This particular weekend right before Christmas is always inevitably a busy one. I still have a few (okay, more than a few) presents to check off the list, meal preparations to make, decorations to be hung, preparations for house guests....oh and then the wrapping and hiding and the cookie baking and updating our holiday music playlist. Sigh...The list goes on for so many of us moms! The end goal for me is to stay calm with a smile on my face while creating happy memories for the kids. The trick is to break the work up with some fun activities. There are a few places to get that photo with Santa, see the Nutcracker, or even have the kids make a holiday craft. This week we covered places to visit with Santa in Hartford and Fairfield Counties. This weekend in particular the Vienna Boys Choir Holiday Concert is at the Bushnell. There is also a Chanuka Fever Concert in West Hartford. If, like me, you'd like to take a break and go out to dinner a night or two, check out our listing of great restaurant options in Litchfield County. Some schools finish up this Friday and some not until next. For those in Fairfield County we've rounded up fun activities for the kids over the holiday break. We love our Facebook and twitter friends and will be doing some give aways next week so please sign up to like us. Take a deep breathe and dive in. Make the most of this Merry Holiday season!

We've told you our picks for Best Kids' Books for Holiday Gifts and given you recipes for No-Bake Treats for Overwhelmed Moms. Now as the last weekend before the Holidays (with a capital H) rolls around, take advantage of all the fun to be had with Jolly Old St. Nick. You've got your choice of sundaes, ice skating, train rides and special time with Sensitive Santa. Chanukah festivities are everywhere, too, with Latkerama and Chanukah Family Olympics rounding out the weekend fun.

Okay, folks: we're in the homestretch. Christmas is a little more than a week away, but there's still plenty of time to get your reindeer in a row. Luckily, the elves at Mommy Poppins are working overtime to solve all your holiday quandaries.

Want to find the best and brightest Christmas displays? Mommy Poppins can shine a light on that.

Looking to volunteer or donate toys for the holidays? Our list will earn you a sackful of checks in the "Nice" column.

Worried about where to eat Christmas Day? We're serving up a full menu of options.

Spent so much on everyone's presents that you need a little treat yourself? How about not one but TWO GIVEAWAYS!

Keep reading for some of our favorite picks for this weekend, and to learn about our great big giveaways!

It’s the last full weekend before Christmas (!), and our holiday calendar of events and things to do in Boston continues to grow, with the opening of The Christmas Revels, one of our annual favorites. This holiday tradition, Nutcracker performances, A Christmas Carol productions, visits with Santa, and last-minute gift shopping at craft fairs in the area offer plenty of options.

Other picks this weekend are kids concerts with Judy Pancoast and Alastair Moock , artifacts from the Arctic, and the opening of the Charles Hotel ice skating rink.

Keep reading for some of our favorite picks this weekend, and see our calendar for more ideas.

Enjoy!

It's the last full weekend before Christmas and Hanukkah, and there are plenty of ways to celebrate both holidays in New York City this weekend (in between the shopping, wrapping, card sending, baking, etc.) Tuesday is the first official night of Hanukkah but the parties begin this Sunday, including fetes at the JCC in Manhattan, the Jewish Museum and the 92nd Street Y. There's also a ton of holiday theater, including shows about Christmas, Hanukkah and even Three Kings Day.

If your kids haven't seen Santa yet (like my six-year-old, who's been begging for weeks), you can hang with Old St. Nick at the Staten Island Zoo's Beastly Breakfast. Or head to the Central Park Zoo, for the last weekend of WinterFest. Another great way to get into the spirit is by checking out NYC's marvelous department store windows and holiday light displays.

Those are just a few of the great things going on this weekend. Read on for all of our picks and remember, you can find additional options in our Event Calendar and our Holiday Fun Guide.

I could go on and on about how much I love books — reading them, shelving them, smelling them, quoting them, remembering them, sharing them. I could wax nostalgic — who? me? — about the abandoned little board books at the bottom of our bookshelf, that have been taken over by Harry and Hermione and Tumtum and Nutmeg. I could do all that, but really, wouldn’t you rather hear about the loads of wonderful children’s books from 2011 that make perfect gifts? Those special tomes that send young minds off to another world of water horses, New Orleans Jazz and magical tollbooths? Indeed. Let’s do that.

This list owes much to the goodness that is New Jersey’s independent bookstores, with their impeccable taste and steadfast devotion.

The holidays are a wonderful time. We pick out trees, give and get thoughtful gifts and watch the magic in our children’s eyes as we live the season through them. But let’s be real – the holidays are also extremely exhausting. There are some days, as I remember I have to give yet another gift to our dry cleaner, preschool teacher or person on my husband’s family’s Secret Santa list that I just want to fast forward to boring old January. But there’s hope! I recently decided to toss my “I don’t have time/energy/talent/patience to make desserts” rule out the window (never mind the fact that I’m a terrible baker) and get in the kitchen with my toddler and actually... wait for it… MAKE some of our gifts this year!