It's not too late for families to prepare for Valentine's Day! This weekend is filled with some great opportunities for kids to make Valentine's Day cards and gifts, including the Valentine Card Making Extravaganza at ArtBeat, making a sweet gift at Lakeshore Learning for free, and a Valentine Card Making event at the Spellman Museum in Weston. This weekend also marks the return of the bald eagles to the Merrimack River, celebrated with a day of free activities for families at the Merrimack River Eagle Festival. 

Oodles of plays, musicals, and concerts are lighting up the stage this weekend as well. The BSO is putting on a Family Concert at Symphony Hall on Saturday, and Boston Musica Viva presents The Adventures of Babar and Bliss on Sunday (click through to the event listing for a nice ticket discount code). Other great picks for families include Stuart Little: The Musical in Cambridge, Lollipops for Breakfast in Brookline, Cinderella with the Tanglewood Marionettes in Lexington and Junie B. Jones: The Musical in Natick. SpongeBob SquarePants fans will likely want to see The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, opening in movie theaters this weekend. 

Also on Mommy Poppins Boston this week:

• We share some great ways to celebrate Valentine's Day with your kids in Boston.
• Michelle's terrific insider's list of 25 Things to Do with Kids in Newburyport will help you to plan a visit to the seaside city, whether it's in the winter or during the warmer seasons.
• Make Crayon Batik Valentines at home with the kids before the big day.
• Your kids can learn to code with these free coding apps.
• Thinking about taking the kids to see the new SpongeBob movie? Read this review of the movie from a parent's perspective. 

Enjoy your weekend, and don't forget to check out the full events calendar. Please check with event venues for snow cancelations before heading out this weekend!

The winter is famous for canceled flights and disrupted travel—but your family can take a trip around the world without ever leaving Westchester or the Hudson Valley by joining up with the various cultural events happening right here this weekend! Two big events are the Chinese New Year Festival and Black History Month Celebration. For Native American culture, there’s Family Day or try the Haitian Drum and Dance: Performance and Workshop. Also see our Chinese New Year roundup for even more great events that celebrate this holiday.

The curtain rises on a couple promising performances--Charlotte's Web  and Musical Adventures Concert Series--plus more are coming up soon, as you’ll see in our list of kid-friendly productions.

Nature lovers will love the multi-site Hudson River Eaglefest, parents can think warm thoughts at the Annual Westchester Camp & Activities Fair and families can participate in the burgeoning national movement called Take Your Child to the Library Day.

Be sure to consult our February Go List for our top picks for the month and our Event Calendar for tons of activities every single day!

Four of our top picks of the month take place this weekend and they run the gamut from film to theater to music to art! Catch the queen of kindie rock, Laurie Berkner, in a rare solo concert to benefit the Third Street Music School Settlement. See more than 70 films from around the world at the 17th annual BAMkids Film Fest. Learn about the principles of motion at the Brooklyn Children's Museum brand-new From Here to There installation. And catch the percussion-heavy dance spectacle Cambuyón at the New Victory Theater.

Speaking of Cambuyón, next Saturday, February 14, we're hosting a special Mommy Poppins performance of the show for our readers featuring an exclusive Valentine's Day cookie decorating session and a 20% discount on tickets. We hope you and your kids will come celebrate Valentine's Day with us!

These are just a few of the great things going on this weekend. All of our best bets are below. As always, you can find more options in our Event Calendar and our Winter Fun Guide.

It's a grab bag of good and bad news this week. Let's start with the good: After a long renovation, the popular Asser Levy Playground has reopened, Disney revealed a featurette about its upcoming Frozen animated short and there's a new indoor play space growing in Brooklyn. Now the bad: One of our favorite FREE annual family festivals, the Dumbo Arts Fest, has called it quits after 18 years! We've got the details on all those stories and more in this edition of our biweekly news roundup.

My kids don't think it's possible, but this past week I've come to believe that there really is such a thing as too much snow. If you're stuck at home because of slippery roads or just snow boot ennui, we've collected all manner of at-home activities from Free Coding Applications for Kids to Crayon Batik Valentines that will keep everyone entertained on snow days.

If you are ready for an adventure, make sure you check our Winter Sport Guide, which will give you the run down on local skiing, snowboarding, and sledding adventures. If you're looking for something a little bit more climate controlled, our Indoor Play Guide is chock-full of info on indoor play spaces, sports centers, and fun zones, including the renovated Insports in Trumbull.

Dress warmly and remember that events are often rescheduled or postponed in the event of inclement weather; make sure to call any venues directly before heading out, especially in these winter months. Here are suggestions for the weekend ahead. 

Parents are always looking for new and creative ways to celebrate their child's birthday. And if you have a little one who loves animals, you're in luck. From creepy and crawly to furry and cute, animals encounter parties are a great way to give kids some hands-on, interactive birthday fun. Long Island happens to be home to several portable party businesses that bring the pets to you. Need more birthday ideas? Be sure to check out our Long Island Party Guide.

Hello, February! Even though we’re a little snow-covered and 6 more weeks of winter are predicted, there’s no reason to get bored with all the awesome events NJ has to offer! Get in the Valentine’s Day spirit with the delicious Chocolate Festival at Morris Museum, create a nature Valentine at Tulpehaking Nature Center or learn about and craft Vintage Valentines at the Miller-Cory House Museum. Make the most of this chilly season and head to Winterfest at Madison Public Library and let the kids get messy with a Sticky Snowman Craft at Turkey Swamp Park. Want to sit back and relax? Book your tickets to see the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company at NJPAC or the zany and fun “Frogz” at Mayo Performing Arts Center. For even more weekend fun, check out the full list of weekend activities in our Event Calendar.