The month of December is like one big jolly holiday. Santa's making his rounds via planes and trains, and even underwater. Local towns and New Jersey's favorite haunts are glowing with holiday lights. Plus, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Year's Eve round out the month-long festivities. 

If you and your kids are eager to celebrate the season, you're in luck—there are so many wonderful events and activities happening throughout New Jersey every day this month. You'll find plenty of free things to do, as well as activities just for little ones. You can have breakfast with Santa, catch a seasonal show, and see at least one of the spectacular light displays around the state.

We know you’re busy with things like shopping, baking, and figuring out what the heck to do with your Elf on the Shelf, so we’ve sorted through all of this month's happenings and picked more than 20 of our favorites.

For even more ideas, check out our Holiday Guide and Event Calendar. And sign up for our FREE newsletters so you can have our picks delivered directly to your inbox! Happy Holidays!

The festive fun of the holiday season is officially upon us, and New Yorkers and tourists alike know that seeing the brilliantly decorated holiday windows in Midtown's iconic stores is a Christmas-season must-do. Besides, what better way to work off some holiday treats than with a wintry stroll through Midtown to take in the sights?

If seeing the holiday window displays in NYC is part of your family's holiday traditions too, read on for our top stops during a 2019 holiday windows walk.

Houston is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States. In all of the hours we spent stuck in traffic, it's easy to forget what makes our city great. Color Factory invites guests to embrace Houston's kaleidoscope of gifts through interactive art exhibits. This iteration of Color Factory comes on the heels of its popular Los Angeles and New York City locations, and it lives up to every bit of hype.

Early to bed, early to rise; that seems to be the motto of babies and toddlers. Small urban homes mean that early birds can’t be as loud or active as they want to be, so where can you go at the crack of dawn with a baby or toddler when “The City That Never Sleeps” is hitting the snooze button?

Here is a handy list of destinations for the babies of Brooklyn who like to get an early start. 

Staten Island takes its designation as NYC's “Greenest Borough” seriously. Dotted with over 170 parks across 12,300 acres of protected parkland, the borough boasts plenty of options for outdoor adventure, from wooded trails and kayak launches to designated areas for bird watching and horseback riding. If you really dig deep you’ll even find a field reserved for model aircraft flight, and an old-fashioned carousel.

But if you’re looking for a great destination playground to keep your children busy, there’s certainly an abundance of those too—and many of Staten Island's best playgrounds are newly renovated and chock full of innovative and interactive play units. Here’s a look at Staten Island’s top 10 playgrounds—and the details that make each one so unique.

New York City is known for its arts and culture offerings for people of all ages, but those of us who live here are always looking for something new. The perfect place to spend a wintry day, ZeroSpace is a 25,000 square-foot immersive art playground of interactive, large-scale installations. Located near Macy's Herald Square and open through the end of 2019, ZeroSpace includes the largest augmented reality sandbox in the world, plus two comfy, dark rooms replete with bean bags to gaze at a digital light show, interactive mirrors, and a lot more.

Read on for a peek inside the space, and tips for visiting with kids.

If your little sweetie loves the finer things in life—and has the patience to make it through a sit-down meal—he or she may be ready to enjoy an afternoon at one of NJ's many local tea houses. From the fine china and finger sandwiches to the tempting sweets, your little one will be enchanted during this special one-on-one mommy time. Many host sweet birthday parties, and several offer special holiday events.