Family Fun in the Philadelphia Area Over Winter Break



Shows


Ice Skating

Family Fun Day at Ice Works December 27th Noon to 7:30 pm. Come out and skate with Olympic skaters, skate lessons and craft activities for all.

Fun skating sessions December 26th to January 1st check out their website for dates and times.


Blue Cross River RinkThe Blue Cross River Rink at Penn’s Landing, Philadelphia’s only outdoor public ice rink, is located on Columbus Boulevard at Market Street.

Family Fun


Linvilla Orchard’s Fore! The Planet is a highly interactive and playful museum exhibit created by the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia! This exhibition pairs important environmental issues with the fun of miniature golf. Eighteen unique educational holes explore butterfly metamorphosis, a tropical rainforest, evolution, dinosaur extinction, food chains, and more. Perfect for kids of all ages, your entire family will enjoy playing miniature golf while learning about our environment – every step of the way!


 10:00am - 4:00pm
Visitors of all ages will be wow-ed by a quarter mile of track featuring seven loops and tunnels with fifteen different rail lines and two cable cars, nine bridges (including a trestle bridge you can walk under), and bustling model trains, all set in the lovely winter garden of the Morris Arboretum. The display and buildings are all made of natural materials – bark, leaves, twigs, hollow logs, mosses, acorns, dried flowers, seeds and stones – to form a perfectly proportioned miniature landscape complete with small streams. Each building, while an exact replica of the original, is unique in its design. Philadelphia-area landmarks such as a masterpiece replica of Independence Hall are made using pinecone seeds for shingles, acorns as finials and twigs as downspouts.

Choo Choo Barn’s Holiday Display

Choo Choo Barn is celebrating the season with an enhanced holiday display from November 28th through January 4th. Look for 51 hidden Santas and watch as Santa’s sleigh flies above the gigantic model train display. Enjoy the holiday decorations throughout the display including holiday lights and the snow-covered landscape. Plus, take a close look at the zoo animals in Traintown to see how they’re getting into the holiday spirit! Choo Choo Barn is open daily from 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (Closed Christmas Day).



Museums

Unwind with your family and friends at the Museum’s annual post-holiday event: Dino Days! This year’s event will feature: Free-flight bird shows from Animal Behavior & Conservation Connections; a dinosaur dig; live animal encounters with unique critters from Plumpton Park Zoo; a special Dino Days puppet show; meet the Museum Scientists and much more! You can even bring that unidentified fossil and ask a Delaware Valley Paleontological Society paleontologist if it’s a “Fake or Fossil?




Let your imagination and creativity run wild! Children and adults alike will have fun designing and building with Giant Tinker Toys®.  Plus many more special family events

Yuletide’s at Winterthur Museum

Join us for a magical tour that will transport you to Christmases of old. Experience Winterthur’s most beloved holiday displays from past Yuletides, and discover holiday traditions of Americans from the colonial period through World War II, including the introduction of the first Christmas trees decorated with goodies for children by Pennsylvania Germans in the 1800s.

Christmas at HagleyThe 1803 du Pont ancestral home, is decorated primarily in Colonial Revival style for the holidays. Dried flowers, greenery, fruits, and other natural materials create a beautiful holiday ambiance accentuated by soft lights and Christmas music. Exhibit included in regular admission. Free for members. Use Hagley's main entrance off Route 141 in Wilmington, Delaware.

A Brandywine Christmas at Brandywine River Museum
The museum celebrates the season with fabulous holiday displays including an extensive O-gauge model railroad, an elaborate Victorian dollhouse and thousands of whimsical "critter" ornaments on holiday trees.


Adventure Aquarium will be transformed into a holiday wonderland under the sea, featuring larger-than-life decorations, twinkling lights, glowing trees, gently falling snow and of course, appearances from the Aquarium’s beloved Scuba Santa (and his elf helpers!), who will delight children all ages as he dives the 760,000-gallon Ocean Realm exhibit among rare sharks, gigantic sea turtles, hundreds of schooling fish, massive stingrays and more.


Christmas Lights and Displays

Rose Tree Park Festival of Lights

The Festival of Lights runs 5:30-9:30 pm nightly Dec. 3 through Jan. 2 in Rose Tree Park, Route 252, in Upper Providence. Opening ceremony is 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3. Free admission. For information contact the Department of Parks and Recreation at 610-565-7410



Christmas at Longwood GardensHalf a million outdoor lights and holiday magic await you during Longwood's incomparable Christmas display. Enjoy dazzling trees and seasonal concerts. The Music Room hosts a special, themed holiday display. Kids of all ages will delight in a miniature Garden Railway decked out for the holidays. Thousands of poinsettias accented with amaryllis, artemesia, begonias, cyclamen, hybrid lilies, kalanchoes, paperwhites, red-berried plants and many other flowers flourish inside acres of heated glass conservatories. Living wreaths, swags and live floral trees adorn rooms throughout the Conservatory. Included in Gardens admission.
Holiday Light Show and Dickens Village Macy's Center City

The Christmas Light Show runs hourly from the day after Thanksgiving through New Year's Eve day check website for times. The DICKENS VILLAGE (Floor 3) is open continuously during the same period from 10am to 7pm.

The Comcast Holiday Spectacular 
The 15-minute show, full of stunning original holiday imagery, music and more was created using cutting-edge technology and will be shown on the 83’ x 25’ Comcast Experience video wall, which is the world’s largest four mm LED display with incredible resolution that’s five times that of an HDTV, in the Comcast Center lobby.



Franklin Square Holiday Festival
Experience the magic of the holidays and celebrate traditions new and old at the Franklin Square Holiday Festival. From November 13 - December 31, dazzle in the lights of the Electrical Spectacle Holiday Light Show; warm up with comfort food, local beers, and hot beverages at Ben's Bites & Brews; and shop for handmade, artisanal gifts at the Holiday Market.


2014 Holiday Light Show at Shady Brook Farm

5 pm to 10 pm

Experience the magic of more than 3 million lights illuminating acres of farmland at the Shady Brook Farm 2014 Holiday Light Show!
Encounter whimsical holiday displays and familiar characters.
Drive through in the comfort of your own car or enjoy the show on an open air wagon ride (weather permitting).
Warm up with a cup of hot cocoa and and cook up some s’mores at a toasty bonfire (cocoa, marshmallows, and more treats available for purchase in the Farm Market).

Amusement Parks

Sesame Place A Very Furry Christmas


A Very Furry Christmas at Sesame Place! For a one-of-a-kind family-friendly celebration with everyone's favorite furry friends. The fun starts with 3 special Christmas shows, awesome music and twinkling lights all around. Plus, you'll find more than 300 Christmas trees, including a huge celebratory tree decorated Sesame Street-style. The street will glow with festivities and come to life at night with our illuminated Street Party Parade. And the fun continues with a special Christmas menu, super holiday shopping and, of course, a visit with Santa.

Dutch Winter Wonderland

Dutch Winter Wonderland offers themed rides, games, and holiday entertainment under thousands of twinkling lights! Indoor activities include cookie decorating, voting for your favorite gingerbread house, and sharing holiday wishes with Santa.

Hershey Park Christmas Candyland


The magic of the holidays comes to life at Hersheypark Christmas Candylane. With two million twinkling lights, rides for all ages, festive decorations, and Hershey's Product Characters decked out in their holiday best, there is something for all to enjoy!

Christmas Candylane features many attractions for guests of all ages including over 30 rides including the family-favorite, Twilight Express.


Children Movies


Annie

Big Hero 6

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1

Penguins of Madagascar

Antarctica: A Year on Ice

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb