Fun and Educational Winter Break Activities for All Ages

Most Kent and Ottawa County schools break for the holidays from Dec. 23 – Jan. 3, so you’ve got two days to soak up the holiday spirit before Christmas (Dec. 25). Here are a few suggestions for using your time festively:

Start a new holiday tradition with a trip to the Christkindl Markt at the Grand Rapids Downtown Market . This traditional European-style Christmas village is a great place to shop, dine and have fun, with lots of authentic old-world touches – including Santa, caroling, curling, holiday lights and more. It’s open through Dec. 23.

Visit the annual University of Michigan Health-West Christmas & Holiday Traditions show at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park  to see how other people from around the world celebrate the year-end holidays. You’ll see 46 unique cultural displays, a Grand Rapids-themed railway garden and 350,000 lights, meet Santa and his reindeer, and more. Gather outdoors at the Gardens for ENLIGHTEN, featuring a one-mile pathway illuminated by innovative light displays, enchanting music, interactive experiences and world-renowned sculpture. Both events are open Dec. 23 (and through Jan. 4 after Christmas Day).

Speaking of lighting: the Christmas Lite Show offers a two-mile drive through more than one million lights, animated displays, lighted tunnels and more at LMCU Ballpark  through Dec. 31, including Christmas Eve, Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

There are plenty more holiday lights to see around Grand Rapids – see this list to plot your tour.

See (and hear) Let It Snow!, a festive light & music show for the holidays, at the Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium at the Grand Rapids Public Museum , Saturdays & Sundays from Nov. 29 - Jan. 5. Thematic animation, immersive special effects and full-dome scenery make it an experience not to be missed.

The Grand Rapids African American Museum & Archives hosts Kids Community Kwanzaa, complete with games, crafts, movies, stories and a formal Kwanzaa Ceremony at 4pm. Dec. 28.

The Grand Rapids Public Museum’s Snowflake Break Camps provide kids with exciting opportunities to explore science, history and culture during the holiday season. There are 10 different camps to choose from, for grades 1-3 and 4-6, between Dec. 23 and Jan. 3.

Kids of all ages will have fun exploring GRPM’s new exhibit, The Nature of Color, which reveals how color carries information in nature, how colors make us feel and more. Visit rooms awash in a single color, use your body to virtually paint walls and experience the stunning diversity of human skin color. GRPM is open throughout winter break except for Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

Dec. 23 is the final day of Giftworks at the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum – kids will create a handmade project and wrap it to share with someone special – but you can visit Dec. 26-29, Dec. 31 and Jan. 2-5 to experience the Museum’s interactive exhibits. Very Eric Carle, a play-and-learn exhibit based on the five of the author’s classic books (including Very Hungry Caterpillar) closes Jan. 5.

LEGO lovers will want to check out Brick by Brick: The Creative Art of LEGO at the Grand Rapids Art Museum, which includes an interactive community building area and minifigure scavenger hunt through the Museum. GRAM is open Tuesdays and Thursdays-Sundays, except on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park offers a host of winter break programming for kids:

• Winter Break Camps for ages 5-6, 7-8 and 9-10 on Dec. 23, 27 & 30 and Jan. 3
• Wintertime Walks through the Children’s Garden, Dec. 27 and Jan. 3

See the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Express train display at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum. The display includes many nods to the late president’s life in Grand Rapids, including South High School, Bill’s Place Diner and a replica of the Museum. Open daily except Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Visiting the train is free but you’ll need tickets to visit the rest of the Museum.

Visit the Grand Rapids African American Museum and Archives  for a look at the unique historical and cultural contributions local African Americans and people of color have made to our community, our country and our world. Follow up your visit with a self-guided Black History Walking Tour of downtown Grand Rapids.

Snow willing, Cannonsburg Ski Area will be open for tubing and downhill & cross-country skiing. Cannonsburg Kids is a weekend learn to ski and ride program for kids ages 6-12 at any ability level.

