Saturn and Venus will be in conjunction in early February in the early evening skies. Venus is that bright 'star' you see in the west during this time in early 1996. By February 1, they will be 1.3 degrees apart. This is worthy of a photograph using fast film and a telephoto lens at a few seconds exposure. Earth passes through the ring plane of Saturn in early 1996 so its rings will not be seen with a small telescope, making its identification as a planet only slightly tricky. It will still have a recognizable disk.
Mercury is an early morning object seen just before sunrise near the eastern point on the horizon where the Sun rises.