If you’re looking for a Thanksgiving getaway, a Black Friday shop-till-you-drop special, a bargain in Orlando or a tropical getaway, there are good family travel deals to be had this month.  Consider spending Thanksgiving on the slopes in Maine, get online to score a Cyber Monday special in Los Angeles or plan a money-saving trip to Myrtle Beach, Palm Springs or Vermont. There is also an Aruba resort with a heart, which is donating funds to East Coast victims of Sandy.  Read on for the full scoop.

Happy weekend before Thanksgiving! In between your preparations, this weekend you can take the kids to a Thanksgiving celebration at the Long Island Science Center, a nature walk at the Suffolk County Farm and Education Center in Yaphank, or how about a show? Beauty and the Beast's Magical Christmas is playing at the Vanderbilt Carriage House, and The Velveteen Rabbit is playing at the Tilles Center. As always, check out our events calendar for more great activities.

Holiday Portrait Hurricane Sandy Fundraiser Sunday, December 2 at J&R Jr.
Limited space available. Reserve your portrait session now!

Mommy Poppins is hosting a special holiday event that we hope will add some holiday cheer, make your life a little easier and give to those who need it most this year.

Our Holiday Portrait Hurricane Sandy Fundraiser will help you check one of the toughest seasonal tasks off your list: holiday cards. You'll get cool portraits, discounted holiday cards and gift shopping, fun holiday activities all in one—and 100% of the proceeds go to Hurricane Sandy relief. That's a true win-win-win. Read on for all the details about our Holiday Portrait Hurricane Sandy Fundraiser.

So I'm chatting with this friend and she's all "la la la, Thanksgiving next week," and I'm all "la la la, um, no it isn't," and then I'm all, looking at the calendar and I'm totally "no way! Thanksgiving's next week! How can that be?!" True, the writing has been on the wall, the trees quietly being lit, the jolly old elves popping out of chimneys and into the malls. And perhaps my favorite harbinger of the season, the appearance of the red cups at our favorite coffee joints (I, for one, will be getting my caffeine on this weekend). But doesn't it seem as if the turkey is getting short shrift in this arrangement? Or maybe that's just the way he wants it...

In the meantime, you can use this building-up-to-the-holidays time to blackmail strongarm encourage some good works in your children. This weekend, kids can help clean up the California coastline and participate in a fundraising walk. Perhaps they'll be so inspired they might even clean their rooms. (A mom can dream.)

We've got another newsletter giveaway this week. If you're reading this in our newsletter, look up, there it is!  If you're a subscriber reading this on the website, go check your email! If you're not a subscriber, I just don't know what to say to you. Except maybe: subscribe!  Then you, too, can participate in our super cool, subscriber-only giveaways!

Keep reading for our favorite picks for the weekend...

Our roundup of weekend events for kids and families in and around Boston features lots of outdoor activities, from a Dog Sled Fun Run in Milton to the Big Woods Hike in Ipswich. Other activities include a concert with SteveSongs, the second weekend of the Family Film Festival, and the opening of the new Boston Blinks! at Faneuil Hall. Read on for details, and remember that our Events Calendar is filled with many more ideas.

With Thanksgiving preparations just around the corner, we thought it would be fun to take a look back to 1621 and the first Thanksgiving; check out some recipes from that first celebration. The holiday season is poised to launch into full gear, and we begin our coverage with a roundup of dazzling tree lighting events, some of which take place this Saturday! Plus, for families hoping to focus a little less on getting and a little more on giving this holiday season, we’ve found some truly wonderful family volunteering and charitable giving opportunities.

Enjoy!

Even though Thanksgiving isn't until next week, there's still plenty of holiday season fun this weekend. The New York Botanical Garden is launching its annual Holiday Train Show; Central Park's Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre is reviving The Three Bears Holiday Bash; many holiday markets are open for business, including the ones at Bryant Park, Union Square and Grand Central Terminal; and big-name stores like Macy's, Lord & Taylor and Bloomingdale's are unveiling their magical holiday windows.

Of course there's plenty of non-holiday fun too, like the Brooklyn Children's Museum's Icky Fest!, the Brooklyn Museum's annual Children's Book Festival, and concerts by family favorites Astrograss and Gustafer Yellowgold.

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 Holiday Fun Guide.

We were just dressing up our little ones as superheroes and fairies, but Thanksgiving is already next week! Holiday events are starting to pop up on our radar, so check out the Turkey Trot or the Gingerbread House Demonstration. Not ready to break out the jingle bells? Round the family up for the Cirque Chinois, Angelina Ballerina the Musical or the Medieval Knights Sword Fighting Show. Read on for our top picks and remember you can find a listing of all NJ activities in our Event Calendar.

Even two weeks after it hit, Hurricane Sandy is still on all of our minds as local families and businesses continue to struggle. The sad fact is, it may take months for those affected to get back on their feet, and many popular family places, like the New York Aquarium and the New York City Police Museum, are closed indefinitely. We've got a list of our favorite kid spots that have yet to reopen post-storm, new tips on how to help with the recovery and a link to where you can watch that Sesame Street hurricane episode online.