February vacation is a trip to the beach for some and sliding down the slopes for others.  You don’t have to leave town though to have a great vacation.

Play

The museums are a great choice, and yes they may be busy over vacation but you can still have a great time if you plan ahead.  You can try to get a pass from your local library to save a little money.  This late in the game, there is a chance that the passes are all accounted for, but it is worth a try.

To make the best of your visit, if you have little ones that get tired and take naps, try to get to the museum bright and early.  If you have older children arrive later in the day and plan to stay late, and then maybe you can all head out to dinner after.

The Discovery Museum in Acton is a great little museum.  The children’s museum part is great for children 7-8 years old and younger.  The science museum is still fun for children who are a little older too.  The Discovery Museum is nice and small, which makes it more relaxing and manageable than some of the larger museums.   There is also a strip mall not too far away with a Starbucks and a few places to grab lunch.

If you go to the Children’s Museum in Boston, I highly recommend getting lunch or breakfast with the family at Flour (be sure to go early because at lunch it gets really busy).  You can also stop in to Tavern Road for their Street Food lunch or grab lunch at Blue Dragon and then head to the museum with the older children. This is your vacation too so make sure you’ve got something in there that you’ll enjoy as well as the children.  If you have children under 5 then I highly recommend just hanging out in the little kids’ room the entire time.  They even have a great kid’s size table set up in the kitchen to feed your children a lunch or snack that you pack and bring along.

The Museum of Science is the most requested museum in our family.  If you have younger children there is a great play space within the museum especially designated for children 5 and under.

Skyzone is the place we go to just bounce out some energy.  My son loves the dodgeball games and my daughter loves playing with her jumps.

Together in Motion is a great spot for the little ones to get active.

If you have bolder children then take them bouldering and climbing at any of the local rock gyms.  Each one has their own schedule and personality some of the choices are: Metro Rock, Brooklyn Boulders, and Central Rock gym.

To cure cabin fever take the kids skating.  We love the little rink at The Charles Hotel and the rink at Community Ice Skating at Kendall.  The rink at Boston Harbor Hotel looks beautiful too.  You can also go skiing right in your backyard.  The Weston Ski Track will get you outfitted to snow shoe or cross country ski, give you lessons, or just let you hit the trails.  There are also cross-country trails at Great Brook Farm Touring Center.