The holiday season without a performance of "The Nutcracker" would be very sad indeed--you might as well forget the tree and the decorations and tell your kids the real deal about you-know-who. That's why we'd like to make sure that two of our readers' families get a chance to see this very special show at one of our favorite venues--South Orange Performing Arts Center. Read on to find out how to enter to win one of two family 4-packs of tickets!

The weather is crispy, the evenings are long and dark, but the winter holidays are upon us. Why not get into the holiday spirit by curling up with your little ones on the sofa of the brightly lit, warm living room, with hot chocolate and a good, sweet, colorfully decorated holiday book? This Thanksgiving season you can read about silly turkeys, pay a visit to the Pilgrims, their Native-American neighbors or a fellow American family preparing for their Thanksgiving.

By Monika Nica

Between November 13th and 20th the Stepping Stones Museum for Children in Norwalk runs a lively, musical show during which a goofy, but loveable family in Carbon City learns about energy and energy conservation.

As they explore where energy, this thing that comes out of the wall and powers our televisions, games and household appliances comes from, they meet a series of whacky characters who tell, dance and sing stories of the caveman's discovery of fire, the awesome powers of wind and sun energy, the dangers and damage caused by global warming, the meaning of carbon footprint and the need for and ways of energy conservation.

It's amazing how two days off from school can throw off your family's routine. And it came on the heels of the end of daylight saving time, too.

Even if this week was a little stressful, we've got a lot to look forward to, including this event-filled three-day weekend and Thanksgiving, which is only a few weeks away. Now all we need to do is get through next week's parent-teacher conferences (assuming you have a kid in public elementary school, like I do).

Here's what we covered this week on Mommy Poppins in NYC, New Jersey, Long Island and Connecticut, as well as selected stories from our sites in Boston and Los Angeles.

We love finding great deals for our readers so, as part of our focus on the Upper West Side this month, we got some of the best places in the neighborhood to offer you big discounts. Read on for discounts on two favorite kids' shows at Manhattan Movement & Arts Center, music classes from ABC Do-Re-ME!, a deluxe party at The Little Gym and huge savings on NY Kids Club—good at all six locations, including the UWS! If you like a deal, don't dawdle: Some of these discounts are so deep they have limited availability, first-come, first-served.

If you’ve made it to the weekend, that means you survived the NJ school break—we salute you! Reward yourself with lots of fun this Saturday and Sunday. Don’t forget to pay homage to our Veterans on Veteran's Day (11/11), then take your pick from this weekend's fun activities which include dinosaurs, amusement parks, and rampant pajama-wearing in museums.

This weekend is the start of a few new exhibits and fun shows. The Lego Train Exhibition and Visions of Gingerbread Display, both at Stamford Museum and Nature Center, look terrific. The Global Energy Musical at Stepping Stones Museum presents scientific issues on energy and conservation in a whimsical way.  Snow White and the Seven Dwarf's will be playing in Bridgeport at the Downtown Cabaret Children's Theater. Chinese Acrobats will be performing at Fairfield University. Kids can design their very own paper action figures during Timothy Belavia's: How Do You Know A Hero? Workshop. For those American Girl and fashion lovers out there, you won't want to miss the American Girl Fashion Show being held at CoCo Keys in Waterbury. And Santa and the Care Bears will make a visit to the Westfield Trumbull Mall!

Whew! That's a lot of fun stuff to do this weekend. And it's not all. Check out the following list of events for this weekend. Veteran's Day is on Friday and your town may be having it's own service and parade. Stay in touch via Facebook and Twitter. Our Facebook friends can join in on a give-away this week that ends on Saturday for a care package from Barbara's Puffins Cereals.

Wondering about what to do on Thanksgiving? We did a post on fun ideas in Fairfield County this week. We also covered some Fairfield County Art and History Museums. Are you prepared in case of an emergency? Check out our Infant and Child CPR course post. For those in Litchfield County don't miss out on this fun event that your creative child can participate in: A Celebration of Young Photographers being hosted by ASAP.

We've definitely felt a cold snap or two lately, but don't let the colder temperatures keep you and your family in. Get out and celebrate fall. And if it's too chilly for you, there are lots of indoor activities for your family to enjoy!