It really is the most wonderful time of the year, and New Jersey has many wonderful events to prove it. Pick from an underwater Santa, a gift wrap workshop, puppet shows and carriage rides or a Kwanzaa fest. Ho ho ho and all that good stuff to you!

For more holiday events, see our Holiday Guide.

December is the time to sit on Santa's lap, sing Christmas carols, and eat way too many holiday cookies! If you're looking for a fun way to get in the holiday spirit, plan a cookie crawl. Throughout the city, bakeries are making beautiful cookies that look as good as they taste. To get you started, here are festive treats from seven of the city's sweetest spots. 

And for more sweet ideas, see our Holiday Guide.

There is just something about Tchaikovsky's Sugar Plum Dance that makes you want to bake Christmas cookies, break out the holiday lights, and sip hot cocoa on the living room couch.  Seeing a performance of the Nutcracker is a holiday tradition that we honor every year.  We have found six spectacular kid-friendly performances of the Nutcracker for your family, ranging from grand and impressive to tot-friendly...

And for more cool holiday outings, check out our Holiday Guide.

If your kids love Pixar movies or beg to play dress up all day, it's time to plan a trip to the new Disney store in Times Square. With merchandise lining every inch of the place, it'll be hard to leave without buying something, but at least it's cheaper than a trip to Orlando. And the added bonus, it's super impressive. Read on to see photos and find out why your kid will be wowed.

This is the time of the year when we adults have to/want to create magic for the children in our lives. It is hard to decide where to put the most effort when there really is so much to do and lots going on.  In addition to all the shopping, baking and decorating it takes to create this “magic” there are also lots of fun seasonal events in New York City that make you want to just chuck all that magic making and go have some fun.  This weekend there are bright Hanukah events, Winter Fest at the Central Park Zoo and Winter Family Day at the Morgan Library & Museum to choose from or pick from one of the other many activities listed in The Mommy Poppins Holiday Activity Guide. Our guide covers everything from where to get the best photos for your holiday cards to what to do with your Christmas Tree when the holidays are over.  

This is the first weekend of December and many of the city’s museums offer free admission during designated times over the weekend. (The Children’s’ Museum of Manhattan, The Queens Museum and The Brooklyn Museum are just some of the many that will let you in for free). Our picks for the weekend are below and don’t forget to check out the Mommy Poppins Event Calendar for more ideas on how to spend your weekend.

Have a happy Hanukkah and a great weekend.

Whatever it takes to get you in the holiday spirit, it is going on this weekend in NJ. There is breakfast with Santa on Battleship NJ and underwater at the Adventure Aquarium.  There are Gingerbread House making events, Holiday Festivals at Stirling Stables, a Chanukah Extravaganza, and even Family Art Day at the Montclair Museum.

And if you are looking for more holiday fun, check out our Holiday Guide.

This is the second year that I've teamed up with an eclectic group of NYC bloggers to put together a Holiday Guide, each posting a Holiday-themed post on our own blogs and then linking them all to each other. Each blog is a NYC-Centric blog with its own unique lens through which it views the city. The resulting Holiday Guide offers a wide range of gift ideas and things to do and I think you'll agree that this has to be one of the most eclectic Holiday Guides out there.

I hope this introduces you to some new blogs in the 'hood and some off the beaten track NYC holiday ideas. Check out our Holiday Guide for more great Holiday activities and gift ideas.

This is the time of year when you want to embrace your inner craft goddess and sit down with your junior craft gods and goddesses to crank out some amazing homemade gifts for family, friends, teachers and other special folks. This is also the time of year when you have less time to do this sort of stuff than you usually do and maybe, just maybe, you even wish to be the recipient of said gift.  So, what to do? Visit one of the many craft emporiums in NYC where they have everything (materials, know how, time, space, etc.) needed to make the perfect handmade gift this holiday season.  

And for more cool holiday activity and gift ideas, check out our Holiday Guide.