Things to Do with Kids

For parents who grew up going to the Holidazzle Parade and then Village, introduce your kids to Winterapolis!

Embrace the season and explore all the different events around Minneapolis through December! See the calendar here.

Various, around the Twin Cities

🎄🎄 Step into a sparkling winter wonderland and stroll along tree-lined paths aglow with thousands of twinkling lights. Discover festive displays throughout the Zoo and look for animal residents, including flamingos, black bears and reindeer, adding to the holiday magic!

*Some nights, even catch Santa and get some photos!

Get member and non-member tickets here! 4-pack discounts available (online only): save when you purchase four tickets together—perfect for families and friends!

Stone Zoo

149 Pond Street

Stoneham, MA 02180

Get Directions

Lightscape is coming to the SF Botanical Gardens this year!

This one-of-a-kind, immersive light and music experience will transform the Garden into a mesmerizing world of wonder, food and beverages, and more than one million twinkling lights. Stroll through a mile-long trail of dazzling lights, dramatic colors, otherworldly lighted sculptures, and water features – right in the heart of San Francisco.

Get your tickets here!

San Francisco Botanical Garden

1199 9th Avenue

San Francisco, CA 94122

‍Directions

Join the Waterdrinker Farm this season to experience thousands of twinkling lights, a vintage Airstream village, Christmas tree farm, s'mores fire pit stations, and magical holiday photo opps! Ice skating is even included!

Tickets are $20 per person, kids 2 and under are free! Animals (on leash) welcome.

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664 Wading River Rd.

Manorville, NY 11949

Join the Countdown to Kindergarten's Playgroup, hosted by the Boston Public Library on Mondays and Wednesdays!

From October 2025 to June 2026, every week, you and your child can practice school readiness, make new friends, and get connected to community resources. Kids will experience free play, circle time, and Story Time, and grownups will learn about early childhood development!

Please fill out an interest form and a playgroup leader will reach out to you to join a group. If you have any questions, call Antonio Mendez at (617) 821-3959 or Laura Mejia at (617) 308-1098.

Mattapan Library

1350 Blue Hill Ave

Mattapan MA 02126

Get Directions

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Catch this local vendor market at Waterdrinker Farms this season to get in the spirit!

Activities include:

• U-PICK Christmas Trees (Free to enter)
• Holiday Light Display
• Barnyard Animals
• Fire Pits & S'mores
• JUMP PAD (Weather Permitting)
• Mini Golf
• Obstacle Course
• Pedal Cars
• Wooden Playland
• Gingerbread Village
• Giant Santa Sleigh & Reindeer
• Giant Photo Wreath!
• Tons of Family Photo Opportunities!

Tickets are $20 per person, kids 2 and under are free! Animals (on leash) welcome.

664 Wading River Rd.

Manorville, NY 11949

Experience the history of Christmas festivities at Old Sturbridge Village! Relish old traditions and create new ones as you watch demonstrations of classic Christmas projects, stroll through the decorated Village and Christmas Tree Trail, listen to stories and live music, sample sweet treats, and more.

Plus, embark on a musical journey through the 19th century with Upon a Midnight Clear: An Acoustic New England Christmas presented by ClockJack Productions.

Hosted every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from November 28 to December 30. If you're a superfan and decide to go multiple times during the holiday season, check out their Candlelight Club pass!

Old Sturbridge Village

1 Old Sturbridge Village Road

Sturbridge, MA 01566

Join Good Pickin' Farm every Saturday from November 28 to December 21 for their Farm Festival of Lights! 🎄

Events include:

• Holiday lights & displays
• Hayrides
• A petting zoo
• Christmas Tree sales
• Breweries & food
• Live music
• Pony rides
• Storytime
• And more!

Good Pickin' Farm

5 Gould Rd

Westford MA 01886

Middle and high school students, come indulge in an evening of mathematical (and parent-free!) fun at the National Museum of Mathematics mix-n-mingle program.  

Explore dynamic exhibits and enjoy fun, hands-on mathematical activities designed with you in mind. Vibe with a peer group that thinks math is cool, and don’t miss the chance to boogie down on New York City’s only interactive, light-up Voronoi dance floor. And enjoy boundless cookies and hot cocoa!

The topic this session will be “Cracking the Brain’s Code with Mathematics.”

This is a free event! Register here!

*BONUS FOR PARENTS: After you drop your kiddos off, grab food in the area with these discounts!

