Thanksgiving is the only holiday that I don't host at my home for our extended family.  This makes it the most laid back of holidays in my household.  Instead of spending hours cooking and cleaning the house I get to simply enjoy spending time with my husband and children. During dinner we like to go around the table and state what we are grateful for. It's a nice family tradition that brings gratitude to the forefront. Speaking of gratitude, we here at Mommy Poppins CT would like our readers and sponsors to know that we are grateful for all of your support for our site. We strive to provide great content for you each week that in turn helps you to create wonderful experiences with your families. This weekend is no exception...

Thanksgiving is just about behind us, and already Long Island is turning its eyes toward Christmas, with tree lightings and holiday celebrations. There's a holiday parade and Miracle on Main Street in Sayville, the lighting of the lighthouse and Family Holiday Fun Day in Montauk, and a tree lighting in Glen Cove, to name just a few. Check out our roundup of Christmas tree lightings for more. And the Nutcracker is playing in Port Washington. You can also take your little one to have breakfast with Woody and his crew from Toy Story at United Skates in Seaford. You'll also find a few turkey trots still going on this weekend. And check out our events calendar for still more fun this holiday weekend.

After all the hectic Thanksgiving festivities come to an end and the extended family leaves, settle down and spend some time relaxing with the kids during the rest of your holiday break. There are many activities going on around town that can help to keep you all entertained after the cooking, cleaning and chaos has ceased here in Hartford County.

So you’ve got a belly full of turkey, a fridge full of leftovers and out of town guests waiting to be entertained? Tackle the holiday season full on with the Turtle Back Zoo Holiday Lights Spectacular, Pictures with Santa at Jackrabbit Toys or American Repertory Ballet’s Nutcracker. For some regular fun without candy canes, check out the Rock and Mineral weekend or Aesop’s Fables: A Zany Adaptation! Read on for our top picks and remember you can find a listing of all NJ activities in our Event Calendar.

Between Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, your holiday head can spin like a sparkly top. That's where we come in! Check out our Holiday Fun Guide for the best activities in caroling, gingerbreading, menorah-ing, and all those other holiday "ing" words. We'll be adding new events daily so check back often for what's awesome in NJ during the happiest time of the year. And don't forget to check out Mommy Poppins NYC's Guide for NY fun. Happy holidays!

For some of us, shopping on Black Friday has about as much appeal as jumping into a lake in December*. Small Business Saturday, on November 24th this year, is much more my speed. Keeping things local, supporting our small businesses and all that they do for our communities is a good thing to do. I don't know about you, but I just feel better when I shop local which in turn is a little gift for me. Supporting my neighbors and helping our environment while getting holiday shopping done? Score! Plus, the small businesses in my area have lots of cool, unusual and creative gifts not to mention beautiful little villages to stroll about in. There are some great children's boutiques and toy stores in Litchfield County that will have their doors wide open for you this Saturday. Oh, and if you noticed the asterisk next to "jumping into the lake in December" you can do just that this year at Lake Waramaug on December 2nd during the Polar Plunge event. Sounds like a fun new (and chilly) family tradition to me! Read on for a listing of boutiques and shops that you can support in Litchfield County on Small Business Saturday (as well as every other day of the year).

Boom! Pow! Crash! Zap! If your kid's hero is more Tony Stark than LeBron James, finding a local comic book shop is a must. Just think of all the cool things your kid can learn through reading comic books: the battle of good and evil, visual storytelling, hilarious (intentional and unintentional) dialogue, and how to rock a cape. Read on for quotes and recommendations from some Jersey comic book store owners and a listing of great Northern NJ stores.

All of our sites are busy gearing up for the holiday season. In New York City, we've been working around the clock updating our Holiday Fun Guide with important info on big seasonal attractions like the New York Botanical Garden's Holiday Train Show, all of the different Nutcracker ballets dancing around town and next week's main event: Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Our regional sites have been very focused on Turkey Day this week, with posts about family-friendly restaurants serving Thanksgiving dinner in New Jersey and Fairfield County, Connecticut, while our Boston site has a mouth-watering list of Thanksgiving recipes from the 1600s that are so easy, kids can help make them. If you're thinking of travel, we've posted a list of Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday travel deals. 

While the holidays are a magical time when our communities come together and go all out with sparkling lights and holiday displays, this year it's a bittersweet experience since we're all still worrying about those whose lives were derailed by Hurricane Sandy. That's why we here at Mommy Poppins were inspired to organize a Holiday Portrait Fundraiser, equal parts holiday photo session and family party, with all proceeds going to Hurricane Sandy relief. Read on for details about this one-day-only event and everything else we covered on our NYC site this week.