The holidays are closing in, and Westchester families are scrambling to soak up all the fun! This weekend, the festivities are ratcheted up, so put on your jingle bells, light those lights and don’t miss these highlights!

Adding to the various iterations this month of the Tchaikovsky classic, this weekend there’s The Westchester Ballet Company Presents The Nutcracker and The Colonial Nutcracker. Additional holiday entertainment options are a screening of It's a Wonderful Life and Family Concert - Songs of the Season.

Whether or not you celebrate Chanukah you might be enticed by either Car Menorah Parade & Menorah Lighting Ceremony or Chanukah Village. Kids can get crafty at "Frozen" Craft Workshop or at A Gift for the Birds Family Weekend. Also in the nature theme is Celebrating Winter Trees and Winter Animals.

Read on for just a few of the many happenings we’ve culled from our Event Calendar, and also view our roundup of FREE holiday craft workshops for holiday fun without breaking the bank!

We all know that holidays can be a stressful time. Take the reins and and head out with the family this weekend to a live theater, animated light show, gingerbread decorating, menorah lighting or breakfast with Santa. 

Don't see your event listed here? Add it to our events calendar. And if you don't receive this post in your inbox, subscribe to our newsletter. And for plenty of more seasonal activities, be sure to check out our Long Island Holiday Fun Guide.

Well this is it: whether you're in the midst of Chanukah celebrations or the final pre-Christmas weekend push. It's a hectic and fun time as we nail down all those details that make the holidays truly special. As the little ones are finishing up school, we have many easy crafts to keep them happy and entertained from easy cookie cutter ornaments to egg carton jingle bells (for a full list of WeeWork projects to last into the holiday break and beyond click here).

If you need a little help getting in the holiday spirit, please check out our CT Holiday Fun Guide, which includes suggestions for Santa Activities, Holiday Light Shows in Fairfield County and Hartford County, and Holiday Train Rides with Santa.

Without further ado, here are our suggestions for the upcoming weekend! 

With Hanukkah underway and Christmas almost here, many families are asking, "Have we finished our holiday bucket list?" With so many events from which to select, Mommy Poppins has narrowed down some "not to miss" activities to celebrate the holiday season. 

This weekend marks the last days for Santa Express in Wilmington, Kitchen Kettle Village's Holly Days in Intercourse and Santa Saturdays at Philadelphia's Franklin Square. Breakfast with Santa events at Hard Rock Cafe in Philadelphia, Elmwood Park Zoo in Norristown and Springfield Country Club in Delaware County conclude this weekend as well. 

If your family wants to see a show this holiday season, there is still time. Murray the Elf is featured at Act II Playhouse, the Shooting Stars Holiday Show is on stage at the Upper Darby Performing Arts Center and the Glazier Jewish Center hosts 8th Day Live in Concert and Menorah Lighting.

So, grab a pencil and be ready to scratch those fun-filled events off your holiday bucket list and make memories for years to come.

It's the last weekend before Christmas and NYC is overflowing with holiday cheer, so there are lots of ways for families to get into the season spirit. Learn all about The Science of Santa; go Christmas caroling in Greenwich Village and Jackson Heights; enjoy multicultural celebrations like Mano a Mano's Posadas y Pastorelas and El Museo del Barrio's Parranda; or catch a stage version of the holiday TV classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

It's also a great weekend to hit all the seasonal sights before the tourists take over. So in between last-minute gift shopping, make sure you carve out time to see Santa, and gawk at awesome department store windows and over-the-top holiday homes.

All of our best bets for the weekend are below. You can find additional options in our Event Calendar and our Holiday Fun Guide.

Our series of posts about Gowanus, Brooklyn ends with a roundup of kid-friendly restaurants in the area. Although Gowanus may not be the family foodie haven that is Park Slope, as more parents move into the neighborhood, new eateries are popping up to meet the demand. These mostly locally owned restaurants and cafes make the most of their transformed industrial spaces. Meanwhile, longtime old-school Italian staple Two Tom Restaurant offers the same hearty Italian eats it's been been serving up for decades.

Here are our top 8 places to eat with kids in Gowanus.

Most Long Island kids have two full weeks off for the holiday break, so parents will be looking for different ways to keep the little ones occupied. Why not take a little trip? A great escape doesn't have to be far away. With plenty of staycation destinations on LI, they're closer than you think. Nestled on the north shore of eastern Long Island, Port Jefferson boasts shoreline views, family fun, good eats and sweet treats.

And for more ideas this season, visit our Long Island Holiday Fun Guide.

Here it comes- the first weekend of Hanukkah and the last one before Christmas. While you finish your shopping list, checking it twice, make sure spend time doing something nice! If you haven’t visited Santa yet, there’s plenty of opportunity at Imagine That’s Breakfast with Santa, Red Lobster’s Breakfast with Santa and Cherry Hill Mall’s Adventure to Santa. Take part in great museum programs for the family at New Jersey State Museum’s Story Time and Montclair Art Museum’s Family Art Adventure. And get in the spirit of Hanukkah and Kwanzaa at The South Jersey Annual Car Menorah Parade and Sweet Honey in the Rock: Celebrating the Holydays. For even more weekend fun, check out the full list of weekend activities in our Event Calendar.