All Weekend

Santa at the Winter Garden – Battery Park City
Yes, you can catch the jolly red guy at Macy's and other department stores, but the ambiance at the Winter Garden at the World Financial Center is stunning. I've taken my son to this Santa event many times, and the pictures are truly gorgeous. Only downside: the long lines. And since this is the season for giving, take note: The proceeds from your professional photo package will be donated to the Brooke Jackman Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on improving literacy among at-risk children in the New York area. Photo packages are $15-$20.

Peter and the Wolf with Isaac Mizrahi – Upper East Side
The Guggenheim revives its annual holiday performance of Prokofiev's timeless children’s classic, narrated by Isaac Mizrahi and featuring fabulous balloon sculptures by Jason Hackenwerth. $35.

A Christmas Carol – Tribeca
Manhattan Children’s Theatre mounts a just-for-kids musical adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic holiday tale. In advance: $18 for adults, $16 for kids; at the door: $20.

Mommy Mornings – Nolita
Park Here, the indoor pop-up park that was open last winter, is back and this year, families can enjoy exclusive access to the faux green space—for a fee. Beginning this Friday and continuing through February 15, kids can romp in the space from 8:30-11:30am with nary a hipster in sight. There will also be enriching activities like yoga, storytime, arts and crafts, and live concerts. $25 per session, $200 for a season pass.

Gingerbread House Decorating Workshop – Tribeca
In these festive food workshops, kids create their own gingerbread house for the holidays. Live music and handy elves add to atmosphere. While it's a pricey party, all proceeds go to support the Church St. School for Music and Art. Advance registration required. $95.

A Charlie Brown Christmas – Park Slope
This live stage adaptation of the iconic holiday TV-special by Pig Brooch Theatre Company features Charlie, Lucy, Linus, Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts gang along with that sad little Christmas tree. A lively jazz trio plays Vince Guaraldi's memorable Charlie Brown music. $10, family four-pack $30.

The Yorkville Nutcracker – Upper East Side
Set in New York City in 1895, Dances Patrelle's Nutcracker dances its way through a holiday party at Gracie Mansion, Wollman Rink in Central Park and the New York Botanical Garden conservatory. $45-$85

Cow-nival – Chelsea
Head to Chelsea Market’s Ronnybrook Dairy for some animal fun as the store welcomes two live calves from its farm. in addition to petting and photo ops, there will be fun games and activities like cow pie bingo and branding on a fake cow. FREE

The New York Botanical Garden's Holiday Train Show – the Bronx
An annual family favorite, this amazing display features more than 140 NYC landmarks created out of natural materials with model trains running through the landscape. The NYBG also offers additional seasonal fun like Gingerbread Adventures and a new holiday film festival. $20 for adults, $10 for children ages 2-12, free for kids under 2.

Bronx Santaland – Morrisania
Visit with Santa and snap a few family photos at this fundraiser for the Liberty Development Community Center. Kids can also catch the mini-play A Bronx Christmas about how the big red guy gets into NYC apartments sans chimneys. $12, photos with Santa are an additional $5.

Saturday, December 10

Winterfest at the Central Park Zoo – Upper East Side
Twinkling lights adorn the zoo for the holidays, and families can enjoy an array of special seasonal activities. Kids can make winter-themed crafts, meet a rabbit, chinchilla and dove, watch the mini-musical If You Really Love Polar Bears and enjoy other seasonal fun. Free with admission: $12 for adults, $7 for children ages 3-12, free for kids under 2.

The Deedle Deedle Dees Family Concert – Astoria
The Brooklyn-based kids' band throws a CD release party at the Waltz Astoria for its new album Strange Dees, Indeed. Concertgoers will marvel at the group's amazingly smart lyrics, filled with all kinds of historical tidbits, and tunes that combine power pop, punk and folk. R.O.C.K’s Aric Bieganek is the opening act. $10 per family.

No Longer Bored Event: Scavenger Hunt—Exploring Space – West Village
Take a self-guided tour of XYZ:NYC 10 Downing, a brand-new art exhibit exploring space, and then go on a scavenger hunt to find specific details you may have missed the first time. Bonus: All attendees will be offered buy-one-get-one-free admission to the Children’s Museum of the Arts for the day. FREE but space is limited. R.S.V.P. here.

R & R Saturdays – Upper West Side
The free Saturday family fun continues at the JCC in Manhattan with a live performance and workshop by Shira & Friends, storytelling, origami, indoor games and outdoor fun in the newly renovated rooftop playground, weather permitting. There are activities for parents too, like a live a cappella concert and yoga. FREE

A Christmas Carol – Tribeca
This adaptation of the classic tale is set in Manhattan and performed by the ghost of Charles Dickens himself. $18.

Saturday Morning Storytelling with the Hans Christian Andersen Storytellers – Murray Hill
Seasoned storyteller Julie Pasqual will share holiday tales from Northern Europe. Afterward, stay and play at the revamped Heimbold Family Children's Learning Center. FREE for storytelling, $8 for the center.

