Activities for Kids Over Winter Break

Winter break is almost here, and if you have children of your own at home you may be looking for some ideas to keep them occupied. Here are just some of the events, activities, and places in Connecticut you might want to check out with your kids, grandkids, or nieces and nephews.

• Stamford Museum and Nature Center LEGO exhibit – A Billion Bricks: LEGO® T-Rex, Turtles & Trains!
• Greenwich Reindeer Festival & Santa’s Workshop – Join in the reindeer feeding and take photos with Santa.
• First Night Celebrations – Danbury, Hartford, and Westport all have family friendly New Year’s Eve celebrations planned.
• Winterfest Hartford – Free outdoor skating and rentals, carousel rides, food vending, and photos with Santa.
• Fantasy of Lights – Light display at Lighthouse Point Park in New Haven.
• Holiday Light Fantasia – Light display at Hartford’s Goodwin Park.
• Holiday Lights at Lake Compounce – In addition to the lights and light shows every half hour, a selection of children’s and family rides will be open.
• Festival of Silver Lights – Free light display in Meriden’s Hubbard Park.
• Train rides with Santa – There are a variety of holiday train rides around the state, including those at Danbury Railway Museum, Connecticut Trolley Museum, Essex Steam Train, Naugatuck Railroad, and Shoreline Trolley Museum.
• Model train exhibitions – The holidays also bring out a variety of model train displays. Fairfield Museum and History Center, Connecticut River Museum, and Amato’s Toy and Hobby in Middletown all have displays.
• Ice Skating – Many rinks around the state have public skating sessions. Check your local rink’s webpage for a schedule.
• Sledding – When the weather cooperates, outdoor activities in the snow can be a blast with young kids. This article lists some potential sledding spots to check out.
• Skiing – Connecticut has several ski areas that are perfect day trips for families.
• Museums – If you’d rather be inside where it’s warm, no matter where you are in the state, there’s likely to be a museum nearby worth checking out. Many Connecticut museums offer discounts to educators, so be sure to bring your CEA member ID and ask. Check out the list of museums offering discounts to CEA members, and, for some fun museum reviews, visit one Connecticut resident’s CT Museum Quest site.

What would you add to the list?