Winter Break Camps for Los Angeles Kids on School Vacation

The holidays bring so many kinds of seasonal fun for families to enjoy and form memories - parades, fireworks, ice skating, family drives to see Christmas lights - and a winter break to fit them all in. There's just one little thing about that winter break: there's no school. None at all. And as much as we love having our kids with us all the time, that doesn't mean we want our kids with us all the time! If winter break poses logistical problems - or even just sanity problems - for your family, time to find a camp. How about one of the 10 camps below? Or check some of the other camps listed in our camp guide to see if your favorite summer camp has a winter vacation plan!

Free & Fun Things to Do this Weekend for NYC Kids: Hanukkah Festivals, Christmas Celebrations, Dan Zanes December 8-9

The holiday season is in full swing in NYC and many of our favorite annual seasonal celebrations take place this weekend. See Santa get rescued by some of New York's Bravest at the New York City Fire Museum. Hear a no-cost concert of Christmas carols tooted out at Tuba Christmas. And celebrate Hanukkah with giant menorah lightings in Central and Prospect Parks, and at The Jewish Museum with candles, candy and songs by Yosi and the Superdads.

Other fun on tap this weekend includes a concert by Dan Zanes and Friends, holiday storytime with Mommy Poppins founder Anna Fader at the Children's Museum of Manhattan and the Guggenheim's annual production of Peter and the Wolf.

Those are just a few of the great things going on this weekend. Read on for all of our picks. You can find additional options in our Event Calendar and our Holiday Fun Guide.

Mostly Free & Fun Things To Do With NJ Kids This Weekend Dec 8-9: Santa Train Ride, Hanukkah Wonderland, Teddy Bear Tea & More!

The holiday countdown is on so you’re bound to see twinkling lights, holly and the Big Red Man everywhere you go. Time to check out the Santa Claus Train Ride, Santa Fly-In Celebration or Hudson Ballet’s Nutcracker! And the first night of Hanukkah is this Saturday, so get in the spirit with Hooray for Hanukkah crafts at the Garden State Museum or the Hanukkah Winter Wonderland at Imagine That! Read on for our top picks and remember you can find a listing of all NJ activities in our Event Calendar.

New Toy Stores in Manhattan and Brooklyn 2012

Our NYC Shopping Local Gift Guide is chock-full of great places to find cool kids' items, from seasonal pop-up shops to holiday markets to year-round family favorites. But in addition to hitting your usual go-to shops, why not try something new?

We've found seven new toy stores that opened in Manhattan and Brooklyn over the past year, many specializing in handcrafted, eco-friendly playthings that you won't find in the big chains. Bonus: Some of these shops also offer classes, sing-alongs and special events for kids, so you may find yourself hitting these spots long after the holidays are over.

Inexpensive Date Night Childcare

Finding affordable and reliable childcare can be an enormous challenge, but there are many options around Long Island.  Below are several well-known locations that offer drop-off options, so that your child can enjoy "date night" as much as you do!  School districts or libraries sometimes also offer these services, so be sure to look there as well.

Weathering a Winter Birthday

My kids have cold-weather birthdays, and when it comes time to plan their parties, I often find myself fantasizing about a summer backyard birthday party, with kids running around in the grass, playing games, and blowing bubbles.

Are you in the same boat? If your child has a late fall or winter birthday, and you’re looking for ideas to overcome (or circumvent) the low temps, stuffy noses, and busy schedules that often accompany the season, read on. Whether it’s a strategy of avoiding or embracing winter birthday challenges, here are a few that have worked for us. 

 

Holiday Break Camps for NYC Kids: Science, Nature, Chess and Other Enrichment Programs

Starting Friday, December 21 (or even earlier for private school students), New York City kids are in for a nice, long holiday break. Parents, not so much—especially if you need to work on many of the days the kids are off from school. Luckily, NYC has plenty of holiday camps to keep children entertained while you head to the office, to the grocery store or to the spa (hey, it could happen).

Although in past posts we've lumped different kinds of school break camps together, from arts to athletics to academics, this time around we're focusing specifically on enrichment programs, where kids can get hands-on experience in robotics, chess, fashion, foreign languages and even construction. Some of the camps sound so cool, we wish they took grown-ups. You can find even more December break camps and other seasonal fun in our Holiday Guide.

NYC Pop-Up Shops 2012: 10 Places for Cool Holiday Gifts

In our Shopping Local Holiday Gift Guide, we highlight our favorite places to buy unique gifts in New York City including craft fairs and holiday markets. But we also love browsing the eclectic wares at all of the pop-up shops that appear in NYC at this time of year.

These temporary retail outlets are often (but not always) set up by businesses that don't normally sell goods directly to the public, or don't have stores in NYC. This holiday, returning pop-up favorites include Wired magazine's tech magnet, along with newcomers like kids' toy and gear great The Land of Nod, Microsoft and a shop dedicated to hot boy band One Direction. Read on for the scoop on ten awesome pop-up shops in NYC this season and find more fun in our Holiday Guide.

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