Happy New Year! This first weekend in 2015 offers some unique ways for families to get out and enjoy the new year, including the ice labyrinth at the Fire & Ice Festival in South Boston. It's a great weekend for animal lovers, too. Kids can search for winter predators at a Predator Party at the Ipswich River Sanctuary in Topsfield or step inside the tropical forest to meet Winter Princesses at the Franklin Park Zoo. 

Performance highlights this weekend include the Circo Comedia in Newton, The Joshua Show in Brookline, and The Light Princess in Cambridge.

This weekend is the last chance to catch some of Boston's favorite holiday events. The Blink! light and sound show is wrapping up up at Faneuil Hall, the Family Trees exhibit is coming to a close in Concord, and it's the last hurrah of the season for the Enchanted Village in Avon. It's also the last weekend to see the Zoo Lights at the Stone Zoo and the light displays at La Salette Shrine before they come down.

Also on Mommy Poppins this week:

• Our list of 25 Things to Do on the South Shore in Winter should keep South Shore families busy until spring.
• Start your New Year's Eve off with fun surprises by Making New Year's Crackers with the kids.
• We share some New Year's Day Activities to Jump Start Your Family's Resolutions.
• If you're making last-minute New Year's Eve plans, our posts about First Night Boston and New Year's Eve Fun for Boston Kids and Families have all the information you'll need for a successful and fun outing.

Enjoy your weekend and don't forget to check out the full events calendar!

2015 marks my tenth year as a parent, and every year, I have to say that my parenting resolutions are more or less the same: try new things, have more fun, and appreciate the moment. Luckily, here at Mommy Poppins, I spend my days finding ways to do all three. Whether it's finding ice skating venues that the whole family can enjoy on New Year's Eve in Fairfield County, Family Friendly New Year's Fun in Central CT, New Year's Day Activities with the kids, or a simple New Year's Eve Cracker Craft to personalize your celebration, we've scoured our favorite Connecticut locations to find the best and easiest ways to ensure the whole family has fun--on New Year's Eve and beyond.

If you're making plans for the month ahead, be sure to peek at the January Go List, a carefully curated list of upcoming events. To get the most out of the site, be sure to follow us on Facebook (make sure Mommy Poppins CT shows up on your feed by including us in your "interests list." To put a page on your "interests list," hover over the "Like" button and you'll see a pull-down menu that offers an "add to your interests lists" choice). Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and be sure to get the weekend round up every Thursday in your inbox.

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter and Pinterest in order to get updates on events, current contests and free giveaways. Our event calendar is updated constantly with fun activities around the state.

Without further ado, here are our suggestions for making the first weekend of 2015 a memorable one! 

Can you believe it’s almost a brand-new year? As the holiday season comes to a close, take advantage of all the fun opportunities to say goodbye to 2014 and kick off 2015. Celebrate New Year’s Eve at jam-packed family events, including iPlay’s Family-Friendly New Year’s Eve Celebration, First Night Ocean County or First Night Morristown. Warm up those pipes and make it a musical new year with sing-along versions of classic films The Wizard of Oz and The Sound of Music. And you won’t want to miss everyone’s favorite characters on skates in Disney on Ice Presents Princesses & Heroes. For even more weekend fun, check out the full list of weekend activities in our Event Calendar.

As excited as we are for 2015, the New Year is always a bit bittersweet as all the holiday sights come down, we recycle our Christmas trees, and get ready to return to our busy school and work routines. That's why my family and I try to pack as much fun as we can into these last days of holiday break!

This weekend, celebrate Three Kings Day a little early at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, meet Thomas the Tank Engine and his pals at the New York Botanical Garden Holiday Train Show and try to catch a glimpse of the Quadrantids Meteor Shower with the Urban Park Rangers.

If you've already got your 2015 family calendar up, you'll want to check out our January NYC GOList to find out about the absolute best things to do with kids throughout the month. Our picks include lots of annual favorites, plus a special Mommy Poppins-sponsored performance of the Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia's Stella, Queen of the Snow at Symphony Space next Saturday that includes an adorable marshmallow snowman activity and a deep discount on tickets.

All of our top picks for this weekend are below. You can find additional options in our Event Calendar and Holiday Fun Guide.

I've lived in New Jersey my entire life, but just recently discovered the Victorian Village on the Delaware known as Frenchtown. This picturesque town is tiny (just over one square mile), but packed with plenty to do for nature lovers, shoppers, foodies and families. We've highlighted some of the best reasons to visit this great little town. With a perfect location and an eclectic mix of shops and restaurants we promise you won't be disappointed. Take a day trip to Frenchtown and find out why it might just be New Jersey's best kept secret. For even more great small town destinations, check out our Small Towns Guide.

Disney's Christmas day film release at El Capitan is quite different from movies of Christmases past; Into the Woods is definitely no Frozen. In some circles, the release is just as big if not bigger than last season's yuletide kinder-blockbuster, but I don't foresee many three-year-olds memorizing these lyrics. The question on many parents' minds, therefore, is what the right age is for kids to see Into the Woods, and the film's PG rating doesn't go very far to answering the question. Anticipation for this film has been huge - Sondheim fans are arguably as loyal as Star Wars fans - but should you bring your kids? There are those who say no, but I'll go with a qualified yes.

Happy New Year!  As 2014 turns into 2015, the best place to be is Pasadena and its environs. There is a unique way to celebrate the historic 126^th annual Tournament of Roses Parade each day this week. 

Of course every family should try to get to the parade at least once, but if you’ve already done it, or crowds aren’t your thing, there are multiple opportunities before and after to see the floats, meet the horses, and enjoy the marching bands. Though perhaps more of a grown up holiday, we also have lots of ideas for celebrating New Year’s Eve with the kids; and of course there are many non-parade activities on our event calendar, including a holiday opportunity to check out the Bunny Museum - which also happens to be in Pasadena.