This bitterly cold winter has left many parents looking for ways to entertain their stir-crazy kids. On days when heading to the local park isn't an option, indoor play spaces can be a parents best friend.  If your little monkeys are bouncing off of the walls, some of the indoor  entertainment options listed below might just give you a few hours to catch your breath.  For even more ideas, visit our Indoor Play and Rainy Day Activity Guide.

This weekend planner has something for everyone. Have your kids start the weekend off relaxed and refreshed with a Friday afternoon yoga class, followed by some star gazing. Then take part in a fun scavenger hunt in Yaphank or learn about slithering salamanders on the South Fork. Reconvene with some family time on Sunday at the Nassau County Museum of Art.

Here's a guide for this weekend's happenings across Long Island. Don't see your event listed here? Add it to our events calendar. And if you don't already receive this post in your inbox subscribe to our newsletter.

Put on your party hats, costumes and masks: multicultural Purim, Carnival and St. Patrick's Day celebrations abound this weekend. Highlights include the Museum of Jewish Heritage's Macaroons concert for Purim, the activity-packed St. Patrick's Day open house at the Irish Arts Center and a Carnival-themed fete at the recently renovated Queens Museum.

One of our top March picks, the New York International Children's Film Festival, begins this weekend with a wide range of family screenings at six Manhattan theaters. Also kicking off this weekend: the lottery for the NYC Parks Department's super-inexpensive summer camp ($500 total for seven weeks). We've got the scoop on how to vie for a spot in our just-updated free and cheap camps post, and you can learn about lots of other summer programs in our new and improved Camp Guide.

These are just a few of the great things going on this weekend. All of our best bets are below. You can find additional options in our Event Calendar. Before heading out on your adventures, be sure to download our FREE Mommy Poppins Kids on the Go app so you can find the best family destinations wherever you happen to be in NYC.

Miss the club scene since becoming parents? Baby Loves Disco dance parties are the hippest way for the juice box set and their parents to shake their groove thang at some of LA's hottest nightclubs. These weekend afternoon kiddie clubs offer a perfect antidote to the been-there-done-that playground scene; and hitting the dance floor as a family is an awesome way to have fun together while letting the kids boogie out their boundless energy.

If you haven't been behind the velvet rope in a while, Baby Loves Disco parties are a legit way to experience some of what you've been missing, without having to hire a sitter. There's plenty of atmosphere at these parties, plus dance tunes spun by a live DJ, a cash bar (with bubbles) for the adults, healthy snacks by Honest Kids, changing tables, stroller parking, toys, puzzles, reading nooks, and other surprises for the kids.

Dust off your polyester bell bottoms and platform shoes and read on for an exclusive discount to the next two Baby Loves Disco parties, just for Mommy Poppins readers. 

While it's true that St. Patrick's Day (make that season) is upon us, my family and I are always on the lookout for great kid-friendly Irish pubs year-round. We love the yummy Irish dishes (soda bread, corned beef and cabbage, shepherd's pie, just like my mom used to make), the drinks, the vibe and the live Irish music.

Many Irish pubs in New York City have kid-friendly hours in the afternoons or early evenings when families are welcome to drop in and enjoy some authentic cuisine and culture. From my personal experience, we're usually able to avoid the more adult crowds by going to off-the-beaten-path places. That's why my list of favorite NYC Irish pubs for families includes some out-of-the-way ones, like Rocky Sullivan's in Red Hook or the Dog and Duck in Sunnyside. Be sure to check the official websites to see if there are any special events going on around St. Patrick's Day—or anytime.

Purim is a joyous Jewish holiday celebrated with storytelling, costumes, and the making and giving of gifts. Jewish families know Purim as a time of uncharacteristically raucous revelry, marked by costumes, noisemakers, interactive storytelling, triangular pastries, and enough drink (for the grown-ups) to muddy the lines between good and evil. Gentile families generally don't know it at all.

But Purim is worth knowing. It celebrates the story of Queen Esther outwitting the evil Haman, a story that has all the best elements: a party-hearty king, a beautiful and courageous queen, a resourceful good guy, and a bad guy so hateful that everyone drowns out his name with noisemakers at carnivals all over town. Check out one of the events below for classic Purim carnival activities, costume parades, and boisterous retellings of the Purim story. (And if you know of a celebration we've missed, please let us know!)

There may not exactly be flowers blooming and birds chirping just yet, but lo and behold, spring events are starting to pop up on our radar! Get an early start celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with festive parades in Seaside Heights and Asbury Park. Or take the kids to learn about the first signs of spring through nature with the Reptiles program at the Cora Hartshorn Arboretum, a Toddler Hike at Manasquan Reservoir or a Discovery Saturday at the Reeves-Reed Arboretum, all about the first flowers of the season. And remember, you can find a full list of weekend activities in our Event Calendar.