This Week: Best Ways to Escape the Cold from Indoor Water Parks to Tropical Vacations, Winter Deals & Free Summer Camps, Amazing Weekend Events

1/22/15 - By Raven Snook

As you can see from the pic of my kid with the Lego Olaf, my daughter is dying to build a snowman. She should get her wish this weekend: Not only are flurries in the forecast but the Parks Department is hosting its annual Winter Jam in Central Park featuring fresh blown snow courtesy of Gore Mountain. Of course, not everyone embraces winter. Personally, I've been dreaming about a warm getaway, like the 25 toasty winter family vacations we rounded up on our Travel site. Our New Jersey site has warmth on the brain, too, with its list of 10 ways to enjoy a virtual summer in winter—many suggestions are just a short drive from NYC. And of course, our Los Angeles peeps are always about sun and fun. Their list of 50 things to do with kids in San Diego, including Legoland, is making me seriously consider it for spring break.

But that's enough vacation fantasizing! Here's what else we covered on the NYC site this week:

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Our weekday event picks include the New Victory Theater's new show Lionboy and an incredible $20 Off-Broadway ticket deal, both of which continue for a few weeks.

More bargains: Our winter deals roundup includes deep discounts on music lessons, test prep and tutoring, and cool kids' classes.

Forget the Super Bowl—in my dog-loving house we're all about the Puppy Bowl, which is why we can't wait to throw the ultimate Puppy Bowl party next Sunday.

Ready to research summer camps? These FREE open houses and camp fairs are a great place to start.

Speaking of camps, our biweekly news post includes info on three FREE summer programs, plus the scoop on a Broadway audition for kids and renovations to popular Central Park playgrounds.

Looking for a few homes away from home where the kids can play and learn this winter? We rounded up 16 family memberships worth the money.

We updated our roundup of indoor water parks near NYC—four are less than two hours by car from Manhattan, so they make for great day trips.

This week's WeeWork posts include indoor balloon tennis and how to make hot chocolate on a stick.

Best bets for the weekend include Central Park's Winter Jam, Beam Center's Inventgenuity Festival in Cobble Hill and the Queens Museum's Spooktacular Ball for Families.