All Weekend

Guided Hot Chocolate Hike (Short Hills, NJ)
Take a break from the holiday rush and enjoy a guided hike at Cora Hartshorn Arboretum as you search for woodland friends in the forest. After the hike, warm up in the Historic Stone House with a cup of hot cocoa.

Turtle Back Zoo Holiday Lights (West Orange, NJ)
An annual Jersey favorite, Turtle Back Zoo Holiday Lights is a festive way to celebrate the season. Pile up the gang in the car and drive through the zoo illuminated by lights and holiday displays.

Cranbury Christmas Lights (Cranbury, NJ)
Cranbury Christmas Lights features 120,000 lights choreographed to 704 channels of lights dancing to 20 songs – pretty impressive! The display also includes New Jersey's largest Christmas tree standing at 36 feet tall.

NJ Youth Ballet’s The Nutcracker (West Windsor, NJ)
The New Jersey Youth Ballet magically transports you to The Land of The Sweets in this hour-long, fully narrated version of the classic ballet. A great holiday outing for the whole family.

Christmas Fantasy in Lights (Egg Harbor Township, NJ)
The Christmas Fantasy with Lights at Storybook Land has been a South Jersey tradition for over 25 years. Experience holiday magic for yourself as Santa Claus waves his magic wand and lights the park with over one million holiday lights.

Saturday, December 19th

The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe (Millburn, NJ)
Paper Mill Playhouse presents a special show just for children. This enchanting musical is based on C.S. Lewis' spectacular tale about four children of war-torn England, who accidentally enter the land of Narnia by climbing through a magic wardrobe.

Breakfast with Santa (Camden, NJ)
Enjoy breakfast with the jolly ole elf himself, Santa Claus! Each admission to Camden Children’s Garden includes a buffet brunch, holiday crafts, tickets for the train ride and carousel, and a printed picture with Santa.

Forces of Nature Dance Theatre: Kwanzaa Celebration (Newark, NJ)
Celebrate Kwanzaa with a performance by the innovative Forces of Nature theatrical company. The show at NJPAC combines the elements of modern and West African dance, ballet, hip-hop and even martial arts.

Sculpted Ice Works (Chester, NJ)
Don't miss this holiday's sculpting performance by the talented ice carvers from Ice Works, who will create dazzling sculpted ice displays right in Downtown Chester. This year’s theme is ‘Playful Penguins!’ Stick around after the demos for holiday treats and shopping at the local shops and restaurants.

Sunday, December 20th

Breakfast with Santa at Liberty Hall (Union, NJ)
Ho, ho, ho! Liberty Hall hosts its big and bountiful Breakfast with Santa this Sunday. The hot breakfast buffet will fill you with Christmas cheer before you snap a photo with Santa in his sleigh.

Frosty the Snowman (Millburn, NJ)
Paper Mill Playhouse presents a special holiday show just for children. The beloved song Frosty the Snowman inspires a new tale of a young orphan named Billy who discovers magic in a stolen hat on a snowman's head. The snowman comes to life, teaching him about true Christmas spirit.  

Check out our NJ GoList featuring our top picks for the entire month of December. And don't forget: We have additional activity listings in our Event Calendar.

And if you are heading into NYC for the weekend, make sure you check out the New York City Mommy Poppins Event Calendar to get the latest on all the fun to be had Big Apple-style.