The holiday celebrations are here and there is plenty to do this weekend in Westchester with the kids. Enjoy a holiday tree lighting at Cross County Shopping Center, turkey fun at Westmoreland Sanctuary and Teatown Lake Reservation or Hershel and the Hannukah Goblins at Rosenthal JCC.

Two great theater performances can be seen this weekend. Exit Stage Left at the Emelin Theatre in Mamaroneck blends tap dance, live music, and slapstick comedy and offers an energetic show for younger audiences. Shrek the Musical will be performed all weekend long at the Yorktown Stage.The UBS Parade Spectacular on Sunday brings with it giant helium balloons floating through Stamford’s downtown. Foofa & Plex from Yo Gabba Gabba, Barbar & Badou and a Smurf will all make their debut this year. There is a balloon inflation party on Saturday as well where you can get a backstage look at the balloons as they come to life.

Read on for our top weekend picks. If you see something that piques your interest, click through to the event listing to view full details. Looking for more options? Be sure to check our Event Calendar for more fun happening this weekend and beyond.

Although Hanukkah and Thanksgiving don't officially arrive until next week, lots of seasonal celebrations take place this weekend. The Museum of Jewish Heritage, the 92nd Street Y and the Jewish Museum are all hosting Hanukkah parties, there's a Thanksgiving crafts workshop at the Cathedral St. John the Divine and you can mark both holidays at the Museum at Eldridge Street's merry mash-up Thanksgivukkah Extravaganzikah.

There's lots of awesome non-holiday fun, too, including two of our top event picks for November: the Brooklyn Museum's FREE Children's Book Fair and the Little Orchestra Society's lavish Firebird concert. Plus no-cost ballet workshops at the Children's Museum of the Arts.

These are just a few of the great things going on this weekend. All of our best bets are below. You can find additional options in our Event Calendar and our Holiday Fun Guide. Before heading out on your adventures, be sure to download our FREE Mommy Poppins Kids on the Go app so you can find the best family destinations wherever you happen to be in NYC.

While the 85-acre, waterfront Brooklyn Bridge Park is certainly the biggest and best known green space in Brooklyn Heights, there are a handful of lovely little neighborhood playgrounds like Pierrepont, Harry Chapin and Squibb Park, which are all located on or near the Promenade. Plus there are some great indoor spots where kids can drop in and play, too, like the soon-to-be-overhauled local library and the New York Transit Museum, which has vintage buses and trains to explore.

We finish up our month-long focus on Brooklyn Heights with a roundup of our favorite places to play both indoors and out in the area.

With one weekend to go before Turkey Day, how about taking a break from cooking and cleaning for some quality family time? Grab your sweaters and head outdoors for a Fall Photo Scavenger Hunt at the Frelinghuysen Arboretum or take in a performance of Oliver! at the historic Paper Mill Playhouse. If you’re looking to keep the kids busy and out of the house, sign up for a Thanksgiving Baking Class at Classic Thyme or get a jump on holiday decorating with a Christmas Wreath Workshop at NJ Botanical Gardens. By the way, don't miss our great giveaway for a family-four packs tickets to Sahara Sam's Water Park! And remember, you can find a full list of weekend activities in our Event Calendar.

Our partner, the New Victory Theater, is well known for presenting unique shows for families from around the world. And Feet Don't Fail Me Now!, a tap-dance extravaganza by Minneapolis' Rhythmic Circus, is definitely one of its best. This one-of-a-kind production is an exciting mash-up of rock concert and vigorous dance production that you don't want to miss.

Rhythmic Circus is an 11-member performing arts troupe comprised of the incredibly talented Roots City Band and four amazing rhythm-style tap dancers. The plot-less Feet Don't Fail Me Now! is an hour-long party featuring 14 genre-busting numbers ranging in style from beat box, to a cappella, to salsa, to jazz, to funk, to rock. The dancers' fast-paced percussive tapping brings another level of rhythm to the pounding music.

A true must-see, my eight-year old son and I were blown away. It's one of the best things we've ever experienced at the New Victory Theater and that's quite a compliment considering how many shows we've seen there!

There are many old and charming small towns in the great state of New Jersey. With memorable beach towns, historic college towns and sleepy suburbs, the garden state represents small town USA from Sussex to Salem County. Here is another installment in our ongoing series on Mommy Poppins New Jersey, Great Small Towns in NJ. Check out our other posts on Cranford, Millburn, Chester and Sparta. Get out there and explore our great state in one of these wonderful small towns!

You're thinking about the turkey, the stuffing, the pies, the cranberry sauce, the rolls, the squash soup, the green beans, the wine, the sparkling cider, the linens, the extra chairs, that extra leaf for the table.  If you're going to be hosting the big day, feeding your flock is task enough.  If you get to just show up and eat, well hey, that's task enough, too.  None of you should have to figure out what to do with your fat and happy selves, so we've come up with a slew of ideas for you, across the state, including turkey trots, museum visits, nature outings and sporty activities.