Get your family fun on this weekend with our top ten family events, from winter night bonfires, to lights and ice sculptures, ice skating, monsters, and family arts & crafts! We found a few events around the Main Line and Western Suburbs for this weekend, but there’s so many more family events if you’re ready to explore Philly and Bucks County. Please be sure to check with the host location about their health and safety protocols, as well as their registration requirements, prior to heading out!

Looking for more ideas of what to do? check out our NEW combined COMMUNITY CALENDAR at mainlineparent.com/events to see MORE events happening in Philly and the surrounding suburbs.

Go straight to: Friday Saturday Sunday

Friday

Snow day? Try These Tips to Keep Your Kids (and You!) Happy

Whether the weather occurs in December or March (or even April some years!), snow days always start off with some level of excitement but often devolve into complaints of boredom, especially if you have two in a row! If you’ve had it with winter and are dreading another day stuck inside, try these ideas to make it manageable — and even fun!

Before you begin, though, embrace the situation. If you turn your dread into happy anticipation, your attitude will determine the whole mood in your house. Get your kids involved in making a list of fun things to do during the snow day, and gather up your supplies tonight.

Fire & Frost Fun at Peddler’s Village
January 7, 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm 
Peddler’s Village 100 Peddlers Village, New Hope, PA

Enjoy bonfires, family activities, outdoor food and drinks, and a village-wide display of ice sculptures. This is the last weekend of the holiday light display, so don’t miss your chance to visit what 6ABC called “the most Instagrammable spot in Philadelphia!” Don’t forget to find Jack Frost and do the family-friendly scavenger hunt where children can win prizes. To participate in the scavenger hunt, check-in at the outdoor Hospitality Booth near the Main Green. From 4-8 pm on Friday, January 7 and from 12-8 pm on Saturday, January 8.

Bugs Bunny at the Symphony
January 7, 8:00 am – 10:00 pm
Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center 300 S Broad St, Philadelphia, PA

Bugs Bunny at the Symphony returns to The Philadelphia Orchestra this January, in a sparkling new edition of this critically acclaimed concert. Combining more than a dozen beloved classic Looney Tunes projected on the big screen while The Philadelphia Orchestra plays the classical music-infused original scores, this new version features iconic favorites like What’s Opera, Doc?, The Rabbit of Seville, Baton Bunny, and Corny Concerto. Recent additions include six newly produced Warner Bros. animated shorts. The concert is conducted by George Daugherty and is created by George Daugherty and David Ka Lik Wong.

Saturday

Permian Monsters: Life Before the Dinosaurs
January 8, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm 
The Academy of Natural Sciences 1900 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy, Philadelphia

What did the world look like before the dinosaurs? Step back 290 million years to when bizarre-looking creatures dominated life on land and sea, and dinosaurs had not yet evolved. Permian Monsters blends vivid artwork, amazing fossils and scientifically accurate models of moving beasts to recreate this relatively unknown period when the greatest mass extinction wiped out creatures that will never be discovered. Explore odd-looking sharks, strange reptile-like precursors of mammals, and the vicious predator the giant Saber-Toothed Gorgonopsid. Play paleontologist and dig for fossil casts, enjoy interactive games and more.

January Kids Club Winter Scene Canvas Painting
January 8, 10:00 am – 1:30 pm
The Tacony LAB Community Arts Center 6918 Torresdale Ave, Philadelphia

One day workshop! Parents may accompany their child provided we have space, but should not register themselves for the class. Tacony LAB Class Enrollment and Attendance Policy: The Tacony LAB’s classes are unique in Philadelphia: we do not charge tuition or any sort of fees for any of our classes. Our classes are popular and often have wait-lists. If you enroll in a class, please commit to attending it!

Family Fundays at Blue Cross RiverRink Winterfest
January 8, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm 
Blue Cross RiverRink 101 S Columbus Blvd, Philadelphia

Were you a big fan of the Winter, Storytime Series? It’s back and bigger and better than before with Family Fundays at Blue Cross Riverink Winterfest with Music Play Patrol! It’s more music, more stories, and amazing make-and-take crafts that are sure to surprise and delight the little ones in your life. Plus, enjoy activities, sing-alongs, dance, and play with Music Play Patrol and special guests.

Create a Snow Globe at Norristown Farm Park
January 8, 11:00 am
Norristown Farm Park Environmental Education 2500 Upper Farm Road, East Norriton

One of the best parts of the winter season is the snow! Come celebrate the season by creating a snow globe. Pick your own figurines and glitter, then take it home. This is an indoor event. Limited space available, registration required. Ages 6 – adult; cost is $5 per person. Please register through email: rblacketter@montcopa.org or Facebook Messenger.

Sunday

“The Wizard of Oz” Exhibit at Please Touch Museum
January 9, 9:00 am 
Please Touch Museum 4231 Avenue of the Republic, Philadelphia, PA

The Wizard of Oz Educational Exhibit, a traveling exhibit based on the beloved movie classic, opens on Oct. 8 in Philadelphia. Visitors of all ages are invited to come along with Dorothy and Toto on a multi-sensory exploration of the Land of Oz.

Music of David Bowie For Kids
January 9, 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Brooklyn Bowl Philadelphia 1009 Canal Street, Philadelphia, PA

The Rock and Roll Playhouse, a family concert series hosted at historic music venues across the country, allows kids to “move, play and sing while listening to works from the classic-rock canon” (NY Times). Performing songs created by the most iconic musicians in rock history, The Rock and Roll Playhouse band offers its core audience of families with children age ten and under games, movement, stories and an opportunity to rock out in an effort to educate children and explore their creativity. The Rock and Roll Playhouse is an early and often first introduction to a child’s lifelong journey with live music and rock and roll. See you at the show!

Family Drawing Workshop at the Michener Art Museum
January 9, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm 
Michener Art Museum 138 South Pine Street, Doylestown

Parents and caregivers accompany their children while drawing in the galleries and the art studio. Participants work with a variety of art materials from month to month. No experience is necessary; adults accompanying children also pay the program fee.

Ice Skating at Philadelphia Skating Club and Humane Society
January 9, 1:45 pm – 3:00 pm 
Philadelphia Skating Club and Humane Society 220 Holland Avenue, Ardmore

Join PSCHS for weekly Sunday afternoon family skating in their beautiful ice rink. It’s a great indoor activity on cold winter days. Skate with friends and family or sit back and relax with a cup of hot chocolate from the snack bar. $10 admission and $5 ice skate rental.

DISCLAIMER: HEY PARENTS, AS WE WELL KNOW, THINGS CHANGE DAY TO DAY… EVEN HOUR TO HOUR SINCE WE HAVE ENDURED A GLOBAL PANDEMIC TOGETHER. PLEASE CHECK THE SPECIFIC EVENT WEBSITE FOR TIME CHANGES, RAIN DATES, COVID POLICIES, AND EVENT CANCELLATIONS BEFORE YOU PACK UP THE WHOLE CREW OR GATHER AROUND THE LAPTOP TO LOG ON.

Lead photo courtesy of the Permian Monsters exhibit at the Academy of Natural Sciences.