Looking for kid-friendly activities to entertain visiting relatives

[kmac912.livejournal.com]

Hey guys!  My family will be visiting from out of state for the holidays and I'm looking for some suggestions on what to do with them.  There will be 8 of them and we have a fairly small place, so I want to find things to do that take us out of the house.  My nephew is 2, so I'm especially interested in some local things that will keep him entertained.  We don't have kids, so I'm not up on kid-friendly venues.  I thought of the children's museum, but you guys must have some more suggestions than just that.  Any help would be appreciated- my sister in law planned such a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend for us all that the bar has been set unfortunately high.  I'd hate to be the slacker that didn't think of anything cool to do.  :)

Comments

[lillibet.livejournal.com]

Both the Children's Museum and the Science Museum are great with little ones. The Stone Zoo out in Stoneham has a Christmas lights thing going on that I hear is nifty, but I haven't made it out there yet. At two, a good playground is a huge win. I'm particularly fond of the one at North Point Park, near the Science Museum, but there are various "find a playground" sites to help you find ones nearer your home.

Hope that helps!

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Yeah, definitely don't miss the science museum! Even if he's too young to really be able to get a lot of the information, there are plenty of nifty things to see and play with. The Aquarium is awesome as well.

[syntheticnature.livejournal.com]

Definitely. When my daughter was around that age, a lot of the fun was simply the big open spaces, the escalators, the elevators...

[ron_newman]

Here's a Family Fun event at the Regent Theatre in Arlington, tomorrow morning.

[greyling.livejournal.com]

Dude - the aquarium is way cool!

[ron_newman]

Boston Central is a good place to look for family activities.

[mamabunny72.livejournal.com]

See if the West Somerville or central branch Library have copies of Boston Parents Paper or Bay State Parents magazines. Both have very good event calendars for Boston and points north, south, west. I know the Fox Library in East Arlington has them, but their hours are limited (Tues and Thu, 9-5, Weds 2-8).

If you can trek out to Acton, the Discovery Museum is quite charming, but I bet it'll be really crowded btwn xmas and new year's, especially in the mornings. It's a small museum, and when they're full, they keep a wait list. I took my daughter and friend on Veteran's Day: we got there at 10:30AM and had to wait about 20 minutes outside, but usually there is space in the Science Discovery Museum a short walk up the hill to pass the time, and paid admission is good for both locations. The Somerville Library offers a pass: half off for up to 4 people, IIRC.

[mamabunny72.livejournal.com]

Oh, another thing about the Discover Museum: there is no place to eat. There is a good market on Rt 27 (but again, no place to sit and eat); it's on the route to/from the museum, and the museum website says that they can recommend nearby places to eat.

[eanja]

I agree w/ the museum recs, but given the number of people you have, figure it's worth mentioning that you can get free or reduced entry passes to many of them through the public library. There might not be too much left with the holidays, but if there is, it might save you a chunk of money.

[genevra-mcneil.livejournal.com]

A word of caution from a mom -- The Children's Museum, The Museum of Science, and the Aquarium are all really cool. They are all also MOBBED during the holiday break. MOBBED. Shoulder-to-shoulder, can't move, hour-long lines kind of mobbed.

If you're good with crowds and your nephew is, too, then great. If he's a kid who gets easily overwhelmed, then use caution. Going really early (being there when they open up) is a good strategy. Plan to leave by lunch time. (He'll probably need a nap after lunch anyway.)

An often-over looked museum is the Harvard Museum of Natural History, which is neat for adults and cool enough for a two year old. (Older kids might be bored unless they are natural history buffs.)

A great eating place that's not just child friendly but in fact child-centric is Full Moon on Huron in Cambridge. It's great food in a place intended for children to enjoy (not just be tolerated).

If you're ambitious and it's not too cold, Plimoth Plantation is open and really interesting in the winter. You can plan the drive during his usual nap times. Sturbridge Village is also neat in winter, though it's further away.

A final thought -- kids are usually WAY overstimulated during the holidays. Keeping it low-key and unambitious might be your best bet -- let the parents decide. I'd think about some local parks as places to go outside and let him run around and the adults can stand around and chat.

The playground on the Cambridge Common is an excellent place to play, even in the cold. It's unique, in my experience, and kids love it. Plus it's close to Harvard when you need to go for a pee break and warm up with cocoa at Burdick's. Davis also has some great parks, including Albion St. Park and Lexington Ave. Park. Those are pretty far from any public facilities, though, which may be an issue with a two year old boy, depending on his diaper/potty status. Kenney Park, across from the Rite-Aid is less cool, but really close to Starbucks and their public bathrooms.

Wow, didn't mean to get all mom on you. HOpe that helps.

[leighjen.livejournal.com]

Maybe iceskating? I guess that not be perfect for the 2-yr old, but it might be fun for everyone else?

http://kendallsquare.org/related/hours-of-operation/

[didgeridoo48.livejournal.com]

Together in Motion (http://togetherinmotion.com) in Arlington is a good option for the 2 year old

Drive around to look at the Somerville lights

Visit the children's section of the library(-ies) and check out their schedules to see when they might have crafts or read-alound events.

Stellabella Toys (http://www.stellabellatoys.com/index.php?option=com_events&Itemid=32) also has in-store events

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

In addition to many of the above (I'm all about the Museum of Science with my 3-year-old, when it's not totally mobbed), Together in Motion (arlington, broadway at rte 16) is good for burning off energy when it's too cold for outside to be fun.

The library passes are great and you can reserve them online: http://somervillepubliclibrary.org/museumpasses.html

Arlington, Cambridge, and Lexington all have really excellent children's rooms in their libraries (Somerville not so much, unfortunately).

My kid is often happy simply to be outside; the kids can entertain themselves running around the park closest to you while the grownups get to talk to one another ;). Unless the weather's brutal, of course. Although if it's brutal enough, make snowmen.

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

the main cambridge library branch has a great kids room, and loungy space, though no actual cafe (starbucks across the street) not exactly a major destination event, but it's a pleasant break, especially if you decide to tour around harvard.

honestly, all my related wee ones always thought the red line was absolutely freaking amazing, and then would fall asleep once we got to the aquarium. trains + kids = win.

[teko.livejournal.com]

Kids love splashing down into the Charles on the Duck Tour, but it can get a little dull for the kiddies as well.

It's a little bit out of town, but kids love the Grand David magic show:
http://www.legranddavid.com/

[ron_newman]

Duck Tours are already shut down for the winter, unfortunately.

[kmac912.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much everyone- you all have been enormously helpful! I'll let you know how it goes.

[nomacmac.livejournal.com]

We recently went to the Textile Museum in Lowell. It was great. Everything that shouldn't be touched was behind glass (good for a 2 yr old) plenty of hands-on stuff and interesting for the adults too.

[kalimba21.livejournal.com]

Lots of good suggestions here.

When my son was 2, a great thing to do was to take the red line to south station, and then watch the big trains come and go. During this season, inside of south station there is a model railroad in the middle of the waiting area that is pretty cool to watch too.

Also worth noting is that the museum of science has a completely separate area for young children - past all the eating areas, off to the right. It's pretty awesome. And 2 year olds love the aquarium.

The zoolights at the stone zoo are nice for little ones, and there is also a tiny kids train and a carousel open each night for a small fee.

[omster.livejournal.com]

Tour the Taza chocolate factory right here in Somerville! $5/person. http://tazachocolate.eventbrite.com/?ref=ebtn