If Christmas lights are your jam, you may have wondered about the oodles of drive-thru holiday light displays that have sprung up around LA this season as antidotes to the pandemic blues. With so many holiday traditions canceled for Christmas 2020, it's pretty exciting to find new ones. But are these commercial drive-thrus worth the price of admission? In the case of Holiday Road at King Gillette Ranch, I'm going to go out on a Christmas tree limb to say yes! If you're able to spend some of the cash you're saving by missing out on Disneyland and holiday travel, then Holiday Road could be a delightful and festive evening excursion for the whole family.

Grab your PJs and pack an overnight bag because FAO Schwarz has teamed up with Airbnb to offer a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for an only-in-New-York slumber party.

The experience, which is available for booking Tuesday, December 15, for the bargain-basement price of just $25, offers a one-night-only stay in the iconic toy store, complete with a real FAO Schwarz toy soldier as your host and tour guide, a glittering living room setup overlooking the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, and plenty more perks with exclusive access to the toy store for the entirety of your stay.

Trying to find fun things to do with kids during the pandemic is tricky, especially as the seasons change, but Christmas lights shows are coming to the rescue. There are tons of drive-thru options ranging from elaborate home displays to large-scale professional extravaganzas nearby. While some of these light shows are newcomers, the Skylands Stadium Christmas Light Show in Augusta, New Jersey, is a long-running drive-thru display that's already deep into its 2020 run. Boasting more than 2 million sparkling lights and some interactive outdoor elements, we had to check it out for ourselves. 

Read on for our full review of the Skylands Stadium Christmas Light Show, and find more safe, seasonal fun in our Holiday Guide for New Jersey Families.

Planning holiday celebrations and activities might take some extra imagination this year. But doing things a little differently doesn’t mean sacrificing any of the joy, traditions, or family memories that come with Christmas celebrations. In fact, let the limitations on travel and gatherings in 2020 spur your creativity to greater heights. From festive fun with grandparents to innovative ways to keep annual traditions going with friends, we have rounded-up our favorite socially distant ways to celebrate the season. With traditional gingerbread decorating, a newly imagined Christmas lights caravan, and even a Nailed It! challenge kids adore, these ideas are so crowd-pleasing, we bet a few become new family holiday traditions.

For more great ways to celebrate the season together, don’t forget about these 10 fabulous any-day zoom activities for kids and grandparents, the most fun games kids can play virtually with friends, and all the best virtual holiday events for families!

Sometimes you just need a break from crowded subways and sidewalks. New Yorkers in search of outdoor adventure and wide-open spaces can find plenty of both in the Bronx at Van Cortlandt Park. At 1,146 acres, the sprawling green space is about as outside of the city as you can get without crossing the border to Westchester, and it offers tons of all-season fun.

An infusion of recent improvements provides plenty of reasons to visit this marquee green space, which belongs in the conversation with Central Park, Prospect Park, and Flushing Meadows Corona Park as one of the city's top outdoor destinations.

Here are 14 of our favorite things to do with kids in Van Cortlandt Park.

Your holiday table may not be full of family and friends this year, but it can still be packed with delicious food made with love by a professional chef. These Connecticut restaurants will prepare a meal for Christmas or Hanukkah takeout (or in some cases, delivery) so you can kick back, relax, and tuck into prime rib, an Italian fish dinner, peppermint cheesecake or other treats while staying safe at home.

Might we suggest pairing holiday takeout with one our all-time favorite family Christmas movies? If you are in the mood to spread even more holiday cheer, check out out our Holiday and Christmas Fun Guide for Connecticut Kids.

If you’d rather kick back and relax than spend hours preparing a holiday spread, consider ordering your Christmas dinner in from one of these Long Island restaurants open and serving takeout dinner on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Several are even accepting reservations to dine indoors or out over the holidays.

Once you've placed your Christmas dinner order or booked your reservations, you'll have plenty of time to enjoy a must-do holiday event, check out Long Island's most spectacularly decorated houses, enjoy a drive-thru light show, or explore one of the other options in our jam-packed Holiday Fun Guide.

Boston is home to some beloved zoos as well as some spectacular holiday light displays, but a local tradition combines the two: ZooLights! This 26-acre winter wonderland at the Stone Zoo in Stoneham features tens of thousands of sparkling lights and lantern-lit sculptures, but what makes it unique from some other Christmas light experiences are the (real) animals roaming among the sparkling exhibits: black bears, Canada lynx, arctic foxes, reindeer, and more. My nine-year-old son and I explored ZooLights on an early December Wednesday evening, and were totally enchanted by the glowing colors and exotic animals.

Take a detour to check out these home Christmas light displays before or after your visit, and as always, keep tabs on our Boston Holiday Fun Guide for more ideas for socially distant festivites all season long.