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Holiday Break in Connecticut: 25 Things To Do Between Christmas and New Year's Eve

The holiday break in Connecticut is perfect for outdoor activities and winter fun! Winterfest Hartford photo by Andy Hart, courtesy of the IQuilt Partnership
The holiday break in Connecticut is perfect for outdoor activities and winter fun! Winterfest Hartford photo by Andy Hart, courtesy of the IQuilt Partnership
12/18/22 - By Ally Noel

Fight off the annual, post-Christmas emotional let-down with these fun activities for holiday break in Connecticut. Kids and families get bored over vacation week. So, if you're searching for ways to keep kids a little busier, check out our list of 25 fun and enriching activities. These holiday break activities offer something for everyone, from science museums and live plays to winter walks and ice skating. Enjoy the Connecticut school break, and have a wonderful holiday season!

For even more ideas to keep the entire family entertained during school break, bookmark the Mommy Poppins events calendar and our Connecticut Holiday Fun Guide. Follow us on Instagram for our latest finds. 

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Photo of people eating in geodesic domes in CT 
Up to 8 guests per igloo for rooftop pizza in Stamford. Photo courtesy of Sign of the Whale

Holiday Break in Connecticut

​1. Order a pizza for your rooftop igloo at Sign of the Whale in Stamford. 

2. Visit with reindeer at the Reindeer Festival and take a walk around the beautiful greenhouses at Sam Bridge.  

3. Catch some basketball when the Harlem Globetrotters come to Hartford.

 4. Be amazed at the Dazzling Liffe Lantern Festival display at Lyman Orchards

Photo of family at museum - Holiday Break in Connecticut 
Holiday break week is Kids Week this December in Connecticut. Photo courtesy of Mashantucket Pequot Museum

5. Visit the Mashantucket Pequot Museum for their annual Kids Week.

6. Get fully immersed in the “Polar Express 4D Experience” and watch Santa dive with the Sharks at the Maritime Aquarium.

7. Celebrate Kwanzaa at the Merry Days and Jolly Nights monthly celebration.

8. There's no school nights on winter break, so put on your skis and head down the hills at Sundown after dark. 

9. Test your visual perception at CT Science Centers optical illusion exhibit entitled: Forest of Illusions.

10. Celebrate this season of lights at the Magic of Lights drive-thru light display in East Hartford or Fantasy of Lights in New Haven. 

Photo of house in Connecticut decorated with holiday lights. 
Don't miss landmark Christmas lights on houses across the state! Photo courtesy of New England Inns and Resorts

11. Christmas break is the perfect time to get out and see the amazing neighborhood holiday lights all over Connecticut before they go dark for the season.

12. Take in a Christmas play in Bridgeport at the Cabaret Theater (The Santa Story) or in West Hartford at the Playhouse on Park (A Charles Dickens Christmas Carol).

13. Try your hands at crafting something out of clay at the Claypen.

Photo of child skating - Holiday Break in Connecticut 
Get in some outdoor skating during Connecticut's holiday break. Skating rink photo courtesy of Winterfest Hartford

14. Learn to skate at one of Connecticut's outdoor ice rinks.

15.Participate in the Winter vacation camp at the Eleanor Buck Nature Center.

16. Ride the trolley's at the Winterfest and Tunnel of Lights in East Windsor.

17. Check out the largest display of holiday lights in all of New England at Olde Mistick Village.

18. Take a nature class at Denison Pequotsepsos Nature Center.

19. Head outside into the crisp air on one of our favorite winter walks.

20. Come ready to "jam" in your PJams for Pajama Week at the Niantic Children's Museum.

21. Drop in at the Fairfield Museum and Build a Train.

 
Find winter fun in and near Connecticut while school is out! Photo courtesy of Powder Ridge in Middlefield

22. Dress warmly and go snow tubing at one these fun places.

23. Learn how animals survive the cold at Roaring Brook Falls Nature Center.

24.  Celebrate New Year's Eve kid-style at Nomads Noon Year's Eve Celebration.

25. Escape on a winter day trip—right here in Connecticut!

 

 

An earlier version of this post by Jacqueline Miller ran in 2019.

Updated December 2022