Oh, how lucky we are to live in Southern California. At a time when the rest of the country is dealing with temperatures represented in numbers you need an advanced degree in mathematics to understand, our biggest concern is the possibility of rain. But never fear; we have plenty of indoor adventures awaiting us in the event of such utterly inclement weather. You can hunt for faeries, meet time-traveling artisans, enjoy the films of animation master Miyazaki, and visit more than a dozen area museums for f-r-e-e. Or, if it's nice out, you can play in the snow.

I'm not normally one to name drop (just ask Justin and KPat), but this is a big weekend for celebrity sightings. Your kids will have stars in their eyes after sharing storytimes with such literary luminaries as Madeline and the Wild Thing (and perhaps a friendly sea squid). They can sing alongside a cast of princesses, or watch future rock stars strut their stuff. They can build with Bob. The Bob, of building fame.

And, of course, it wouldn't be a weekend without a few holidays to celebrate. This weekend, families can join together in recognition of Tu B'shevat, the Lunar New Year season, and, that most reverent of days, Zimmerpalooza.

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

This weekend, kids who love building and LEGOs can partake in a Bricks 4 Kidz demo class at Rolling River Day Camp. Also going on: a magic musical family show with Jester Jim at the Hicksville Public Library; a performance by kindie rocker Mista Cookie Jar at the Long Island Children's Museum (my son's favorite museum!); pizza making with the Baking Coach at the Center Moriches Public Library; and a book reading and signing with Scott Starkey, author of The Call of the Bully, at Book Revue. As always, please check out our events calendar every day for fun activities for the family.   

Even though we're back to a regular two-day weekend, there are plenty of fun and enriching activities to fill it up. Families can get creative at the Brooklyn Inventgenuity Festival, hit the Brooklyn Botanic Garden for a day of do-it-yourself activities or enjoy a variety of snowy sports at Central Park's Winter Jam. There are lots of arts and culture options, too, like the Whitney Museum's family opening for American Legends, an elephant-themed family day at the Bard Graduate Center's Circus the City exhibit and a performance by the Thunderbird American Indian Dancers at Theater for the New City.

Those are just a few of the great things going on this weekend. Read on for all of our picks and remember, you can find additional options in our Event Calendar.

There's no topping that feeling after you've thrown a fabulous kids' party, entertaining every friend in a two mile radius and blissing out the birthday child. And that's just the problem: there's no topping it. The moment Mom achieves a memorable birthday party, the bar gets set a little higher for next year. To help alleviate that birthday party stress, Mommy Poppins offers the LA Kids Birthday Party Guide - an ever-growing resource of places to party indoors, places to party outdoors, and professionals to help make any location a smash hit.

Tribeca may be a playground for adults with its upscale nightlife scene, but it's also a pretty awesome neighborhood for kids who want to run around, both indoors and out. We continue our month-long focus on Tribeca with a roundup of our favorite play spots for kids in the area. In addition to two great outdoor parks, we found a nice selection of indoor options, too, including drop-in spots, kiddie gyms and members-only play spaces.

With temps well below freezing (and snow in the forecast for this weekend), it can be all too easy to sit around inside. But with some awesome events going on this Saturday & Sunday in New Jersey, there's no reason to let cabin fever set in. Check out a Chinese New Year celebration, a Maple Sugaring demo or take in a puppet-show performance of the Little Prince. Read on for our top picks and you can find a listing of all NJ activities in our Event Calendar.

Earlier this week, we shared our favorite NYC spots where kids can run around (or skate or swim or bike) indoors when it's too cold to play outside. But sometimes the best way for the entire family to get their sillies out is to jump around at a live music show. My daughter and I love discovering bands and musicians together, and we're always on the lookout for new-to-us groups to add to our ever-growing list of favorites.

There are so many cool kids' concert series in New York City—Bring Your Own Kid at 92YTribeca, Just Kidding at Symphony Space, the Tot Music Fest at Littlefield, to name a few—that you could easily see three shows every week (as my daughter would like to do)! But to give your dancing shoes (and your wallet) a break, we've rounded up our top 11 family concerts this winter. In addition to picks at all of the major series, we're also highlighting two local kindie rock faves who are playing the BAMkids Film Festival as well as a couple of totally free shows. In fact, almost all of these concerts cost less than $15 per person.

In our last news roundup, we told you about three different theater ticket deals, including two-for-one tickets for Broadway and off Broadway shows. Well we have the scoop on another off Broadway ticket deal–just $20 per person—plus news about two popular children's theater troupes that have been in limbo. In non-theater news, we've got cooking classes for children with special needs, a new old soda fountain in Midtown East, a fresh look for the Disney Store in Queens and an audition opportunity for moms who want to be in the spotlight.