New Year's Day is generally a quiet one on Long Island, but that doesn't mean you need to stay home. Chances are you've spent the winter holiday break taking in shows, ice skating, and even crafting at home. Well, if the kids are starting to hang from the rafters, you may want to head back out for some final holiday fun before school starts back up on Tuesday, January 3.

We rounded up more than a dozen of the top kid-friendly Long Island destinations that are open on New Year's Day like the aquarium, Bayville Winter Wonderland, museums, and even trampoline and indoor fun zones to help the whole family bid a sweet farewell to the holiday break.

Be sure to check out our events calendar for more fun ideas and our best family event picks for the New Year's Weekend and New Year's Eve celebrations.

The new year is here, and it's time to rest, right? Wrong. The kids have other ideas; but don't worry, we are here to help.  Enjoy learning about whales, a full moon hike, ice fishing, winter camping, and a whole lot more this month! You'll find 20 of our best picks for you and your family this January. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get a list of each week's highlighted events. Happy New Year!

Growing up in my parents' house, the Christmas season began with Advent, not Black Friday, and lasted until January 6 - the celebration of Epiphany. This meant not one ornament, nativity scene, or wreath was removed until the wise men had delivered their gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And the tree - the one "we" (mainly my mother) painstakingly picked out and meticulously decorated - shone brightly with multi-colored lights every night even after we returned to school from winter break. Nowadays, people seem to hang decorations as soon as the Thanksgiving turkey is carved and there are scarcely any vestiges of Christmas to be seen by New Year's Day.

So, whether your traditions include chopping down your own Norman Rockwell-worthy tree or adorning something more akin to Charlie Brown's, when the branches start to brown and that heirloom glass ornament is looking precarious, it's time to un-trim that tree and kick it to the curb - literally. Houston and the surrounding areas offer several ways to recycle your tree after the holidays. Be sure to remove all tinsel, lights, ornaments, stands, etc beforehand (flocked trees are not accepted). And if you need to get rid of holiday string lights, bring them with you when you check out Zoo Lights at the Houston Zoo. There is a receptacle near the entrance.

For many people, News Year's Day tends to be a lazy day of recovering from the previous evening's festivities. But once children come along it is nearly impossible to stay in bed all day relaxing or have a four-hour long brunch with friends. If you celebrated New Year's Eve with the family, you should be ready to go on January 1, or if you happened to snag a babysitter and enjoyed some champagne, chug that coffee and get ready to start the year off right with some memorable family fun! Here are 17 ideas for how to spend the first day of 2017 in and around Houston (and you can also check out our guide to family fun throughout winter break). 

You’re forgiven if you don’t count 2016 among your favorite years. There was Zika, ISIS, the Orlando massacre and more shootings than we care to count, the ongoing Syrian tragedy, the untimely deaths of public figures like David Bowie and Carrie Fisher, and yes, our acrimonious presidential election. But if you’re looking for a little glimmer of light, something to brighten your way into 2017, there sure were some positive signs in NYC when it came to new destinations for kids and families.

Even as we lost some of those quirky spots that make New York, well, New York, such as The Morbid Anatomy Museum and local bookstores BookCourt and P.S. Bookshop (all three in Brooklyn), the completely revamped 53rd Street NYPL reopened with a lovely children’s room and teen programming. We also gained several new playgrounds, including this whopper on the Upper West Side and a piano-shaped sprayground in Queens—and more than a dozen new kiddie gyms and play spaces across the five boroughs. And don't forget about Slide Hill on Governors Island, along with the city's first ever adventure playground. Certainly there seems to be an upward trend and more diverse lineup in terms of destinations when compared with 2015.

We’re looking forward to 2017 when the Bronx Zoo will gain a zip line (woot!), a miniature block-long city (Gulliver's Gate) will open for your gawking pleasure, downtown Brooklyn will add a new food court, and some spectacular family shows will arrive on Broadway. And let’s hear it for the Second Avenue subway, eh? Onward all, and onward to our favorite openings last year.

Sending your kids away to sleep away camp can be pretty nerve wracking. If you're ready to take that plunge, Eastern Connecticut has many trusted, accredited overnight camps offering introductory programs for kiddos as young as 7 years old. You might be surprised by how perfectly it goes! Make sure to check out our complete Summer Camp Guide as well.

Parents might think of New Year's as a holiday for grownups, but there are some great opportunities to celebrate with the kids, too. First Night Boston is an obvious choice, and as an added bonus, it's free. But if you're looking for something a bit more low-key, there are plenty of other options. Most of these events take place at museums out in the 'burbs, so if one of them is in your neck of the woods, attending a special family-friendly New Year's Eve event might become an annual family tradition.