The holidays are a magical time for children. Start the holiday season at one of these festive events in and around the city. From a Hanukah celebration at a Jewish Museum to touring a historic Westchester home with incredible fairy tale inspired holiday decorations, there are many kid-friendly ways to enjoy the holiday season.

NYC Police Museum
Dec 4th, 11am – 2pm
All Ages, Event is free with regular admission (adults $8, children $5, kids under 2 are free)
I’m sure the police won’t break up this holiday party! Celebrate the holidays at the kid-friendly, New York City Police Museum. Enjoy craft projects at this celebration that embraces all the holidays including Christmas, Chanukah, Eid, Kwanzaa and other celebrations. Kids can also learn about police from around the world and try on an International police uniform.

Hanukah Family Day
Dec 5th, Noon – 4:00pm
Ages 3 and up, Free with Museum Admission (adults $12, children under 12 are free)
Families can make a Hanukkah menorah from found objects, decorate a dreidel, and see a puppet show among other activities at this Hanukah party at the Jewish Museum. If you have older kids in tow, also visit the museum’s Houdini Exhibit, which is on display until March 27, 2011.

Fairy Tale Holiday
December 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 19 and 26: A Fairy Tale Holiday
Adults and Seniors, $15; Children ages 6-12, $6; Children under 6 are free

Tour this stunning historic Westchester home this holiday season. Kids will love seeing the rooms decorated after various fairy tales. At the end of the tour, you can enjoy cookies and a cup of warm apple cider.

About Alison Lowenstein, CITY KID blogger!

Alison Lowenstein is the author of City Kid New York: The Ultimate Guide for NYC Parents with Kids Ages 4-12, City Weekends: The Greatest Escapes and Weekend Getaways in and Around NYC, and City Baby Brooklyn: The Ultimate Guide for Parents from Pregnancy through Preschool.

She has written for The New York Daily News, Newsday, Time Out New York Kids, New York Family Magazine, National Geographic Traveler, Arrive, American Way,Wild Blue Yonder, TravelandLeisure.com, Babble.com, Grandparents.com, Cookiemag.com, among many other publications and websites. She is the featured expert and Ambassador for PBS Channel 13’s Kids Club 13 and was a guest in the New York Times City Room Taking Questions column. Her website is http://www.brooklynbaby.com. Alison lives in Brooklyn with her husband and their two school-aged children.

Ok, so once again i have a house full of out of town relatives and being that the hubs can’t get time off of work…what’s a tv host to do? Take ‘em on a ROAD TRIP! I was working on my Rock And Roll Episode so, we loaded 7 of the Senecal/Shea clan into The Traverse and took off, heading to Bethel, NY to visit the site of the most famous concert of all time. You may not know that Woodstock did not actually happen in Woodstock. Originally, the idea was to create a retreat like recording studio in Woodstock, but then the idea eventually morphed into a live show. But….the questions remained….Why were The Beatles not invited? And why did Joni Mitchell drop out? Why did Led Zeppelin turn down an offer to play? Well, you are going to have to check out the show tonight to find out!

Also tonight, we are 1 on 1 with my Rock icon Joan Jett. Now, I think of her as a tough cookie, but what other Rock legend was she totally nervous to share the stage with? And who used to open for her when she was in The Runaways?

We sit down with our very own Little Steven who tells me about when he teamed up with The Boss, who at that time, believe it or not was a folk singer who was not experiencing much success….until that famous week of showcases at the legendary Bitter End. Well, you have to hear Stevie explain it himself, but let’s just say after those shows Bruce was on the cover of both Time and Newsweek with headlines proclaiming “Rock’s New Sensation” and “Making of A Rock Star”, respectively.

So check out the show tonight @ 9pm on NYC Life….Channel 25 unless you have Cablevision, then it’s Channel 22 xos t

Halloween Hoorah in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden!

Saturday, October 9–Sunday, October 31
Tuesday–Friday, 1:30–5:30 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m.

Open Columbus Day, Monday, October 11, 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m.

Get Your Tickets
Kids weekday tickets are just $4!

