Our cultural countdown to Christmas… Today, free films and screen-printing at Manchester Jewish Museum, plus spice and colour at the new Tampopo.

We’ve been mighty impressed by Manchester Jewish Museum’s new events programme; it prompted a proper exploration of the surrounding area’s best food, shops, things to do, sites and walks, all to be found in our guide to the museum. On the festive calendar is Chrismukkah, a mash-up of Christmas and Hanukkah that, in the Jewish Museum’s case, translates to a hands on print-making workshop and a screening of Steven Spielberg’s animation classic An American Tail. Both will be rather wonderful things to do amid the museum’s unusual surrounds – with the film telling the feel-good tale of a young Russian mouse’s adventures in America as he tries to find his family. Aawww. Happy Chrismukkah, Manchester Jewish Museum, 13 December, 12pm-4pm (drop-in workshop 12pm-4pm; film screening 2pm-3.20pm, registration required), free

A Christmas and Hanukkah mash-up and spicy small plates at the new Tampopo

Head down Cheetham Hill from the Jewish Museum and back into town, and you’re only about 15 minutes away from the newly revamped Corn Exchange. The Manchester-based Tampopo is our top pick here: this branch is new as new can be, opening on 4 December, and will be rolling out a special menu of small plates to give folks a chance of tasting even more cuisine from across six different countries. They include Japanese style sticky wings, Thai mussels, Singaporean Laksa soup and Vietnamese spring rolls, all of which sound immense. There’s also a new cocktail menu and opportunities for private dining – plus we’re promised bamboo, greenery and exotic flowers in abundance, as well as intricate tiling and lanterns. A bit of heat and colour amidst the cold of December. Tampopo opens 4 December, Corn Exchange