royal Lane Baptist Church is hosting an ecumenical Thanksgiving service at 5 p.m. Sunday. Participating churches include Royal Lane Baptist Church, Northaven UMC, Central Congregational Church and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. Singers and ministers from each church will be included in the service, and they will be collecting canned goods for North Dallas Shared Ministries.

Join Unity Church of Dallas at Sweet Basil Italian Bar & Grill at 6:30 p.m. Sunday for their “Young at Heart Potluck,” for a fun time of food and fellowship for couples over the age of 50.

The paint job on this Hyundai, which I saw at NorthPark this morning, is appropriate. You’d need to arrive at the mall in the middle of a starry night to get a parking spot this good.

Saturday is shaping up to be another family-friendly day at NorthPark Center. The Center Park garden will host a Sam’s Day event from noon to 3 p.m., and North Court will be the site of a Baby Loves Disco party from 1 to 4.

Want to drop a few pounds before consuming all that Halloween candy? You’ve got options. Billy Blanks Jr. is bringing his Dance With Me program back to the JCC. And the Town North YMCA will host its Fired Up 5K and Fun Run on Sunday.

Looking for something a bit slower? Then check out my favorite event of the weekend. To raise money for its sophomore class, W.T. White High School is hosting a Zombie Walk at 4 p.m. Saturday. Yes, a herd of decaying “walkers” will stumble around the campus; you’ve been warned. The cost to participate is $5, or $3 plus three cans of protein that can be donated to the North Texas Food Bank. We’re talking chicken, tuna, or salmon here, not human brains or flesh.

Hillcrest High School’s homecoming game against Spruce will kick off at 7:30 p.m. today. The pre-game festivities include a gathering of food trucks on Lakehurst Avenue at 4 p.m., an “Oscar Night” parade at 5:15 (one of the judges will be our own Georgia Fisher), and a tailgate party on the corner of Lakehurst and Airline Road. Win or lose, a post-game party is scheduled at Becks Prime.

Speaking of homecoming football, the Covenant Knights, who’ve won five straight games after a season-opening loss, will host Greenville Christian at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Meanwhile, at 2:30 p.m. — when, according to my calculations, the football game will still be going on — Covenant will host a dedication event for the campus’ first permanent indoor facility, the Carson Leslie Center.

Students from Ursuline, Jesuit, and Cistercian will stage three performances of Almost, Maine this weekend. If John Cariani’s comedic script about “good people doing good things” isn’t enough to grab you, perhaps you’ll be intrigued to see a set made of recycled materials, 50 percent of which was paper discarded on the Ursuline campus.

If you were planning on going anywhere near NorthPark Center on Saturday morning, and you weren’t planning on participating in the Komen Dallas Race for the Cure, well, that’s just a bad plan.

Finally, if you’re the father of a girl in kindergarten through fifth grade, you should take her to the Paradise Luau at the JCC on Sunday evening.

Did I miss anything of note? Sound off in the comments.

Cary Elwes and Robin Wright star in "The Princess Bride."

The Friends of the Northaven Trail have a pretty cool event scheduled for this evening: an outdoor screening of The Princess Bride. The classic film will be shown at approximately 7:30 at the trail’s St. Michael’s Respite, which is at the intersection of Lavendale and St. Michael’s. Picnic baskets are welcome, but I’m told that the Papa John’s in Preston Royal Village will give you a 30 percent discount if you call in a delivery order from the screening site.

Going to NorthPark on Saturday? You’ll have plenty to do besides shop. Beginning at 6 a.m., teams of architects will be stacking canned goods for the Canstruction event benefiting the North Texas Food Bank. That’s strictly for your viewing pleasure, but for hands-on fun, kids can help build an 8-foot Lego ninja in Macy’s Court. Building will happen between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, as well as between noon and 6 p.m. on Sunday.

Also on Saturday, the mall’s North Court will host back-to-back family-friendly performances. The Dallas Opera will perform Jack and the Beanstalk at noon, Critterman will present “Harry Potter Junior Safari” at 2, and Janette Breda will read The Adventures of Poppy and Scout at 3.

If you’d rather spend some time outdoors with your kids on Saturday (when the temperature is not supposed to pass 60 degrees), Dallas International School is hosting its Fall Carnival from 2 to 6 p.m.

On Sunday, the fresh-air fun continues with Food Truck Palooza at Temple Shalom.

I ain’t ever going back to d footlocker in north park mall …..that joint is very disapointin

— Delonte West (@CharleeRedz13) October 2, 2012

There are a million reasons why Delonte West is my favorite basketball player, probably of all time. There’s this. And this. And the fact that I had philosophy with him freshman year at Saint Joseph’s University.

When this man makes declarations, I listen. Delonte hasn’t yet explained his disappointment (Poor selection? Too much new-shoe smell? Won’t give him free shoes?), but whatever it is, IT’S VALID TO ME.

Consider yourself off my shopping list, Foot Locker at NorthPark.

True Food Kitchen will open early next year in the Plaza at Preston Center, anchoring the center’s newest building.

The restaurant — the seventh of the healthy-eating chain in the United States — will be based in the new five-story building that is wrapping construction in the coming months. Businesses are expected to open in the first quarter of 2013.

“The debut of True Food Kitchen will bring a new, fresh concept to Dallas diners from one of the most respected boutique restaurant companies in the U.S.,” said Mike Geisler, partner at Venture Commercial and the Plaza’s retail broker, in an email. “We welcome True Food Kitchen as the first new retail tenant in the new building, and we look forward to announcing more great tenants in the coming weeks.”

The new University Park Public Library will open above the restaurant around the same time.

This isn’t the first time True Food Kitchen has attempted a move into the Dallas market. Last year the company announced they were opening a location in NorthPark Center; no word on what killed that deal.

Clarification: Of the six robberies that have taken place at the shopping center this year, only three were confirmed armed robberies where a gun, knife, or an unknown object were used. As for the others; a suspect was unable to see the object pointed in her back, another included an assault, and one in February involved a robber taking a woman’s purse while getting into her car.

At 4:08 p.m., Saturday, a robber held a woman at gunpoint in a parking garage at NorthPark Center and stole a $200 tan purse, a $100 iPhone, $50 cash, a $40 sweater, a $16 mascara, Texas driver’s license, a set of keys, and her credit cards.

This was the sixth robbery at the shopping center this year.

Tuxedo-wearing gent and D Magazine editor Tim Rogers has brought this nugget of information about an article on the tech blog Gizmodo — Disclaimer: Saucy language used throughout — aptly titled Confessions from the Most Corrupt Apple Store in America.

Why should Dallas care about a large corporation that has countless stores across America?

This one’s supposedly at NorthPark. Dallas Morning News is confirming it, too.

It’s a long read which means there’s lots of juicy gossip about the seedy underbelly of Genius Bars.

Here’s a safe pull quote:

“ive used someone elses hard drive as a skateboard cause he told the store I smelled.”

— Ronald