Embark on a frightfully fun journey with creepy crawlies, pumpkin patches, spooky scarecrows, and more. New for this year, artist Michael Anthony Natiello has carved and sculpted more than 500 pumpkins into a ghoulish menagerie — scarecrows, snakes, and spiders, oh my! All day all weekend, get hands-on with applesauce making, seed sorting, and apple stamping, and stop off for a play break in the pumpkin playhouse. Plus, there’s even more fun scheduled each day, including cider pressing, the family-favorite Pumpkin Parade, and performances by the Alice Farley Dance Theater. Get the full schedule of Halloween Hoorah events below.

And from Friday, October 22 through Sunday, October 31, don’t miss an unforgettable display of three of the largest pumpkins grown in the United States this year — each weighing over 1,500 pounds! Giant Pumpkins, a showcase of champions, will delight visitors at the Leon Levy Visitor Center.

Start planning your schedule with these activities in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden:

• Apple Stamping
  October 9–22
  Decorate a fall harvest bag with an apple print. Collect fallen leaves and other goodies along the trail through the Garden marked on your special map.

• Applesauce Making
  October 9–22
  Make your own applesauce and delight in this fall treat.

• Cider Pressing Demonstration and Tasting
  Weekends only, October 9-31, 2–5:30 p.m.
  Help press freshly harvested apples into cider and get a taste of cool refreshment.!

• Creepy, Crawly, Critter Exploration
  October 23–31
  Take a magnifying glass to the edge of the log terrarium and get an up-close look at what decays at ground level.

• Giant Pumpkins, a Showcase of Champions at the Leon Levy Visitor Center
  October 22–31, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
  Three winning pumpkins from regional weigh-offs will be on display for a limited time only. Take in the spectacle of pumpkins, each weighing over 1,500 pounds!

• Ghostly Leaf Rubbing
  October 23–31
  Decorate your treat bag with a sassafras leaf rubbing. Collect fallen leaves, and other goodies along the trail through the Adventure Garden.

• Goodnight, Garden! in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden
  October 9–31, Tuesdays–Sundays, 1:30–5:30 p.m.
  Help prepare the Family Garden for the winter. Plant a cover crop, bury bulbs before the first frost, and grab a rake to help gather the fallen leaves. Make marigold jewelry and sketch a still life of the last of the fall fruits, then frame it with seeds!
  Family and Community Gardening program sponsored by The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company

• Halloween Parades
  Weekends and Columbus Day, October 9–31, 12 and 2 p.m.
  Join our “Pumpkin Gardeners” on a whimsical journey in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden. With a taller-than-life gardener on stilts to lead the way and musical instruments to add to the festivities, explore the pumpkin displays on a mission to care for the garden. Children are invited to come in costume and join the parade.

• Pumpkin Playhouse
  October 9–31
  Live performers: Saturdays and Sundays, and Columbus Day, 11 a.m.–3 p.m.
  Explore a larger-than-life pumpkin that you can go inside (if you are little), or peek in through the windows (if you are big). Enjoy the playhouse for festive photos, or just for play. “Pumpkin Gardeners” engage in live, interactive performances.

• Sensational Seed Sorting
  October 9–31
  Kids will love sorting, weighing, and experimenting with apple seeds and pumpkin seeds in this fun, fall activity station.

During the opening weekend, October 9-11, kids can bring old clothing from home to help make scarecrows that will keep watch over the fall harvest. Children also can help tally up the seeds in the gargantuan gourd and help prepare the garden for the coming winter.

Tickets to Halloween Hoorah include access to The Edible Garden (through Sunday, October 17). Click here to purchase tickets.

the peekskill brewery is celebrating it’s 2nd anniversary today with a big shindig….they are right at the peekskill train station, so calling all ny’ers who love the brew: get your butt up here! we are checking it out! lineup below:

OCTOBER
Saturday, October 9th
2nd Annual Birthday Bash
2pm-10pm outdoors on Railroad Avenue

Outdoor Beer Tent • Free Live Music • Games & Contests • Kids Corner • Outdoors Concessions • Arts & Craft Vendors

Music Lineup:

Delco Nightengale

Geoff Hartwell Band

Winterpills

The Cleaners

Birthday Bash Vendors :

