Weekend Events for NJ Kids December 12-13: Myths, Museums and Movies

If you’re up to your two front teeth in Christmas trees and Santa Claus, this is actually a great weekend for a breather!  Catch a reenactment of George Washington’s historic crossing of the Delaware River; hear Native American myths at the Newark Museum; explore a Cezanne exhibit and enjoy a free family event at the Morris Museum; and take your teddy bear for a picnic at your pick of places!  For those who can’t do without a dose of pre-Christmas inspiration, check out the family holiday workshop at Grounds for Sculpture, or watch the movie, “The Polar Express” on the IMAX screen at Liberty Science Center.  Then you’ll be whistling “Merry Chrithmath!”

Weekend Events for Kids on LI, December 11-14: Hanukkah Celebrations and Seasonal Fun on Long Island

This time of year it can be hard to squeeze in family time. Between all the shopping, family and friend get togethers, Holiday decorating, and merriment, you might have forgotten to figure out something fun for you all to do this weekend. IN case you're headed out to get a fresh tree, check out our post of great farms on LI, or if you are looking for Santa, we've shared some ideas for that as well. We also posted this week about great Nutcracker performances to check out. Hanukkah kicks off this weekend, and the Island is full of great celebrations and menorah lightings. We've listed our picks as well as some other great ideas for you to get out and enjoy the Season and the Holidays with your kids this weekend: 

New York City Kids Weekend Events December 11-13: Cheap Babysitting, Caroling, Hanukkah & Christmas Parties, Santa Rescue, More

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas--and Hanukkah and Kwanzaa--here in NYC and there's tons of stuff to do this weekend. But before we get into the events here are some last minute news bits:

Tonight, (Friday) you can get pay-what-you-wish babysitting at Kids for a Cause.  Kids for a Cause hosts monthly date night drop-off evening childcare events run by NYU and Columbia University students to raise money for Baby's First Home, a charity that helps provide shelter for NYC homeless teen mothers. See our original post about Kids for A Cause for more information about this great organization.

Also, we're wrapping up our week of giveaways. Tonight is your last chance to to win tickets to Sesame Street Live, The Flaming Idiots and Dear Edwina and we're posting a Wintuk giveaway later today. So watch out for it.

Now on to caroling, a Swedish Christmas, a Santa rescue, an 80s style boom-box un-silent night celebration (talk about only in NYC), Menorah-making, a sweet way to watch Sunday's meteor shower and much more.

Thank you to all who made our Toy Swap and Drive such a success

Picture 56.pngLast weekend we had our toy swap. Thank you to all who came with your used toys and your new gifts. We had a great turn-out, had a great time and we were able to donate tons of new and used toys to Seneca Houses where the children from 96 homeless families will be getting gifts from Santa Claus at a holiday party thanks to our donations. I know that the generosity of our readers will make a huge difference for those children who have so little this holiday season.

Big Holiday Ticket Giveaway: Chestnuts Roasting on The Flaming Idiots

There's two more days to enter to win tickets to Sesame Street Live or Dear Edwina. And on Friday we're finishing up our week of giveaways with a huge Wintuk giveaway. But today we've got another great giveaway for you. 4 tickets to see the hilarious Chestnuts Roasting on the Flaming Idiots at the New Victory Theater. Read on for our review of the show and to find out how you can enter.

Big Holiday Giveaway: Dear Edwina Family 4 Pack

Dear Edwina is a show about a girl who performs a musical advice column out of her family's garage. Praised for its wonderful musical numbers, the Drama Desk Award-nominated Dear Edwina's creators just won the prestigious Fred Ebb Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre Songwriting. Dear Edwina is recommended for all ages from 5 and up. Shea saw the musical  last year and she and her boys loved it. You can read her full review here.

We're giving away a family four-pack of tickets to see Dear Edwina. We also have a promotion to share.

Tim Burton at MoMA: A Family Visitor's Guide

Tim Burton is most known for his films like Edward Scissorhands and Beetlejuice, but the new exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art takes you beyond the films to see the art and inspiration of the man from this childhood in California to the present. The Tim Burton exhibit at the MoMA is a great show for children as Burton has claimed the art museum and taken it over with his creativity, fantasy and whimsy. This massive exhibit contains hundreds of drawings, paintings, sculptures, videos and movie memorabilia from Burton’s life and career. From the moment you step through the gaping jaws of a fantastical Tim Burton-designed creature, you are entering his world and Burton's world is a child's world (not often found at our great art institutions).

Read on for a preview of the exhibit and some tips for visiting with kids, plus read to the end to also find out how to see Tim Burton's work for free.

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