Turtle Back Zoo Holiday Lights Spectacular (West Orange) 

Turtleback is one of our favorite small zoos and we love the idea of it lit up with 40 holiday displays and 100,000 bulbs. Cool. (And doubly cool—TB Zoo will be collecting non-perishable food and unwrapped new toys for the needy each evening of holiday lights.) Saturday, November 27 and Sunday, November 28 from 5pm to 9pm. FREE. Call 973-731-5800 for more info.

“The Butt Book” Book Signing (Clinton) 

Clinton Book Store and writer Arnie Bennett are billing the hilarious picture book “The Butt Book” (full of animal butts, mummy butts and mommy butts) as “a tribute to backsides, rumps, tushies, keisters, heinies, and derrieres”. Love it. Sunday, November 28 from 1pm to 2:30pm. Call 908-735-8811 for more information.

Annual Tree Lighting (Princeton)

Thanksgiving will have been over for at least 24 hours, so why not start the next holiday? The Christmas Tree Lighting Spectacular on the Green in Palmer Square will kick off the season with a reading of “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” and a visit from Santa. Friday, November 26 at 4:45pm. FREE.

Got Leftovers? At Garden State Museum (Cherry Hill) 

We’re all about recycling and at the Garden State Museum this weekend you can turn your Thanksgiving leftovers into works of art. Paint with cranberries, make bread birdfeeders, and even bring an old pair of jeans to make into a purse. Friday, November 26 through Sunday, November 28 from noon to 3pm. FREE with museum admission of $10.95 per person. Call 856-424-1233 for more information.

Graham Cracker House Workshop and Lights On! (Hamilton) 

A junior version of Gingerbread house making at Grounds for Sculpture. Create simple houses of graham crackers, icing, candy, and cereal and take them home for the holidays. Best for ages 6 and up. Saturday, November 27 from 1pm to 3pm. Admission price of $12/Adults, $8/Children plus $5 materials fee per person or $20 per family of 5-6 members. Since you’re there, stick around for Lights On!, a time of holiday singing, decorating cookies, and awarding of prizes from the 6th Annual Gingerbread House Contest--all before the official lighting of holiday lights throughout the park at 5pm. Free with admission. Call 609-586-0616 for more information.

Design It! At Newark Museum

Cool interactive activities that let you invent something new. You can design a new piece of furniture, a building, a new logo for Newark Museum or an object for people to use like a light or a utensil. I wonder if this is how the “spork” was invented. Friday, November 26 from 12pm to 4:30pm. FREE with suggested museum admission of $10/Adults, $6/Kids. Call 973-596-6550 for information.

Dan Zanes at the Wellmont Theater (Montclair)

We are big big fans of Dan Zanes and his wacky brilliance around here. If you haven't experienced him and his band and his pal, Father Goose, now's the time. Saturday, November 27 at 3pm. All tickets $25, children under 2 are free.

For more great holiday ideas, check out our Holiday Guide.