Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or the winter solstice, the month of December is packed with special seasonal activities in New York City. The MTA is running its cool Nostalgia Trains on the Sixth Avenue line, all of the department store holiday windows are up and Santa has made the Big Apple his temporary home.

Although the big tree in Rockefeller Center is already lit, there are many other holiday illuminations over the weekend, including Central Park's Dana Discovery Center's twinkly LED makeover and the colonial-era tree at Historic Richmond Town.

If you aren’t quite ready to start celebrating the holidays (like me—I am in complete denial!), check out non-seasonal fun like the French Institute's Family Saturdays, inexpensive screenings of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and Matilda at Lincoln Center, and the free Jazz-Age-themed Target First Saturdays celebration at the Brooklyn Museum.

Those are just a few of the great things going on this weekend. Read on for all of our picks and remember, you can find additional options in our Events Calendar and our Holiday Guide.

[UPDATED: NOVEMBER 12, 2012]

We're big fans of shopping local, which is why we gave our Holiday Gift Guide a local focus. Shopping at New York City's wonderful holiday craft fairs and bazaars is a great way to find one-of-a-kind gifts for everyone on your list while supporting resident artisans. You can pick up all kinds of treasures like handmade jewelry, accessories, toys, clothing and other original goods created by craftspeople. Read on for our round-up of six spectacular holiday craft fairs in NYC this season. Several of the events even offer entertainment for the kids so you can shop without the little ones tugging at your sleeve.

[UPDATED: NOVEMBER 11, 2012]

There are many wonderful holiday stories but none as iconic as Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. In fact, the tale was so popular when it was first published in 1843 that revelers took the holiday greeting "Merry Christmas" straight from its pages. This spooky Christmas ghost story is the ultimate tale of redemption and it still rings true after two centuries.

So this holiday season, don’t be a Scrooge! Take your Tiny Tim to see a family-friendly adaptation of this treasured classic. Since there are many stage versions of A Christmas Carol around New York City, we've highlighted the ones that are the most family-friendly.

[UPDATED: July 26, 2010]

We don't usually post about NYC hotels since, well, we all live here, and most of our readers do too. But with the holidays coming up, we know lots of out-of-town families will be looking for affordable kid-friendly places to stay. While staying in Times Square or another tourist area may seem like the way to go, we recommend the Upper West Side.

We've been focusing on this super-family-friendly neighborhood all month long, and it really is a kids' paradise with big attractions like the American Museum of Natural History and the Children’s Museum of Manhattan, Riverside and Central Park, and tons of places to play, eat and have fun. While hotels here are no bargain, they're usually a bit cheaper than their Midtown Manhattan counterparts. (We're not including prices though, since they change so often and many websites offer discounted rates.) Plus, since it's a residential area, visiting families can get a taste of how "real" New Yorkers live.

As a longtime UWS resident, I suggest these hotels to my family and friends when they come to town (they can't stay with me, my apartment barely fits my own family!). All five are within walking distance of the UWS' best spots and near subway lines that will have you in Midtown in minutes.

With leaves falling from the trees, temperatures dropping and holiday decorations strung up, autumn is quickly on its way out, and so are Jersey City’s wonderful farmers markets. The abundance of berries, zucchini and tomatoes that we cherish in the summer and early fall are hard to come by as the winter months close in, but three of the markets in Jersey City are still open for just a few more weeks. Savor the last of the season and try a few new recipes!

During our month-long series of posts focusing on the Upper West Side, we've shared many of our favorite neighborhood haunts, including toy stores, play spots and family-friendly restaurants. Now we've got something really sweet for you: our top dessert spots on the UWS.

There are of course a slew of UWS places where you can pop in for a quick treat. We've picked the nine that we always have trouble resisting, jam-packed with all kinds of goodies from cupcakes to ice cream, cake to cookies.