This Week: Awesome Presidents' Day Weekend Events and Day Trips, Best Annual Parades for NYC Kids, Sahara Sam's Giveaway

2/14/13 - By Raven Snook

We hope you enjoyed your snow day last weekend as much as we did. Even though we were disappointed that so many events were canceled at the last minute, I know my family was glad to have a bit of a break from running around. My daughter spent hours playing in the snow—in fact she refused to leave until her toes started burning from the cold (snow in your boots gets you every time)..

While we might get a few light flurries this weekend, it doesn't look like sledding will be on the agenda over midwinter school break, but lots of other fun activities are. We've got Chinese New Year Parades, awesome day trip and staycation ideas, roundups of the best current museum exhibits for kids and family shows, and more in our Winter Fun Guide. Out in New Jersey, maple sugaring season has arrived and on Long Island, you can try to spot the seals. Plus the Mommy Poppins team is hosting a special Presidents' Day art meet-up at Hiho Batik. The possibilities for the four-day recess are almost endless.

Our New Jersey site is also giving away two family four-packs to Sahara Sam's Oasis Indoor Water Park in West Berlin. Of course if you subscribe to our free newsletters you knew that already, since we've been telling you about it all week. We're always giving away things in our emails which is why it's worth signing up.

Here's what else we covered on the NYC site this week:

OUR LATEST VIDEOS

While Valentine's Day is really for lovers (or, more precisely, Hallmark and Godiva), whipping up a few sweet treats with your children is a great way to celebrate as a family.

Our month-long focus on Fort Greene Clinton Hill continues with an in-depth look at all of the fun to be had in the historic Fort Greene Park.

Park Slope's Hiho Batik is a great place to get creative with kids, which is why we're hosting a special family batik meet-up there on Monday so you can learn how to do the ancient art form.

Since there are three Lunar New Year Parades in NYC this weekend, we decided it was the perfect time to round up the best annual parades for kids in our city.

The National Museum of the American Indian just kicked off its first-ever Animation Celebration and all of the screening are FREE.

The New Victory's latest show, The Mark of Zorro is swashbuckling storytelling at its best.

Kids obsessed with Dancing with the Stars? Maybe they're ready for ballroom dancing lessons.

Next weekend marks the Jewish holiday of Purim and we've got the scoop on the best costume parties and parades.

Best bets for the four-day school break include many of our February Go List picks like the MAD Family Fun Day, Kids Week at the Intrepid and the Arty Gras Festival at the Children's Museum of the Arts.