You don't have to be Christian to love Christmas carols. Crooning these classic songs on a brisk evening amongst neighbors, pals or friendly strangers is a wonderful way to celebrate the holiday season.

Carolers of all levels mingle at these events—wannabe Broadway stars and shyer singers blend together to serenade the city with a message of peace and joy. While caroling is often thought of as a rural or British tradition, there are actually many Christmas caroling events right here in New York City, and everyone is welcome to chime in.

Here are a dozen gatherings where you can literally sing in the holidays. Also consider attending a Christmas tree lighting. Many illuminations end with impromptu caroling.

Among the many things we romanticize during the holidays, trains are right up at the top, but usually it's the "choo-choo" kind, not the "screech-screech-unh-unh-eh" variety, a.k.a. the subway.

The exception is the MTA's annual Holiday Season Nostalgia Trains, vintage subway trains running along the Sixth Avenue line from Long Island City, Queens to Lower Manhattan. Read on to find out how you can catch a trip back in time courtesy of the MTA, all for the price of a regular fare!

Whether you're full of Christmas spirit or feeling a little "bah-humbug," seeing a performance of Charles Dickens' classic story of redemption, A Christmas Carol, can be an uplifting and delightful family holiday activity. 

This holiday season, there are multiple versions of the story being performed in a variety of ways in the Boston area, including the unique “in-the-round” performance by the North Shore Music Theatre and a comedic version performed by puppeteers at the Puppet Showplace Theater. Keep reading for details, and if you're looking for more classic holiday performances, take a look at our roundup of Boston-area productions of The Nutcracker. 

Editor's note: We're in the process of updating this post for 2015. Check back soon for the latest news. The holiday season is a great time to expose our kids to what it means when we say, "It takes all kinds."

From a traditional Mexican celebration to boombox Christmas caroling, you know you're in New York City when your family's holiday traditions include some of these fun, multicultural, artsy or just plain wacky events. Enjoy!

After visiting Concord Museum's annual exhibition Family Trees: A Celebration of Children's Literature for the first time last year, my family now has a new holiday tradition. Concord Museum celebrates the town of Concord's rich literary heritage year-round with exhibits featuring literary giants, and during the holidays, the presentation becomes even grander. For almost two decades, the museum has celebrated classic and contemporary children’s books with Christmas trees and wreaths inspired by those books. Each tree pays tribute to or brings a story to life in its own unique way. Here's more about the exhibition and what’s happening at the museum during the holidays, plus some tips for getting the most out of your visit with kids.

We wrapped up our extensive Halloween coverage this week with a few funny slide shows: creatively creepy Halloween displays around NYC (I really dig those skeletons lounging in lawn chairs), and some hilariously awkward pics of costumes from our '70s childhoods. If you're still trying to figure out what to do on October 31, we also rounded up the top 21 celebrations on Halloween night. And if you've had it with Halloween, don't worry: November kicks off this weekend and we've already got roundups of the best things to do throughout the month in NYC and New Jersey, and there's not an All Hallows' Eve event in sight.

I admit I don't leave NYC much (husband's a homebody, I can't drive and the kid is overscheduled), but after reading about Providence, Rhode Island's awesome WaterFire outdoor art installation, indoor carnival rides at West Nyack's Palisades Center and the audible geological structures in Pennsylvania's Ringing Rocks Park, I clearly need to get out of town more often. And clicking through the pics of Negril, Jamaica's all-inclusive resort Hotel Riu Palace Tropical Bay and the isle's luxury private villa rentals on our Travel site made me flirt with the idea of cashing out my 401K to take one heck of a family vacation.

Here's what else we covered on the NYC site this week:

We finish up our series of posts about Red Hook, Brooklyn with a roundup of our 12 favorite family restaurants in the waterfront nabe. While many folks I know appreciate the value of Ikea's .99-cent breakfasts and kids-eat-free Tuesdays, there are more eclectic options to fit all budgets.

Since Red Hook was originally populated by Italian and Irish dock workers, some newer restaurants pay tribute to that colorful history while others, like DeFonte's Sandwich Shop, actually date back that far. Meanwhile famous foodie "secret," the Red Hook Food Vendors, are celebrating their 40th anniversary this year. From homemade marshmallows to piping-hot pupusas to meat-and-cheese-filled heroes, these are my family's go-to restaurants when eating in 'da Hook.

Celebrate Halloween with these spooktacular events throughout Long Island this weekend. From pumpkin farms to trick or treating, fall festivals and more, these family friendly activities won't be receiving any boos from your crowd.

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