Winter Family Activities
Outdoor Winter Activities For Families
Yes, it is cold but outdoor winter family activities are so much fun! From light shows to outdoor sports, exploring the outdoors in the winter is really great. There are so many kid-friendly things to do in New York in December.
Go to one of the many amazing holiday light shows in our area including Lightscape at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Shimmering Solstice at the Old Westbury Garden, Magic of Lights at Jones Beach, and LumicoCity at Eisenhower Park.
Immerse yourself in the wizarding world of Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest Experience
Go ice skating in one of the town ice skating rinks or in your backyard
Visit LEGOLAND New York in Goshen
Fun Indoor Winter Family Activities
Winter is the best time to visit indoor activity places. From spa treatments to ice cream tours, you have an unlimited variety available.
Fly through the sky at Urban Air
Visit LEGOLAND Discovery Center Westchester
Climb amongst colors at Hapik Yonkers
Learn Manhattan’s history including soaring over the city on a ride at Rise NY
Book a Mother/Daughter facial at Smooth Generation
See what’s popped up at TWA Hotel
Go to a New York Riptide Lacrosse Game
Go to an old time ice cream shoppe
Take A Class
Either as a family or with friends, taking a class is a fun way to spend a cold day.
Take a holiday glassblowing workshop at Urban Glass
Enjoy a class or spa day at Wow Mom World Long Island
Make some spin art at Casa De Spin
Museums
We have so many museums in our area. Lucky enough you can find free admission to many of these through your local library.
Planes, space, and stars at the Cradle of Aviation Museum
Learn about transportation and see carriages from the 1700s at the Long Island Museum
Check out Native American history at Garvies Point Museum
Learn about Long Island’s Whaling History at the Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum
See tanks galore at the Museum of American Armor
Visit an airport with its own museum at the American Airpower Museum
Learn about spies at Raynham Hall Museum
Dress up like a colonial person at Fraunces Tavern
Play all day at the Children’s Museum of the East End
Pretend You Own a House in Manhattan at The Frick Collection
Visit the New York Historical Society
Experience the Old Bethpage Restoration’s Candlelight Evenings
See the New York Botanical Garden’s Holiday Train Show
See if you can find art and make it a picture frame at the MOMA
Spend a day with the dinosaurs at the American Museum of Natural History
Walk around inside and then around the grounds of the Nassau County Museum of Art
Dress up like a firefighter at the Nassau County Fire Museum
Make giant bubbles at the Long Island Children’s Museum
Spend the day at The Met
Visit A Nature or Science Center
My kids love science centers. We always seek them out when we travel. It’s also fun to find them close to home.
Liberty Science Center in New Jersey
Harsco Science Center in Pennsylvania
The New York Hall of Science in Queens
Stick your hand in a tank at the South Fork Natural History Museum & Nature Center (SoFo)
Visit the turtles and frogs at the Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery
See all kinds of animals healing at the Sweet Briar Nature Center or Quogue Wildlife Refuge
Enjoy A Complimentary Experience
Don’t forget any type of activity counts as fun winter family activities! Taking a drive to look at lights or driving to the beach are some of our favorites. Furthermore – remember – sometimes the best things in life are free!
Check out a new (to you) Long Island playground
Walk around Gantry State Park
Get lost in a beautiful winter outdoor garden for a different perspective.
Walk to Fire Island
Watch an early beach sunset from your warm car
Visit a World War One shipwreck on the beach in Riverhead
Enjoy your favorite summer body of water in the winter or discover a new one
Take a hike on one of Long Island’s great hiking trails
Walk around Bushwick and take in the street art and graffiti
Visit Huntington’s pedestrian walkway and tree and then go to Heckscher Park and Museum
Walk on the boardwalk at Jones Beach
Drive over your favorite bridges for fun
Walk around Little Island in Manhattan
See Louis Vuitton’s “200 Trunks, 200 Visionaries: The Exhibition”
Visit a new library like the amazing Middle Country Public Library
Fun At Home
The easiest place to find winter family activities is at home. From a new game to a cooking or baking activity it’s a total win – and you can wear your pajamas.
Make a chocolate pop-it or chocolate bark
Start your summer garden now – yes now- from the seeds of things you eat.
Update your kid’s rooms
Show your kids an 80s movie and see if it’s the same as you remember
Watch a movie from the 90s and show them how fashion recycles
Download a personalized video game (with their face as a character!)
Decorate a Cinnaholic Wreath Cake
Make a vision board or collage with recycled holiday magazines
Look through your gently used books and donate them to The Book Fairies NY
Take A Road Trip
We are so lucky to have so many great cities near us in New York. They are not only packed with history and winter family activities but lots of hotels where I’m sure you can grab a last-minute room and head on down.
Philadelphia including the Franklin Institute, Eastern State Penitentiary, Franklin Square Park, Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell
Washington, DC. including Mount Vernon, the National Harbor, Ford’s Theatre, The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, The International Spy Museum, and a White House Tour
Boston including a Duck Tour, Boston Tea Party Ship & Museum, The New England Aquarium, and the Boston Children’s Museum
Head out east to Greenport, Long Island
Visit one of these great family destinations in Pennsylvania: Strasburg Railroad, The Crayola Experience, Camelback Resort, Dutch Wonderland, Turkey Hill Experience
Congratulations! You Made It Through December Break!
Of course after all of this, you will need to sit down, pat yourself on the back for being an amazing show runner of winter family activities, put your feet up, and have a nice little cocktail.
While you’re there check out all the great gifts from my Holiday Gift Guide, Father’s Day Gift Guide, or Mother’s Day Gift Guide now on sale and stock up your gift closet for the rest of the year!
Don’t forget to check out all the family friendly destinations we’ve researched!
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