As always, there are lots of activities to keep families busy in Boston this weekend. Pumpkin fans can carve their own and take it to the Frog Pond for the Pumpkin Festival or head down to Providence for the Jack-o-Lantern Spectacular to view thousands of amazing pumpkins. If you are looking for a performance this weekend, the Wheelock Family Theatre is performing Alice, the Puppet Showplace Theatre presents Little Red Rosie and the Dragon of Dumm, AIDA opens at the Strand Theater, and Ben Rudnick and Friends (pictured) are playing at the Coolidge Corner Theatre.

Parents can learn more about sleep issues with daylight savings time or raising multi-lingual children at workshops this weekend. In education this weekend, the Fayerweather School has an open house for its pre-K to 8th grade program.

Also on Mommy Poppins this week:

• Want to know more about the Jack-o-Lantern Spectacular? We've got highlights and tips for taking the kids as part of our month-long look at Providence. Keep your eye out for upcoming posts about Water Fire and the re-opening of the Culinary Arts Museum.
• Mommy Poppins Philadelphia launched this week. It is a great resource for families visiting the Philly area as well as those who live there. 
• What's better than Halloween fun for Boston families? Free Halloween fun!
• If you're thinking about taking the kids to see Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, read Raven's film review first.
• Ally shows us how to make a Fall Leaf Crown as part of our Wee Work series.

For more Boston events in sports, arts, sciences, and more, be sure to check the events calendar. I hope you enjoy the weekend!

Someone file a name change because Philadelphia is about to become the city of Motherly love. That's right, Mommy Poppins is setting up shop in the town William Penn founded. I'm looking forward to cheesesteaks and soft pretzels and runs up the steps of the Art Museum. But that crack in the Liberty Bell? We had nothing to do with it, nothing, you hear? (We were being careful!)

Of course, the real excitement is in our little hometown (which is, for the record, bigger than Philadelphia, not that we're bragging). This weekend we can explore the communities that make LA great, with the Found: LA Festival of Neighborhoods, the Sherman Oaks Street Fair, Taste of Soul LA, the Mar Vista Community Fall Festival; Fall/Harvest/Pumpkin/Halloween festivals at Underwood Farms, the Original Farmers Market, Kidspace, Descanso Gardens, Calabasas, the LA Zoo, Shadow Hills Equestrian Center, and the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium - to name a few.

The Read for the Record fun starts this weekend, with high octane readers like Josh Duhamel and kid-favorite locations like Lakeshore Learning. LeVar Burton boldly goes where no one has gone before...scratch that, where a lot of people have gone (the Santa Monica Library), but dudes, he's Geordi, Kunta Kinte, and the Reading Rainbow guy! If you're looking for a theatrical experience, we've got a mouse with no tail, a hungry caterpillar (so hungry it'll take him two days to eat through the Southland), a tree-planting man, a princess with a pea and a newly clad emperor, and a silent Joan of Arc (with choral accompaniment).

And Dan Zanes, pretty much our all-time favorite kids' performer, makes a rare LA appearance for two shows at the Wallis.  Catch that train, Philadelphia!

Keep reading for our favorite picks for the weekend...

Cooler temperatures, falling leaves and front lawns spotted with pumpkins are all indications of this delightful time of year known as autumn. Another sure sign of the season is the Mommy Poppins calendar jam packed with festivals, hayrides and pumpkin patches. Just this weekend, None Such Farm in Buckingham, Linvilla Orchards in Media and Shady Brook Farms in Yardley all host their fall festivals and events.

If your kids want to try out their Halloween costumes before the "Big Day," Saturday's Skippack's Halloween Parade could be the perfect venue. Or put on those costumes and head to Philadelphia Zoo's Boo at the Zoo. 

On the other hand, if you have had enough of the pumpkins, scarecrows, apples and hayrides to fill your entire treat bucket to the top, escape to one of the consignment sales going on this weekend.

We have some weekend highlights below, but be sure to browse our complete event calendar for even more family fun ideas. Sign up for our newsletter as well and have our weekly roundup delivered right to your inbox.

If I’m not hosting Thanksgiving dinner or visiting extended family and friends, cooking a big feast seems completely unnecessary to me. I’d rather go out for dinner and be thankful that someone else is doing the cooking and cleaning.

If you're thinking about dining out for Thanksgiving, here are four Boston restaurants serving Thanksgiving dinners that are both kid-friendly and budget-friendly. Plus, if you want to go all out this Thanksgiving, I’ve included an elegant (but also kid-friendly) Thanksgiving brunch that sounds hard to resist. 

They're here! Halloween and Day of the Dead celebrations abound this weekend, as do some of our favorite annual harvest festivals. Hit Madison Square Park for its activity-packed Fall Kids Fest, dress up your dog for Staten Island's Pooch Parade or go on a spooky procession at El Museo del Barrio's Día de los Muertos party.

If you're already suffering from Halloween fatigue (or just want to save those costumes for the 31st), there's some cool culture on tap as well, like Cirque Alfonse's lumberjack-themed spectacle Timber!, a concert by Grammy-nominated kids' crooner Raffi, a musicalization of popular children's book series Ivy + Bean and an animation-themed Chuck Jones Family Day at the Museum of the Moving Image.

All of our best bets for the weekend are below. You can find additional options in our Event Calendar and our Halloween Fun Guide.

Carving and decorating a Jack O'Lantern is an age-old tradition during Halloween, and what better way to celebrate the season than by taking your family to a pumpkin carving event? Whether it's watching a skilled pro carve an amazing creation or letting your child work their own artistic magic by painting a pumpkin, there are a few Long Island events to enjoy with your family.

And for more seasonal fun, be sure to check out our Long Island Halloween Guide.

If you’re looking to get your fill of all things Halloween (and pumpkin!), Jersey doesn’t disappoint this weekend! Take the kiddos down the shore in costume to Jenkinson’s Boo at the Boardwalk, roll up your sleeves for a Halloween Monster Craft at Appel Farm Arts & Music Center or brave a Haunted Halloween Hayride at Allaire Village. And for classic fall fun in northern Jersey, head to Heaven Hill Farm’s Great Pumpkin Festival or if you’re down south, check out the annual Pumpkin Festival at the Historic Cold Spring Village in Cape May. And remember, you can check out the full list of weekend activities in our Event Calendar.

It’s holiday picture time. You’re bundling up the crew and heading out to take the annual shot to be sent ‘round the world (or at least to your cousin Courtney in San Antonio). Sure, you could trek to Rockefeller Center and pose in front of the most famous Christmas tree in the world, or line the kids up in front of Macy's gorgeous windows. But why not do something a little different this year? We rounded up a few places you may not have thought of (yet), as well as some off-the-beaten-path locales where you can say, “Fruitcake!”