The Nutcracker, Dinosaurs, and More Things To Do on Long Island this Weekend

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Check out the Girl Scouts of Suffolk County's Holiday Light Show and Enchanted Forest before it closes on Sunday. Photo courtesy of the Girl Scouts of Suffolk County

Looking for the best things to do on Long Island this weekend? Here are some family-friendly events and activities to add to your schedule.

This weekend, Long Island is serving up family fun that leans hard into holiday merriment, from a free performance, Holiday on Ice Show at the Town of Oyster Bay Ice Skating Center, to the roaring opening of the Dinosaur Carnival at the Center for Science Teaching & Learning.

And because no December is complete without a Nutcracker moment, you’ve got three options: Eglevsky Ballet’s at the Tilles Center, the New York Dance Theatre at Hofstra University, or the kid-friendly The Nutcracker Act II at Ballet Long Island.

Best Snow Tubing in New Jersey for Families in 2026

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Snow tubers hurtle from top to bottom at exhilarating speeds at Shawnee Mountain Ski Area. Photo courtesy of Shawnee Mountain

Snow tubing is one of our favorite winter activities, and there are some great snow tubing spots in and near New Jersey. 

No experience or equipment is necessary, and you can go snow tubing alone or in groups. Snow tubing is a lot like sledding, but easier. You can barrel down the snowy slopes at thrilling speeds without having to hike back up the hill.

Read on for a list of the best snow tubing for families in New Jersey and in nearby Pennsylvania and New York. Most kid-friendly snow tubing slopes are open from roughly mid-December through mid-March.

Find lots more active winter fun in our Skiing, Snowboarding, and Snow Sports Guide. 

Santa Sightings, Holiday Farm Fun, and More Things To Do this Weekend in New Jersey

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Climb aboard a Clydesdale at Willow Grove Farm's Christmas with the Clydesdales event. Photo courtesy of Willow Grove Farm facebook page

Looking for the best things to do in New Jersey this weekend? Here are some family-friendly events and activities to add to your list.

We've reached the final weekend before Christmas, so it's a perfect time to grab some last-minute quality time with Santa at events like the Mill Race Holiday Village, where guests can meet Santa and the Grinch while enjoying a bounce house and petting zoo. Or, head to the Liberty Science Center's Santa Pajama Party, which includes a sock skating rink, live entertainment, and a fluffy snowball fight.

Plus, dance classes, storytelling, and a candle lighting ceremony are all part of the fun at Newark's Kwanzaa Festival and Marketplace.

Read on for all our top picks for the weekend ahead!

Make Music, Hanukkah, and More Things To Do in NYC this Weekend with Kids

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Kids can enjoy hands-on Hanukkah fun at the Children's Museum of Manhattan. Photo courtesy of CMOM

Looking for the best things to do in New York City this weekend? Here are some family-friendly events and activities to add to your list.

It's the weekend before Christmas, and NYC is ready to make a joyful noise during Sunday's Make Music New York festivities, which bring a cacophony to city streets, including the Bell by Bell performance at Astor Place, the Flatfoot Flatbush in Brooklyn, and more events citywide.

It's your last chance to see Santa and get those gift requests in, so consider a visit to Passport to Santa, or swing by the Paley Center for a Holiday Paw-ty with Paris and Pups.

Keep reading for all our top picks for the weekend ahead!

Snow Play Near Los Angeles: 16 Places LA Families Can Pretend It's Winter

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Everyone loves a snow day! Photo courtesy of Big Bear Mountain Resort

Snow play near Los Angeles, you ask? There's no snow in Los Angeles, and nobody walks in LA. Two truisms that actually aren't true! Most of us live in LA because we love the mild weather. It's fun to Facetime relatives freezing in Michigan from the pool in March.

When the rest of the country is covered in fresh white powder, we wish for a day of snow play near Los Angeles. If you or your little snow angels are longing for a day of building snowmen, sledding, snow tubing, and more, all it takes is a drive to higher elevations. The whole family can experience the thrill of winter sports, explore alpine landscapes, and take in the magic of winter for the day. 

Best Snow Tubing near Philly for Families

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Try Galactic tubing at Camelback Mountain for nighttime family adventures. Photo courtesy of Camelback

We've rounded up the best places for snow tubing near Philly for the ultimate winter fun.

Winter fun hardly gets more exciting than this, and we've rounded up our favorite places to go snow tubing near Philadelphia. As a kid, my snow tubing experiences consisted of my dad pulling snow tubes behind his 4-wheeler near our house. Safety standards have changed in the Philly area since the 1980s, and now we don’t have to resort to such creative measures. So get ready to ride the slopes down carefully crafted lanes from the Lehigh Valley to the Poconos at these snowy spots packed with cold-weather family fun. Nowadays, snow tubing is the perfect all-ages winter activity, with no gear or experience required.

For more winter excursions, check out our favorite sledding spots near Philly and our list of family-friendly skiing and snowboarding destinations. All of our favorite wintertime highlights can be found in our Winter Activities Guide for Philly Families.

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