Weekly Wrap Up Holiday Break Special: Things to Do in NYC, Festive Day Trips, Christmas Eve and Day Activities

12/22/11 - By Raven Snook

As you can tell from the photo, we were foolhardy enough to venture over to Rockefeller Center last weekend. We saw the tree—for about two seconds before the crowd pushed us on. We also hit the Lego Store—and then had to flee due to claustrophobia. Dealing with the massive crowds just reinforced how much we love being New Yorkers: Other people just visit, we live here. We can see Rock Center anytime! (But never again around the holidays. Yikes).

This week we expanded our already chock-full Holiday Guide with posts about cool things to do over holiday break, and family fun on Christmas Eve and Day. We also included an inspiring video about our wonderful world in our final 2011 biweekly news roundup.


And that's just a bit of what's going on. Here's what we covered this week on Mommy Poppins in NYC, New Jersey, Long Island and Connecticut, as well as selected stories from our sites in Boston and Los Angeles. Wishing you a very happy holiday season from all of us at Mommy Poppins.

OUR LATEST VIDEOS

New York City

We kicked off the week with a piece about AMC Theatres' sensory-friendly movie screenings for children. Written by a mom with an autistic son, the post is the first in a monthly series focusing on kids with special needs.

Wondering what to do over holiday recess? We highlighted 28 cool family activities, including special programming at museums, family film festivals and a slew of affordable live shows.

Although the annual Make Music Winter concerts/parades already took place on Wednesday night, you can read about it and plan for next year.

If you're looking to take a day trip over the holidays, we spotlighted ten potential getaways, including Philadelphia's Mummers Parade and the Connecticut Science Center.

Our biweekly news roundup included more school rezoning news and an awesome BBC video with striking images that remind us how amazing the world really is.

In lieu of our usual weekend events roundup, we did two separate posts, one about things to do on Christmas Eve, the other about fun activities on Christmas Day.
 

New Jersey

It's all about the holidays across the Hudson. As the crafts-challenged mother of a very artistic daughter, I just love this post about holiday crafts for non-crafters.

More at-home holiday fun: great holiday cookie recipes.

There's plenty of things to do with kids over holiday break in NJ, too.

We profiled a very worthy charity to donate to this holiday season: the Children’s Hospital of NJ’s “Wish List".

Things to do Christmas weekend including visiting Santa's Village in Washington, seeing A Christmas Carol in Princeton and the West Orange JCC's WinterFest Family Funfest.
 

Long Island

Over on LI, we shared 15 fun Hanukkah celebrations.

Christmas weekend highlights include ice-skating with Santa in Seaford, a musical stage version of A Wonderful Life in Northport and Chanukah Wonderland in Port Washington.
 

Connecticut

In CT, we told you about great places to volunteer with kids in Litchfield County.

We also took a day trip to see the lovely crèche at the Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem.

Still figuring out what to do on New Year's Eve? We share December 31 fun in Fairfield County.

Best bets for Christmas weekend include the Greenwich Reindeer Festival, Christmas by the Sea at Mystic Seaport and the Tunnel of Lights Holiday Trolley Ride at the Connecticut Trolley Museum.

Los Angeles & Boston

If you head up to Boston for break, check out our extensive roundup of things to do during the holiday recess.

Out in LA, we compiled cool experience gifts for kids. Put them on your to-do list the next time you visit the West Coast.