The countdown to October 31 has begun! Events this week are pretty much all about Halloween. Our top picks for young children include everything from a family-friendly concert (pictured) to decorating a trick-or-treat bag for free.  For older kids looking for spooky fun, there's a play featuring some creepy witches. Even if you're spending all your free time preparing for a Halloween party or making last-minute costumes, here's to a ghostly week!

Be sure to keep your eye on the full Event Calendar for more happenings this week and beyond.

The main event isn't until Saturday, but there's Halloween fun to be had all over Connecticut this week. There are activities for kids of all ages and interests, from storybook characters to cooking to sea creatures. For even more options check out our Halloween and Fall Fun Guide and the jam-packed Event Calendar which is updated every day. Have a spooktacular week!

You might notice a theme in our top picks for weekday activities for Westchester families this week: It’s Halloween! Why wait for October 31, when there are so many spirited programs that set the mood?

Regardless of the occasion, a performance by this group is always both entertaining and educational, so consider the STEM-filled Mad Science Creepy Chemistry Halloween Show. For less zany entertainment, pull up a toadstool for some Spooky Tales, or get extra mileage from that costume you invested in at the indoor Halloween Parade.

There are oodles of really cool FREE Halloween programs happening all week, as well as the first of the Day of the Dead activities we rounded up. And if you need a departure from holiday-themed activities, know that our Event Calendar has a varied assortment of other fun happening all week and beyond!

Beginning this week, Mommy Poppins Philly provides Philadelphia families with a weekly round up of our top Weekday Picks, to keep the fun at your fingertips in between our weekend event picks. And, with less than seven days before the most exciting night of fall, Halloween, there are many options. Leading up to the big day, kids can participate in activities such as costume parades and trick-or-treat opportunities. Below are our top picks by day, but be sure to check out the Events Calendar for each day's complete listing.

Looking for fun photos at local, kid-friendly places? Check out our new Instagram page and follow us @mommypoppinsPHL! Plus, tag us @mommypoppinsPHL in any of your Instagram photos of adorable kids' Halloween costumes!

Good grief! The Peanuts Movie, the first-ever 3D feature film based on Charles M. Schulz's beloved cartoon characters, hits theaters next month and to celebrate, the studio is sponsoring Snoopy-themed kid activities throughout NYC starting this Saturday, October 24. Whether your children are already fans from watching those classic holiday TV specials like It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and A Charlie Brown Christmas or are just now learning how awesome Charlie, Linus, Lucy and the rest of the gang are, they're sure to have a blast at these FREE Snoopy sightings, cartooning lessons and other Peanuts-centric events in Manhattan and the outer boroughs.

Fall is in full swing and holiday travel will be upon us in the blink of an eye. If you’re considering a getaway before Thanksgiving, Disneyworld has pre-holiday hotel deals in newly named Disney Springs. In other parts of Florida, Panama City Beach offers loads of family diversions and competitive prices. Reasonable rates and thin crowds make late fall a great time to plan a Caribbean or Costa Rican break. If you’re itching to ski, Sunday River in Maine has Thanksgiving deals or head to a snow-covered ranch in Montana. Camelback Resort in the Poconos offers kid-approved fun at their giant new water park plus big discounts off their regular rates.

While there’s nothing wrong with your basic pumpkin or witch foam-sticker-and-construction-paper craft, it can be hard to get kids (especially older kids) excited about a project they’ve already done a million times. We last took a look at libraries in Westchester with cool and special programming, and now we’re going to turn our eyes to the rest of the Lower Hudson Valley. Whether it’s music or science, art or zombies, the library programs on this list try to mix things up a bit. And as with the Westchester programs, all of the events here are FREE!

For even more holiday celebration ideas, be sure to take a look at our Event Calendar, which is packed with tons more Halloween happenings. And don’t forget to sign up for our FREE newsletter and follow us on Facebook!  

When I made the move from Manhattan to the New Jersey 'burbs, I craved a small town with a metropolitan feel. South Orange seemed like the perfect spot to make my new home. The tree-lined, gaslight-adorned center of the downtown, known as South Orange Village, is home to both local and retail stores, a variety of family-friendly restaurants, a New Jersey Transit train station and the renowned, state-of-the-art South Orange Performing Arts Center, or SOPAC. South Orange is not only a commuter town, with an easy 30 minute direct ride to New York City, it's also home to Seton Hall University. With a mixture of small town charm and cosmopolitan culture, make South Orange a day trip destination with your family. And while you're in Essex County, check out other small towns, including Nutley and Verona.