We admit we jumped the gun when we posted our list of the best sledding hills in NYC earlier this week. We were just so excited about the snow (that's my daughter in the photo, gleefully making snow angels in her schoolyard) and we had hoped there would be more of it.

Of course we don't need a blizzard to enjoy winter sports. Many nearby ski and snow tubing resorts blow their own, and our New Jersey and Connecticut sites have plenty of great seasonal activity suggestions, in case you're thinking about taking a trip over the upcoming four-day midwinter break. Looking for additional getaway suggestions? Our Travel site also has a post about five mini-vacation spots for families in the Northeast, including the popular CoCo Key Water Resorts in New Jersey and Connecticut.

Back here in NYC, we launched our February Go NYC List featuring the absolute best things to do with kids throughout the month so you can plan ahead. We're particularly excited about the Citi Pond Winter Film Festival, which kicks off this coming Monday, February 4 with an outdoor screening of the classic animated Disney flick Peter Pan in Bryant Park. The Mommy Poppins team will be there with a table so come say hello. We'll even be handing out vouchers for free hot chocolate to our readers while supplies last. Watch the movie as you glide around the ice or pull up a rink-side chair.

Here's what else we covered on the NYC site this week:

The only thing worse than having to go out in the cold is hearing people complain about it. So we're not going to do that. Instead, we'll tell you about our favorite places to play indoors, not just preschooler play spaces but an indoor skatepark and rock climbing gyms that appeal to older kids.

Of course, by the weekend it's supposed to be a balmy 30 degrees, much better weather for outdoor winter activities. Take a day trip to Fairfield, Connecticut to go ice fishing, snowshoeing or cross-country skiing, and of course there are great snow tubing and downhill skiing spots all over the tri-state area. And if you really want to fantasize about getting out of the city (or need to plan a spring break getaway), our Travel site has a review and slide show of the all-inclusive resort Azul Beach Hotel in Cancun, Mexico.

Here's what else we covered on the NYC site this week:

Now that winter has come to stay, you'll probably be spending a lot of time indoors, but you can't just stay at home the whole season or the kids will go stir crazy. Time to sign up for some winter classes. We reached out to some of our favorite educational and enriching NYC programs and asked them to extend deals to our readers. The result is ten excellent offers for kids that you won't want to miss, from babies through tweens. Save up to 50% on classes like swimming, musical theater, Spanish, dance and animation. We even have discounts on test prep programs. Act fast! These deals are too hot to hang around long.

A school bus strike, a flu epidemic and no agreement over the teacher evaluation plan. Man are we ready for the three-day MLK weekend to arrive. How to celebrate and honor Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy was a hot topic across all of our sites this week, and we found lots of meaningful ways to mark the holiday (which also happens to be President Obama's inauguration day) in NYC, on Long Island, in New Jersey and Connecticut. There are even some volunteering opportunities for families.

While the snow we got in NYC earlier this week washed away in a matter of hours, our Winter Fun Guide has info on plenty of tri-state area ski and snow tubing resorts that make their own in case you're thinking of going away for the weekend. We're hoping we actually get a natural snowfall at some point this season so we can go cross-country skiing, too.

Here's what else we covered on the NYC site this week:

Last Sunday, my daughter and I waited on a long line to see the awesome swings installation at the Park Avenue Armory, which was closing that day. It was one of those unforgettable, offbeat experiences that we love sharing here on Mommy Poppins, and I was so happy that we didn't end up missing it. Now there's an easy way for your family to stay on top of cool, one-of-a-kind events like that exhibit: Mommy Poppins' brand-new NYC Go List, where we highlight the absolute best things to do with kids every month. January is usually slow in terms of family happenings and yet we found 15 events worth putting in your calendar. We can't wait to see what kinds of can't-miss experiences the warmer months bring!

While it looks like we won't be sledding in NYC anytime soon, nearby skiing and snowboarding spots are open and making their own snow. And if you're searching for a great seasonal getaway for the Martin Luther King Day holiday weekend, our Travel site has profiles of three family-friendly Massachusettes ski resorts. You can find lots of other day and weekend trip ideas in our NYC Travel Guide.

Here's what else we covered on the NYC site this week:

Last fall we wrote a post about camps for Election Day and Veterans Day to help out all of those working parents who can't take every school holiday off. Now Martin Luther King Day is coming up on Monday, January 21, and despite the fact that it's a federal holiday (not to mention Obama's public Inauguration Day), we know a lot of moms and dads may need to go into the office (like me!).

On these one-off school holidays, it's often hard to find coverage but we did the work for you and came up with 13 awesome sounding camps, many offering a full day of activities (although a few are half-day in case you can get out early). While you slave away, your children get to enjoy soccer, cooking, theater, robotics and chess, plus special volunteer opportunities in the spirit of the Martin Luther King Day of Service. Makes us wish we could trade places with our kids.

It's been another low-key week at Mommy Poppins (and hopefully at your home, too) as we slowly get back into the groove of work and school. Most of the holidays are behind us—save for Three Kings Day, which officially ends the season on Sunday—and we're all looking ahead to winter fun.

While you can certainly enjoy seasonal activities like ice-skating and (assuming it snows) sledding in NYC, you need to leave town for other winter favorites. But our regional sites have you covered with info on where to go snowshoeing and cross-country skiing in Connecticut, snow tubing in New Jersey and skiing throughout the tri-state area. And if you just can't bear the thought of being outdoors in the cold, our Indoor Activity Guide has lots of toasty destinations, including drop-in play spaces in Manhattan and indoor water parks near NYC.

Here's what else we covered in NYC this week:

Every year, we knock an experience or two off our list of 100 things to do with kids in NYC before they grow up. In 2012, my family braved the crowds at Dylan's Candy Bar (No. 8), Dave & Buster's in Times Square (No. 28) and Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Balloon Inflation (No. 98), all for the first time. And I know that Mommy Poppins' founder Anna and her kids finally made it to the Easter Parade (No. 27) and went on a couple of auditions just for fun (No. 2). But just when we think we're making a real dent in that list, a slew of brand-new must-see attractions pop up in New York City. Not that we're complaining—that's one of the reasons we love living here.

Even if you're still working on visiting all of the amazing places that opened in 2011, 2012's top new spots deserve to be on your radar. If you read the site every day, you'll probably already know about most of these, but if you missed a few of the 500 or so posts we wrote this year, here's a roundup of our favorite new NYC attractions for families that opened in 2012.