And now it starts. We've had our Thanksgiving turkey and lit our Hanukkah candles, not to mention shopped Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, Green Tuesday, and There Must Be Something Left to Buy Wednesday. There's no kidding ourselves: the Christmas season is here and now. Santa Claus has come to town, and he won't leave until he's had a year's worth of breakfasts. (He really likes breakfast.)

Of course, December in LA is more than just Santa Claus. It's holiday lights. It's boat parades. It's Nutcracker upon Nutcracker, and snow, snow, snow. It's also the time of year that our calendar is so jam-packed that our weekly posts can only scratch the surface of the infinite possibilities for family fun. Trust me, though we do our best to highlight the hottest and the coolest, you're going to want to peruse our full calendar to make sure you're not missing a thing.

(Like say a giveaway. Which we might be doing at any time now. Like for instance, right this minute.  And it could be for something awesome. Something princess. Something Disney. Just saying.)

Here are our favorite picks for the weekend, just to get you started...

This first full weekend of December brings with it many holiday events and celebrations for Westchester families, including Christmas tree lightings, holiday fests and more.

Many towns are holding their annual tree lightings including Pound Ridge, Tarrytown, Ardsley, and Bedford Hills. Yorktown is hosting its Annual Lights Parade and Tree Lighting and Chappaqua is having their Holiday Open House and Tree Lighting. Rumor has it that Santa will be visiting most of these festivities.

Stop in to Lasden Park in Somers and Westmoreland Sanctuary in Mount Kisco to make nature-themed ornaments. Westmoreland will also be hosting the Old Timey Handmade Holiday on Saturday where you can make ornaments, soap, candles and wreaths. Philipsburg Manor will be hosting an open house and will be lit by candle lanterns and bonfires.

Visit Philipse Manor in Yonkers for the St. Nicholas Day Celebration and enjoy Dutch musical performances, treats and a visit from St. Nicholas himself. Stop by Sportime USA in Elmsford for Lunch with Santa.

If your family loves art, on Sunday, drop in to the Katonah Museum of Art for Community Portrait Day or visit the Hudson River Museum or the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Arts for Free Arts Day programming. Or if you’re the animal loving family, visit Teatown Lake Reservation and Greenburgh Nature Center to meet the animals.

The holiday train display at Greenburgh Nature Center kicks off on Saturday and all weekend long, Tuckahoe celebrates Winterfest with a tree lighting, Santa and his reindeers, and ice skating.

Read on for our top weekend picks. If you see something that piques your interest, click through to the event listing to view full details. Looking for more options? Be sure to check our Event Calendar for more fun happening this weekend and beyond. Also be sure to check out our December Go List, filled with great events happening all month long!

Santa is hearing wish lists, Christmas trees are lighting up, Nutcrackers are twirling and holiday department store windows are attracting crowds. Yup, the holiday season is in full swing in NYC!

This weekend brings some of our favorite annual tree illuminations, the New York Public Library's Holiday Open House and the premiere of the New Victory Theater's holiday-themed circus spectacle Mother Africa. If you're not quite ready to dive into the season, there's non-holiday fun like the Great Randall's Island Treasure Hunt and FREE family films, too.

All of our best bets for the weekend are below. You can find additional options in our Event Calendar and our Holiday Fun Guide. And if you're looking to plan ahead, our December NYC Go List highlights the absolute best things to do with kids throughout the month.

By now, you’ve probably had your fair share of turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce leftovers- not to mention tons of latkes! With Thanksgiving and Hanukkah already over, Christmas events are taking center stage in New Jersey. Meet the Big Man himself at Alstede Farm’s Country Christmas or at the Santa Fly-In at the Aviation Hall of Fame. And of course, you can check out the awesome annual holiday lights at Turtle Back Zoo. And if you’re not quite ready for a full on dose of the holidays, you can engage your inner geologist at Newark Museum’s Dynamic Earth or even Meet a Penguin at Manasquan Reservoir. And remember, you can find a full list of weekend activities in our Event Calendar.

We wrap up our month-long focus of Scarsdale with the best places to shop for kids in the area. We've mentioned the best kid-friendly eateries in Scarsdale; now we've got the scoop on the best toy shops and boutiques for kids in the neighborhood. Many have been in business for quite some time, owing to their great customer service and knowledge of customer preferences. Each has a unique, local feel and seems to know what you’re looking for before you enter the store. Read on for more info about these Scarsdale gems.  

Shopping with kids (groan). It can be a drag, both for the children and the adults. But sometimes it is necessary, especially during the holidays. Some Boston stores really go out of their way to make kids and families happy, and we love ‘em for it. Many offer free activities, a few have play spaces, and others are like theme parks! Check out these places to take the kids during your shopping excursions to add a little (or lot of) fun to running errands.

Want more ideas for free things to do with kids in Boston? Take a look at my posts about visiting museums for free in the city of Boston and in Cambridge, Somerville, and Brookline. 

The Christmas holiday season is already in full swing. The shopping, music, decorating, parties, potlucks…your list of “to-dos” and “must-attends” is building exponentially!

Before you bust at the seams, visit one of the historic holiday events in New Jersey. It will transport you to a more simple, yet festive time. Many of New Jersey's local museums, homes, venues and towns are celebrating the holidays in the spirit of yesteryear. Whether you are a history buff or a holiday fiend, we’re sure you will find many ways to go back in time to experience the Historic Holidays here in the Garden State.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! Of course actual snow in Los Angeles County is rare enough to be saleable on ebay (anyone still have that 2007 Malibu snow in the freezer?), but several Southland locales offer a reasonable facsimile of snow at this time of year. From Anaheim to Pasadena, we get several opportunities in the coming weeks to introduce our kids to snow, without introducing them to picking up their wet snow gear from the floor. And most of the events below are free!