The Flying Latke – Tribeca
This comical Hanukkah play features the meshugge Silverstein family, who cause a UFO panic after one of their potato pancakes is thrown out the window during a holiday food fight. $12

Hands on History: Snowed in at the Manor – Jamaica
Families can learn all about Christmas in the 19th century at the King Manor Museum through seasonal stories, songs and crafts. FREE

Family Films: Transportation Tales – Midtown East
Head to the Museum of Modern Art to enjoy transportation-themed shorts, including The Yellow Balloon, which my son and I saw last year at the NYICFF. It's a charming, pencil-drawn tale about a girl and her balloon in the NYC subway. FREE but tickets are distributed on a first-come,first-served basis.

Winnie the Pooh’s Winter Tale – Prospect Heights
Pooh bear and the rest of the gang from the Five Acre Wood discover the magic of friendship, winter and more in this musical for the preschool set. FREE

Holiday Card Making Workshop – Flushing
Kids can explore The Collage Aesthetic of Louis Armstrong exhibit at Flushing Town Hall, and then make a collage holiday card to take home. $5

Family Affair Holiday Celebration – the Bronx
The Bronx Museum of the Arts throws its annual family holiday party. Enjoy art workshops, food and special family-friendly tours of its current exhibitions. FREE

Nostalgia Shoppers Special Train – Queens and Manhattan
The MTA is running these retro rides on the Sixth Avenue line between Queens Plaza and Lower East Side-Second Avenue this Saturday. Take a literal trip back in time on these old-school cars that still have their vintage ads preserved. Just a MetroCard swipe!

See all Saturday events.

Sunday, December 11

Annual Santa Rescue – Hudson Square
Watch as New York's Bravest rescue Santa when he gets stranded on the roof of the New York City Fire Museum. Once he is safely inside the refurbished 1904 firehouse, he'll pose for photos with fans while carols are sung. $8 for adults, $1 for children.

Tuba Christmas – Midtown East
More wacky seasonal fun: Five hundred tuba players toot holiday songs on the Rink at Rockefeller Center. Bet you've never heard that before. This concert is always crowded, but if you show up around 12:30pm instead, you can catch their rehearsal and avoid the hordes. 3:30pm. FREE

Annual Holiday Concert by the Greenwich Village Orchestra – Gramercy
The holiday-themed lineup includes excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker, Mozart’s Twinkle Twinkle and other compositions. A great way to introduce kids to classical music. Suggested donation of $10 per family.

David Weinstone and Music for Aardvarks – Tribeca
92yTribeca welcomes NYC's original kiddie rocker, David Weinstone, as part of its Sunday morning concert series. Expect to hear "Taxi," "Bagel," "Subway" and other city-centric songs. $15, free for children under 2.

Met Life Second Sundays for Families: Take a Trip to the Philippines – Corona
Experience Filipino culture at this merry ethnic Christmas celebration at the Queens Museum of Art. Families can learn how to make traditional pastries, sing Filipino and English carols and craft parol, a.k.a. Christmas lanterns. FREE

Hanukkah Festival – Upper East Side
Even though the holiday doesn't begin until December 20, the 92nd Street Y is hosting its annual Hanukkah festival today. Build your own hanukkiah, decorate dreidels and cookies, press your own olive oil, and enjoy performances by Shababa Mamas and Miracle Makers. $10 for adults, $15 for children.

New York Family Camp Fair – Upper West Side
It's never too early to plan for summer! Head to the Ethical Culture Fieldston School to attend this camp fair featuring dozens of program directors. FREE

The Colonial Nutcracker – Flatbush
The Dance Theatre in Westchester transports Clara and the gang from a mansion in Europe to a snowy, colonial-era American abode in its narrated adaptation of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker ballet. $7

Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins – Staten Island
Watch Hershel outwit the tricky goblins in this stage adaptation of the book at the Staten Island Children’s Museum. Free with admission: $6.

See all Sunday events.


Outside of NYC

Are you a member of Kids Club Thirteen? It certainly has its privileges, including free admission to 13 family events throughout the year. This Saturday, Kids Club Thirteen members can head to the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms in Morris Plains, NJ for some old-fashioned seasonal fun with the Berenstian Bears. Go on a scavenger hunt, compete in an egg-and-spoon race, make a pinecone bird feeder and visit with the bears of the hour. Visit the Kids Club Thirteen website for a list of member benefits and info on how to join.

Ringwood Manor in New Jersey will be decked out in its 19th-century Christmas best. Families can take a tour of the landmarked building led by period garbed guides.

Newsday, Long Island’s newspaper, is hosting its first-ever Holiday Lights Festival in Melville. Visitors can walk through 625 feet of twinkling displays, hit the ice rink or the holiday market.

The Holiday Light Fantasia in Hartford, Connecticut is another wonderful Christmas display. Families can take a magical two-mile drive through lighted animations and holiday scenes.

Don't forget: We have additional activity options in our Event Calendar and our Holiday Guide.

Planning an event? Submit it to our calendar.

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