225 Fifth Avenue

New York, NY 10010

Celebrating Hanukkah with little ones and looking to get them into the spirit? Join Ziva the cat as she goes back to the time of the first Hanukkah to recover the missing letters on her dreidel! You’ll meet Judah Meowcabee, Oliver the olive oil maker, and a cast of other wonderful cat characters who help Ziva solve the mysterious connection between the dreidel letters, the Hanukkah story, and the way the game of dreidel is played.

Stay after the show to meet the artist and see the puppets up close!

Plus, enjoy a dress-up station and coloring sheets! These activities are available after every performance, twice a day. Tickets are $18/person, get them here!

All ages welcome, especially enjoyed by ages 2 – 9
Length: 40 minutes

32 Station St.      

Brookline, MA 02445

Celebrate the season at Wachusett Mountain with a screening of ‘The Polar Express’ cozied up in the Granite Room. Bring home a Christmas craft from the Letters to Santa Station, or get your Polar train ticket punched for a special reward.

Don’t forget a photo for the Christmas card – Santa will be on the heated bench by the O’Brien’s patio with warm hot cocoa to share.

Admission is free for Wachusett skiers and riders!

Schedule of Events:

• 11:00am - The Polar Express movie starts in the Granite Room
• 11:30am - Winter crafting starts in the Granite Room
• 12:00pm - Santa arrives
• 12:15pm - Meet & greet with Santa and his elves on the O’Brien’s deck (weather permitting)

Wachusett Mountain Ski Area

499 Mountain Rd

Princeton MA 01541

Have a very curious, engineer minded kid? Have they expressed interest in what’s inside telephones, computers, radios and more?

Then join the Acton Discovery Museum and grab a screwdriver to discover resistors, capacitors, and circuit boards as your family works to uncover the inner workings of everyday electronics.

If your child absolutely loves this event, check out this worksheet for "take apart" activities that can be done at home!

Included with museum admission.

177 Main Street (Route 27)

Acton, MA 01720

Enjoy milk, cookies, and story time with Sturbridge resident and author Bill Barnsley, author of If Mice Pulled the Sleigh.

After the story, embark on a journey through Christmas traditions past and present during Christmas by Candlelight (separate ticket required)!

2 events, one on Saturday, December 13 and Saturday, December 20.

1 Old Sturbridge Village Road

Sturbridge, MA 01566

Mrs. Claus is coming to Lovage Club!

Grab the family and join her in singing holiday songs, reading festive stories, and spreading cheer with all of the guests. Plus, plenty of opportunities for photos with the lady in charge herself!

🎟 1 Ticket per Family (up to 2 kids + 2 adults). Get your tickets here!

485 Harrison Avenue
Boston, MA 02118

‍Parking: Limited 2-hour street parking is available on Harrison Ave and Randolph Street. A paid lot is also located across the street at the SoWa Open Market (460–500 Harrison Ave) — $10 for the first hour, $5 for each additional hour.

Light up the story of Hanukkah with folk tunes, dancing dreidels, and puppet play at the Children's Museum of Manhattan! The celebration includes:

• ‍Dancing Dreidel Design
  December 19 – 21 | All ages
  Decorate your own wooden dreidel and play this fun game with your family!‍
• Candle Crafting, Menorah Installation, and Hanukkah Puppet Play
  December 29 – 21 | Ages 4 & younger
  Create your own candle crafts, collaborative menorah installation, and play with the puppet theatre with dreidel, menorah, and Hanukkah food puppets!‍
• Performance: Tkiya Music
  Sunday, December 21 | All agesJoin CMOM for a fun and interactive Hanukkah experience full of songs, stories, movement, and with musicians from Tkiya Music! You’ll hear the Hanukkah story and get in the holiday spirit.

Included with museum admission. Get tickets here!

The Tisch Building

212 West 83rd Street

New York, NY 10024

Night in the Museum is an overnight experience at Old Sturbridge Village designed for scouts, schools and other youth groups.

With only a map and a tattered journal at their side, young historians will travel back in time and take part in a mysterious, candlelit adventure through the 1830s. The quest will exercise their detective skills as they hunt for clues, conduct experiments, and investigate the past. Back at the hands-on learning laboratory, they will experiment with historic crafts to learn more about 19th-century life.

While these programs fill up fast and are almost sold out through the rest of 2025, grab your spot now for January 2026 HERE!!!

1 Old Sturbridge Village Road

Sturbridge, MA 01566