Families will find FREE kids' music, crafts, and movies on tap for this school-holiday-free (phew) October week in New York City.

Read on for our top weekday picks and be sure to peruse our Event Calendar for even more options. Head over to the Halloween Guide to make your October 31 plans in New York City, and the Fall Fun Guide for festivals, day trips, events just right for preschool-age kids, and more seasonal art and theater.

As the weather turns cooler, don't forget to check out our Family Fun Guide filled with drop-in play spaces, including several that just opened: SciTech Kids, Good Day Play Cafe, Let's Play Playhouse, The Coop, and the Brooklyn Children's Museum's downtown annex, Spark.

This weekend is loaded with fall fun, including Kids Fest in Madison Square Park, the Harvest Fest & Pumpkin Patch at the Queens Botanical Garden, and Diwali celebrations. Plus City of Science lands in Park Slope, and the annual Open House New York lets families go behind the scenes at many of New York City's most celebrated institutions, museums, colleges, and even private venues.

In a Halloween state of mind? Check out the upcoming Halloween parades, no-cost Halloween events, and the top Halloween celebrations for NYC kids. Head over to Scarecrows & Pumpkins at the New York Botanical Garden this weekend, Luna Park for its annual Halloween Harvest, the Bronx for Boo at the Zoo, or even a Halloween-themed puppet show. Plus, there's pumpkin chucking at NYSCI already and the very popular Fire Museum Halloween Party (tickets go fast! It is now sold out).

There's also new children's theater opening this weekend, pumpkins ready to be picked, and fall foliage hikes as the leaves begin to turn. Plus, we're halfway through the fall already, so time to scoop up the last of the NY-area apples, visit the city's only corn maze, and check out the final harvest festivals.

Remember, more options for this weekend, October 15-16, are available on our Event Calendar. Also, be sure to peruse our Fall Fun Guide and Halloween Guide for even more seasonal activities.

We might be biased, but we think New York state has it all for families. From the gorgeous Hamptons beaches to the rugged state forests, serene lakes, and deafening Niagara Falls to the culture and arts found in New York City on up through the river towns and beyond—we feel pretty lucky.

Plus, we’re pretty good at making delicious food items from ramen burgers and bagels to ice cream, and even wine at family-friendly vineyards on Long Island and through the Finger Lakes. There are children’s museums galore. Kids have no shortage of water and theme parks, cool playgrounds, zoos, outdoor art, and nature, of course.

And yet, the thing about childhood is that it’s finite. The kids grow up, maybe move away. Sniff, sniff. We want to soak up every moment. So we put together this list of 100 of our favorite things to do around New York, from upstate and the Adirondacks to Long Island and NYC. We collected suggestions from the many Mommy Poppins contributors, past and former, to fuse it all together just for you (OK, for us, too). Whether you're planning a long-weekend getaway or a family day trip, you're sure to find some ideas here. Enjoy!