Carving and decorating a Jack O'Lantern is an age-old tradition during Halloween, and what better way to celebrate the season than by taking your family to a pumpkin carving event? Whether it's watching a skilled pro carve an amazing creation or letting your child work their own artistic magic by painting a pumpkin, there are a few Long Island events to enjoy with your family.

And for more seasonal fun, be sure to check out our Long Island Halloween Guide.

If you’re looking to get your fill of all things Halloween (and pumpkin!), Jersey doesn’t disappoint this weekend! Take the kiddos down the shore in costume to Jenkinson’s Boo at the Boardwalk, roll up your sleeves for a Halloween Monster Craft at Appel Farm Arts & Music Center or brave a Haunted Halloween Hayride at Allaire Village. And for classic fall fun in northern Jersey, head to Heaven Hill Farm’s Great Pumpkin Festival or if you’re down south, check out the annual Pumpkin Festival at the Historic Cold Spring Village in Cape May. And remember, you can check out the full list of weekend activities in our Event Calendar.

It’s holiday picture time. You’re bundling up the crew and heading out to take the annual shot to be sent ‘round the world (or at least to your cousin Courtney in San Antonio). Sure, you could trek to Rockefeller Center and pose in front of the most famous Christmas tree in the world, or line the kids up in front of Macy's gorgeous windows. But why not do something a little different this year? We rounded up a few places you may not have thought of (yet), as well as some off-the-beaten-path locales where you can say, “Fruitcake!”

Got tots obsessed with Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Then they'll love getting a chance to see the creatures up close at the Central Park Zoo's soon-to-open bear habitat. Plus, we've got the scoop on a new enrichment center for kids on the Lower East Side, the closing of one of our favorite East Village family eateries and the sad news that the Bronx's only ice-skating spot, the Van Cortlandt Park rink, won't be open this season. All that and more in this edition of our biweekly news post.

There's nothing like being outside on a crisp fall day, and Connecticut provides plenty of opportunities with apple picking, pumpkin patching, and corn mazes. But what happens when you've done all that and you still feel that icy breath of the approaching winter urging you to get outside while you still can?

Sometimes you need a little extra structure to get you outdoors, and we've uncovered some terrific programs designed to make it just a little bit easier to get the whole family to put their iEverythings aside and enjoy the day. Here are some of our favorites in Fairfield County:

Orange County has some great and well-known museums for kids, including the Discovery Cube in Santa Ana and the La Habra Children's Museum. But OC also has a number of small and low-cost museums that are also great for kids, and more manageable for parents. Just as we offered 8 Small and Low Cost LA Museums, here are 8 Small and Low Cost Museums in the OC.