Cold weather willing, Rosa Parks Circle in downtown GR will be open for outdoor ice skating under the sun and stars. Open every day except Christmas Day.

Explore local parks and nature centers on snowshoes or cross-country skis – both are great family activities (and a great way to burn off those holiday calories). Fat tire biking is even more of a workout. And if sledding is your thing, check out the hills at Belknap Park (downtown), Mary Waters Park and Wabasis Lake Park (northeast), Richmond Park and Covell Dog Park (northwest), Cascade Township Park and Manhattan Park (southeast), and Johnson Park and Pinery Park (southwest). Don’t have the right gear? Here’s where you can rent snowshoes, skis, skates, fat tire bikes, sleds and more.

Snow or no, a hike through the woods and meadows of Blandford Nature Center, the Calvin University Eco System Preserve and Wittenbach Wege Center for Agriscience and Environmental Education is an inspiring and invigorating way to spend a few hours.

‘Tis the season for Hollywood’s biggest movies. See them at downtown’s Studio Park – or on the huge IMAX screen at Celebration! Cinema North.

Enjoy a whole day of laser tag, holiday movies and other fun activities during Holiday Break Camp at BattleGR Tactical Games & Sports, Dec. 23 & 30 and Jan. 2. Visit Dec. 26-27 and Jan 3 for Wristband Days, offering unlimited access to BattleGR’s most popular activities.

Cheer on the Grand Rapids Griffins hockey team at their New Year’s Eve (Dec. 31) game against the Cleveland Monsters in Van Andel Arena. Enjoy post-game fireworks and post-game open skate on the Arena ice!

There’s even more hockey action at Van Andel Arena a few days before New Year’s Eve: The 2024 Great Lakes Invitational features the teams from Michigan Tech, Michigan State, Western Michigan and Northern Michigan. Dec. 29-30.

See the Grand Rapids Gold basketball team play a four three-game home stretch in Van Andel Arena: Dec. 27 vs. the Maine Celtics, Jan. 3 vs. the Long Island Nets and Jan. 4 vs. the Westchester Knicks.

Craig’s Cruisers offers a whole host of indoor activities throughout the winter season, including go-karts, bumper cars, laser tag, a ninja course and trampoline park. Open every day except Christmas Day.

Check out 15 places to go bowling in and around Grand Rapids – Main Event, which also offers laser tag, virtual reality games, mini golf, gravity ropes and more.

Bounce into winter break at one of the area’s trampoline parks: Altitude, Rebounderz or Sky Zone – each of them offers numerous fun activities and courses.

Swing around with Spider-Man, explore the deep sea, take care of cute kittens and battle dinosaurs – they’re four of 50 virtual reality games kids can play at Amped Virtual Reality.

Play mini golf and mini bowling under black light at Great Lakes Glow Golf – there’s also an arcade filled with vintage-style games.

Meet life-size animatronic unicorns, explore an enchanted forest and engage in unicorn-themed arts and crafts at Unicorn World in DeVos Place, Jan 4-5.

Get a guest pass to swim and splash in the pool at the David D. Hunting YMCA (downtown), Mary Free Bed YMCA (southeast), Visser Family YMCA (southwest), Spartan Nash YMCA (southwest) or The Salvation Army Kroc Center (southeast).  Or book a hotel with an indoor pool for a family staycation – click Indoor Pool under Narrow Your Search on the left side of our Hotels page to view 59 options.

BattleGR Tactical Games & Sports invites kids to bid goodbye to 2024 with fun & games: laser tag, archery tag, axe throwing, football bowling and more. An early session (3pm-5:30pm) is for kids under 10 years old, an evening session (6pm-8:30pm) is for 10 and older, and a late session (9pm-1am) is for adults, with cocktails and mocktails available.

Skate the old year away at the Neon New Year’s Eve open-skate party at Walker Ice & Fitness. Dec. 31 from 5pm-6:50pm.

Browse our lists of Family-Friendly Things to Do with Kids and Things to do with Teens for even more holiday break ideas.