This weekend, celebrate the Long Island Children's Museum's 20th Birthday. Festivities include a birthday party, complete with dance performances, along with a puppet show featuring King Midas. In the mood for some pre-Thanksgiving activities? There's a Turkey Trot in Massapequa, a Native American Feast in Glen Cove, and fun on the farm in Yaphank. Hanukkah is also just around the corner. Check out Thanksgivukkah at the Bernice Jacobson Day School and Camp, along with the Hanukkah Family Day at the Suffolk Y Jewish Community Center. As always, check our events calendar every day for fun activities for the family.

Okay, you've got like maybe a five minute breather before all holidays break loose. You know what I'm talking about. The Thanksgivikkah convergence, in which you must ask your child to channel sublime gratitude while opening the floodgates to eight crazy nights of "me want."  I'm talking about the late-on-the-scene Turkey Day resulting in a shorter than usual shopping season, (though someone might want to tell that to the elves already decorating our local malls). I'm talking about non-stop jingling bells, twinkling lights, and shaking jelly-bowl bellies from now until the new year.

But this weekend, and probably this weekend alone, does not HAVE to be about the holidays. You can celebrate fandom and circus life, toast the Autry on its anniversary, or call me Ishmael with all the other whale-heads reading Moby Dick on the beach.  You can see Disney's Frozen a full five days before the rest of the country. You can dance in your pj's, bust some myths or bust some moves with female mariachis.  You can give thanks, not in a turkeys and pilgrims way, but in a grateful for good health way.

Or you can dive in with both feet and make this weekend an all Hanukkah, getting ready for Christmas, holiday superfun time for the ages. We've got your back either way.

To get you started, here are our favorite picks for the weekend:

Our roundup of events begins tonight, with Brookline’s First Light Festival, one of the holiday season’s kickoff events. Other weekend events include Boston Blink! opening celebration at Faneuil Hall, the Belmont World Film’s Family Festival, a performance of A Little Princess, and the opening of the Boston Frog Ice Skating. Read on for details, and remember that our Events Calendar is filled with many more activities.

Also this week on Mommy Poppins Boston:

• We’ve adding to our Holidays Guide with:
  • holiday tree lightings in Boston;
  • Holiday craft fairs and markets;
  • Thanksgiving recipes from the 1600s that kids can make today;
  • 12 ways for children and families to give this holiday season; and
  • A roundup of places to see A Christmas Carol
• The latest in our Poppins Parents series: Find out how one mom - Amber Bobnar - can make a difference in so many ways.

The holiday celebrations are here and there is plenty to do this weekend in Westchester with the kids. Enjoy a holiday tree lighting at Cross County Shopping Center, turkey fun at Westmoreland Sanctuary and Teatown Lake Reservation or Hershel and the Hannukah Goblins at Rosenthal JCC.

Two great theater performances can be seen this weekend. Exit Stage Left at the Emelin Theatre in Mamaroneck blends tap dance, live music, and slapstick comedy and offers an energetic show for younger audiences. Shrek the Musical will be performed all weekend long at the Yorktown Stage.The UBS Parade Spectacular on Sunday brings with it giant helium balloons floating through Stamford’s downtown. Foofa & Plex from Yo Gabba Gabba, Barbar & Badou and a Smurf will all make their debut this year. There is a balloon inflation party on Saturday as well where you can get a backstage look at the balloons as they come to life.

Read on for our top weekend picks. If you see something that piques your interest, click through to the event listing to view full details. Looking for more options? Be sure to check our Event Calendar for more fun happening this weekend and beyond.

Although Hanukkah and Thanksgiving don't officially arrive until next week, lots of seasonal celebrations take place this weekend. The Museum of Jewish Heritage, the 92nd Street Y and the Jewish Museum are all hosting Hanukkah parties, there's a Thanksgiving crafts workshop at the Cathedral St. John the Divine and you can mark both holidays at the Museum at Eldridge Street's merry mash-up Thanksgivukkah Extravaganzikah.

There's lots of awesome non-holiday fun, too, including two of our top event picks for November: the Brooklyn Museum's FREE Children's Book Fair and the Little Orchestra Society's lavish Firebird concert. Plus no-cost ballet workshops at the Children's Museum of the Arts.

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 and our Holiday Fun Guide. 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.

While the 85-acre, waterfront Brooklyn Bridge Park is certainly the biggest and best known green space in Brooklyn Heights, there are a handful of lovely little neighborhood playgrounds like Pierrepont, Harry Chapin and Squibb Park, which are all located on or near the Promenade. Plus there are some great indoor spots where kids can drop in and play, too, like the soon-to-be-overhauled local library and the New York Transit Museum, which has vintage buses and trains to explore.

We finish up our month-long focus on Brooklyn Heights with a roundup of our favorite places to play both indoors and out in the area.

With one weekend to go before Turkey Day, how about taking a break from cooking and cleaning for some quality family time? Grab your sweaters and head outdoors for a Fall Photo Scavenger Hunt at the Frelinghuysen Arboretum or take in a performance of Oliver! at the historic Paper Mill Playhouse. If you’re looking to keep the kids busy and out of the house, sign up for a Thanksgiving Baking Class at Classic Thyme or get a jump on holiday decorating with a Christmas Wreath Workshop at NJ Botanical Gardens. By the way, don't miss our great giveaway for a family-four packs tickets to Sahara Sam's Water Park! And remember, you can find a full list of weekend activities in our Event Calendar.