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Suncatcher_Liz Baill @creativishmom
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This Week: 25 Things to Do Over Holiday Break with Kids, Great Holiday Giveaways, Photos of the Best Holiday Lights in NYC

12/19/13 - By Raven Snook

Kids all over the country are counting down the hours—make that minutes—until holiday break begins on Saturday. But even with 12 days off from school, it's going to be hard to find time to fit all the festive activities in. Here in New York City, we made a list of the top 25 things to do with kids over holiday break, a cheat sheet for seasonal family fun in case you don't have time to browse our jam-packed Holiday Fun Guide. If you're thinking of doing a day trip or a longer getaway over the recess, you'll find lots of inspiration in our Holiday Guides for Westchester, Long Island, New Jersey and Connecticut.

And while you shop for last-minute gifts, make sure you take a moment to enter our Biggest Holiday Giveaway. We're giving away different prizes every day between now and Christmas Day—enter to win one or all. More ways to win cool stuff: We're also doing flash giveaways on our Facebook page and we've got a Skylanders Swap Force Starter Pack giveaway going, too. Hey, if you lost that record-setting Mega Millions jackpot this week like I did, maybe you'll be luckier this time!

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

OUR LATEST VIDEOS

We added a bunch of new posts to our ever-growing Holiday Fun Guide

We also posted about all the giveaways we've got going on including flash giveaways on Facebook, that Skylanders Swap Force Starter Pack and the multiple prizes up for grabs in our Biggest Holiday Giveaway

We finished up our month-long focus on Bay Ridge with a roundup of the best places to play in the neighborhood, both outdoors and inside.

Brooklyn mom and Cool Mom Picks cofounder, Liz Gumbinner, shared six awesome presents handpicked for New York City living. You can find more gift ideas in our Local Holiday Shopping Guide.

Ever been to the Top of the Rock? No? Well it's not just for tourists. Our visit made us see New York City in a whole new way.

Best bets for the weekend include the East Meets West Christmas Parade, the grand opening of the ice-skating rinks in Prospect Park and the Greenwich Village Caroling Walk.