As Cleopatra: the Exhibition enters its last few weeks (ending Jan 6) at the California Science Center - the tour's only stop on the west coast - perhaps you're wondering whether this is an exhibit that would hold the attention of your kids. Well the good news is you don't need to be an Egyptologist to enjoy exploring this homage to Egypt's most famous woman pharaoh. Come to the Science Center for the Endeavour, but stay for the Queen of the Nile.

Is there a clever new way for us to reiterate that the holidays are here? Nope. Assuming your to-do list is as long as ours, you don't have a minute to waste, so we're going to keep it brief this week.

In NYC, we took a photo-filled tour of the incredible Dyker Heights Christmas lights and rounded up our favorite restaurants with kids' entertainment in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Meanwhile our Travel site is profiling gorgeous beach towns like Akumal, Mexico and Islamorada, Florida in case you want to plan (or just fantasize about) your next vacation. We also have a roundup of holiday travel packages and deals and many destinations are within driving distance of NYC.

It's your very last chance to enter Mommy Poppins' Biggest Holiday Giveaway. We've got a few more prizes to win before it ends on Friday, December 14. See the complete list on our giveaway site.

As always, you can find a slew of posts about the best things to do, see, buy and experience this magical season in our Holiday Fun Guides for NYC, New Jersey, Long Island and Connecticut. Here's what else we covered on the NYC this week.

This weekend we got your holiday celebrations still going strong, as well as some secular fun. Shrek the Musical is playing at LIU Tilles Center in Greenvale, there's an adorable production at the Nassau County Museum of Art called "If You Really Love Polar Bears," kids can have breakfast with Santa at Cupcake Corner in Garden City, and of course, it wouldn't be the holidays without a production of The Nutcracker, by the Lynch Ballet Company at the Huntington High School auditorium.

I’m having a slightly hard time keeping track of the dates lately. Because whatever the calendar may say, all I can hear is LESS THAN TWO WEEKS 'TIL CHRISTMAS ALL IS LOST ABANDON HOPE PACK IT IN NOW. Or something to that effect. Luckily, Mommy Poppins is here to help me separate the nuts from the Nutcrackers, to keep me from getting light-headed with all the light displays, and, most importantly, to help put a little booty in my stockings. (I refer, of course, to the final days of our Biggest Holiday Giveaway - one of the many perks of being a Mommy Poppins reader.)

We have enough events this week to fill three or four newsletters. It's only through serious exercise of self-restraint that I've kept this post down to mere Russian novel length; you can find scores of other events on our daily calendar. No doubt things will slow down next week, because that's the week before Christmas and... oh. Well, after that there's Christmas week, which means some serious school break time, and then New Years Eve... I'm sorry, but for the next few weeks we simply have no choice but to provide you with an overabundance of fun, festive, and frequently free activities. If you need a break, I suggest you pencil it in sometime early 2013.

Keep reading for a small sampling of our favorite picks for this weekend...

I have such fond memories of my childhood playing dreidel,  lighting the menorah and eating latkes during Hanukkah. Yet, I didn't grow up in a Jewish household. I was fortunate to have many friends who shared their traditions with me.

This is the perfect time of year to expose your children to holiday diversity, so they can have an appreciation for others. The World Holiday Song and Dance in New Britain showcases music and dance from different cultures.

With the holidays taking over all of our lives these days we were shocked to see that chain stores are already displaying Valentine's Day items! But it was a reminder that the holiday season isn't here to stay, so we need to get out there and enjoy this particularly magical time in New York City while we still can. In addition to gawking at holiday windows and outrageous Christmas displays, lighting the menorah and spending time with Santa, there are lots of one-off special events this weekend. Share a meal with Santa and his animal pals at the Staten Island Zoo, rock out with the big red guy and Princess Katie & Racer Steve on a kids' cruise, or enjoy offbeat holiday festivities like the annual Unsilent Night musical procession or the Posadas y Pastorelas Mexican Family Celebration at the Museum of the City of New York.

There are also cool non-holiday activities like the highly anticipated debut of the brand-new Museum of Mathematics, skating at the recently opened Battery Park City ice-skating rink and a new show from awesome Swiss performance art troupe Mummenschanz.

Those are just a few of the great things going on this weekend. All of our picks are below. Remember, you can find additional options in our jam-packed Event Calendar and our Holiday Fun Guide.

A visit with the grandparents can be a special treat for everyone. Parents get a break and kids get to spend time with family members who aren't their mom or dad. That may mean slightly different ground rules, like snagging treats they aren't allowed at home, but it's also an opportunity to hear stories about what mom and pop were like as children. Grandparents can also share first-hand impressions about what the world was like years ago and, specifically, tales about their own family history.

Living in NYC, grandparents have the opportunity to go beyond storytelling. They can actually explore history with their grandchildren by visiting historic sites, museums and other enriching destinations that highlight a variety of cultural and immigrant experiences. My kids are Russian Jews on one side and African-American on the other, so NYC has us well covered.

Whether your kids' grandparents drop by all the time or are only able to visit once in a while, the next time they ask where to take the kids, skip the usual children's museums and play spaces, and suggest one of these meaningful outings, which help the generations find common ground while having fun.