Angela Bruno Photography

Arbonne International

Dumb Bunny Designs

Jennifer Rutheny, Fine Jewelry and Sculpture

Kasaro Designs

Sproutcreek Farm Cheese & Beer Tasting

Yesterday’s Silhouette

Games & Activities:

Strong Man-Hi Striker • Bottle Cap Count • Goose Island Ring Toss • Craft Beer Pong Tournament

Kid’s Corner:

Ithaca Root Beer Floats • Bouncing Castle • Craft Station

Considered one of the world’s outstanding sculpture parks, storm king art center is about and hour north of new york city, in new york’s hudson valley. Storm King’s permanent collection of sculpture, dating from 1945 to the present, includes works by many of the twentieth century’s most influential artists, integrated into a pristine, 500-acre landscape of rolling hills, fields, and woodlands.

At Storm King, the exhibition space is defined by sky and land. Unencumbered by walls, the subtly created flow of space is punctuated by modern sculpture. The grounds are surrounded by the undulating profiles of the Hudson Highlands, a dramatic panorama integral to the viewing experience. The sculptures are affected by changes in light and weather, so no two visits are the same.

Much of the open area in Storm King’s 500 acres were farmed for more than two hundred years, until agriculture in the Hudson Valley became harder to sustain. In the second part of the 20th century, the fields lost much of their beauty and became susceptible to invasive plants. In 1997, we started a multi-year program to reintroduce native long grasses and wildflowers into our fields. We have been helped in this endeavor by Darrel Morrison, Senior Landscape Planner & Designer for the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas and the Storm King Art Center’s landscape architect, William A. Rutherford. We have already had great success with the creation of flowing islands of alfalfa, buckwheat, and oats. Wide mowed walkways meander through these fields to provide access to sculptures.

What a day for the beach! Why not make today a Coney Island Day? In addition to the sun, the sand, the surf and the rides at Luna Park, the streets will be alive with the sound of music at the 10th Annual Siren Music Festival.

During the festival, why not spice things up a bit by checking out the 2nd annual Frank’s Red Hot Atomic Wing Eating Contest. Move over Nathan’s. Now is your chance to watch Sean “The White Rapper” Lennon defend his title as “Wing King of New York”. Do you think he can pull off breaking his own record from last year? 37 wings in 7 minutes! I’m on fiyahhh just thinking about it. Watch competitive eating history happen right here, folks…unless it’s too hot for you to handle.

Feeling a little gangsta? Then, make sure to don your best fedora and head on down to the Coney Island’s ‘FlashMafia’. Be part of this reenactment of 1920’s era Al Capone presented by MafiaLife.com and Mob Candy Magazine. Perfect for those car enthusiasts in your life, there will be 20 vintage automobiles ranging from the roaring 1920’s to the 1940’s. This event is being filmed for a TV show airing in the fall, so make sure to dress in your best gangster attire. Boss’d Up and Swagg’d Out will get you free entry into the ‘Crazy Capone’ after party held at The Luna Grill located at 1315 Surf Avenue.

Some other fun events happening around Brooklyn this weekend:

Sheepshead Bay’s famous Roll-n-Roaster is celebrating their 40th Anniversary. Brooklyn Borough President will be proclaiming July 17th “Roll-n-Roaster” Day. The big event begins today at 1:30 with festivities and special promotions taking place all weekend long.

Parlez Vous France? Then head on down to Smith Street for their annual Bastille Day fête and enjoy traditional food, music…and even participate in the largest pétanque tournament in the U.S.! Just don’t go losing your head in the guillotine.
Hosted by Bar Tabac and Robin de Bois aka Sherwood Café, this event takes place on Sunday, July 18th from 11am-8pm (on Smith Street between Bergen and Pacific Streets).

If you didn’t get a chance to experience the  Our Lady of Mount Carmel Festival yet, then make sure to head over to Williamsburg. Old Timer’s Day is Sunday, July 18th, and it will be your last chance to see the Dancing of the Giglio as this feast ends for the season.

Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m slathering on the sunscreen and heading out the door to enjoy all of the goings-on around town.

Happy Weekend ~ Brooklyn Mama