Christmas is almost upon us, and what better way to get yourself into a cheerful holiday mood than with Dylan Thomas' dreamlike reverie, "A Child's Christmas in Wales," now playing at the Irish Repertory Theatre in New York?

Directed by Charlotte Moore, and featuring traditional music and songs, the show runs through January 4, and will send you home glowing with good will toward all.

"One Christmas was so much like another, in those years around the sea-town corner now and out of all sound except the distant speaking of the voices I sometimes hear a moment before sleep..." wrote Thomas in his hypnotic prose. You'll be hard pressed to resist the seasonal spell he casts.

Thomas' vivid memories of his Welsh childhood, from his early morning waking to his final sleep, are irresistible theater magic, and the Irish Rep's new show is interspersed with classic songs to celebrate the season.

Victoria Mallory, who first appeared on Broadway in two classic Stephen Sondheim musicals, joins the accomplished cast, and the production marks her welcome return to the New York stage. A singer this talented is worth the price of admission alone, and demand for tickets is already strong.

Performances of "A Child's Christmas in Wales" are Wednesday through Saturday at 8 p.m. and the matinees are performed on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday at 3 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased by calling 212-727-2737 or at the box office prior to the show. The Irish Rep is located at 132 West 22nd Street.

Uptown at the Irish Arts Center, 553 West 51st Street, the theater is presenting its annual Christmas show, "An Irish Christmas."

Featuring traditional musicians like Mick Moloney and Athena Tergis, the special guests include the acclaimed musician John Doyle, who's currently on break from his world tour with legendary folk singer Joan Baez.

Originally from Co. Limerick, Moloney is a tenor banjo player, singer and a professor of music and Irish Studies at New York University. He is also a performer of countless scores in documentary films, the author of "Far from the Shamrock Shore: The Story of Irish American History Through Song" and a recipient of the National Heritage Award.

Moloney knows Ireland and its traditions better than almost anyone alive, and you should not miss the all too rare chance to hear him perform in person.

Moloney is accompanied by Tergis, who began learning the violin and developing her quick ear for music at an early age. Frustrated by what she calls the strict interpretations of classical music, Tergis found her true voice in the freedom of traditional folk.

After completing a year and a half run with "Riverdance" on Broadway, Tergis built her own Sonic Arts Studios in 2001, a recording studio and record label based in Brooklyn.

Since then Tergis has toured and recorded with artists ranging from Moloney to Niamh Parsons, to sax player Clarence Clemons from the E-Street Band. She now lives in Italy. This concert marks also marks her welcome return to the New York stage.

Champion Irish dancer and teacher Niall O'Leary will perform on the bill that also includes Billy McComiskey (the all-Ireland accordion champion), Brendan Dolan (pianist), Dan Milner, and the Washington Square Harp and Shamrock Orchestra.

"An Irish Christmas" debuted last holiday season and features a different arrangement of special guests led by Moloney and Tergis, as they offer a combination of live music, song and dance in the Irish and Anglo-Celtic traditions. Throughout the program Moloney has prepared a truly eclectic mix of tunes ranging from the traditional to the contemporary, the Irish and Irish American, and sung in both Gaelic and English, to celebrate the season.

Many songs on the program, such as the ancient "The Wren," have their roots in the pre-Christian solstice tradition of Ireland and its mid-winter folklore, while others are firmly planted in the Irish American holiday season, including the absurdly catchy "Miss Fogarty's Christmas Cake," which was originally made popular in New York in the 1930's.

Sing-along choruses of "The Holly and the Ivy" and other more well-known seasonal favorites will delight audiences of all ages and will make this a surefire holiday favorite.

The final four performances of "An Irish Christmas" take place this weekend; Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m.

For tickets call 212-868-4444.