Things to do in the Twin Cities Northeast Metro this weekend – with kids & family!
This Weekend Family Guide includes events and activities near the Twin Cities, Minnesota, communities of Blaine, Centerville, Forest Lake, Fridley, Hugo, Lino Lakes, Maplewood, Mounds View, New Brighton, Roseville, Oakdale, Scandia, Shoreview, St Anthony, Stillwater, Vadnais Heights & White Bear Lake.Â
This guide covers the weekend of December 23-24, 2023 — including Christmas Eve. Not finding the city you’re searching for? We also cover fun family events in the areas of:
We wish you the merriest of Christmases (if you celebrate) or an otherwise happy weekend getting to do something you enjoy with those you enjoy being with! For any last-minute holiday inspiration needs, hop over to our 2023 ULTIMATE TWIN CITIES CHRISTMAS & HOLIDAY GUIDE, our FAMILY FUN CALENDAR or our DECEMBER FAMILY GUIDE.
Holiday events this weekend in the Twin Cities Northeast Metro
Find Santa this weekend in the Twin Cities Northeast Metro
Santa’s about to get down to serious business this weekend, but apparently has agreed to make a few final public appearances in your neighborhood. Check out his Twin Cities Northeast Metro commitments here and remember to consult our official Twin Cities Santa-finder page for more occasions around the metro area.
BLAINE: Santa Skate at the Super Rink
National Sports Center, 1750 105th Ave NE, Blaine, MN 55449
Lace up and skate with Santa, get your holiday photo taken with him and enjoy a snack. December 23, 2023, 12:30-2:15 PM. $10/pp, $3 skate rental available.
WHITE BEAR LAKE: Breakfast with Santa at Rudy’s Redeye Grill
4940 US-61 N White Bear Lake, MN 55110
This is the final Breakfast with Santa at Rudy’s Redeye Grill this season. Seatings at 8:30 & 10am, please call 651-653-6718 for reservations. Menu includes egg dishes, pancakes and french toast, breakfast meats, fruit, rolls and beverages. $19/adult, $13/child.
Shine on: Twin Cities Northeast Metro holiday lights displays
Wintertime in Stillwater Lights Display
Chestnut Street in historic downtown Stillwater becomes a pedestrian winter wonderland during the month of December. Our family had the free LED light show set to music all to ourselves one magical Friday night! Come see for yourself while exploring the charming downtown shops and places to grab dinner. December 1-31, 2023, 5-10pm nightly.
LAKE ELMO: Valley Lights at Rockpoint ChurchÂ
5825 Kelvin Ave N, Lake Elmo MN 55042
Over 100,000 LED lights to enjoy. Tune your car radio in to 97.9 to experience in your vehicle. Now thru December 31, 2023, 5-10pm. FREE.
MINI ROAD TRIP: Miracle at Big Rock
1674 WI-87, St Croix Falls, WI 54024
Fancy a drive north and just over the border into our neighbor Wisconsin? Paths dressed with Christmas lights, tasty treats and beverages, visits with Santa, a sledding hill, gift vendors and fireworks every Friday night. You’ll want to book tickets online to save $5/pp (adults). Open daily through December 31, 2023. Weekend hours: Sat 4-10pm and Sun 4-9pm. $15/kids, $20/adults (online) or $25/door.
MORE HOLIDAY LIGHT DISPLAYS ON THE WAY:
- FOREST LAKE: Langness Lights. 9610 223rd Street N. 6:30pm-9pm nightly.
- LINO LAKES: Cinnamon Teal Court Holiday Lights. 7188 Cinnamon Teal Ct. Nightly.
- WHITE BEAR LAKE: Holiday Lights on Bloom. 2631 Bloom Rd. 5-9:30pm.
Map it out over on: Light It Up: Twin Cities & Greater Minnesota Christmas & Holiday Light Displays.
Fun outdoor activities in the Twin Cities Northeast Metro parks this weekendÂ
We keep tabs on all kinds of outdoor activities hosted by local, county and regional park systems across the greater Twin Cities. The following are just a few of our suggestions this weekend. You can get more ideas on our FAMILY FUN CALENDAR or browse the links below to search for local fun events & things to do with kids this weekend in the parks.
Some fun family ideas for this weekend: Prepare for winter breakÂ
Spending time outside and attempting to have fun doing winter activities makes up much of our winter break:Â ice skating, skiing, snowboarding and snow tubing spots are now open and buzzing with activity. At this point it’s murky as to whether we’ll have a white Christmas, but make sure to glance over our extensive list of the best sledding hills in the Twin Cities. Or try one of these pretty, refrigerated outdoor ice skating rinks in the north metro if the community sites aren’t yet open:
- MAPLE GROVE CENTRAL PARK ICE SKATING LOOP – Free ice skating, rentals available for $7. Open Dec 23, 10am-9pm & Christmas Eve 10am-noon. 12000 Central Park Way, Maple Grove, MN 55369.
- ROSEVILLE OVAL – Bonus: skate outdoors with a festive backdrop of 120 trees lit with over over 200,000 holiday lights from Rainbow Holiday Design. Open December 23 for public skating 12-2, 3-5 & 6-8pm and Christmas Eve 11am-1pm. 2661 Civic Center Dr, Roseville, MN 55113. $9/pp, rentals $5.
Snow tubing in the Twin Cities Northeast Metro
Family Fun Twin Cities is happily into its tenth year conspiring to bring you the best ideas for family activities in town — and we now have several teenagers on our team. They’ve moved away from bunny sledding hills and requested something more on the thrilling side. Our solution was a roundup of the best spots to snow tube in the Twin Cities – a couple of which are located northeast of Minneapolis & St Paul.
HUDSON, WI: Badlands Snow Park
772 Kinney Rd, Hudson, WI 54016
25+ acres with room for 7 exciting hills! $23/3 hrs of tubing with tow ropes for convenience. Our big kids love tubing here! Open Christmas Eve, December 24, 2023.
LAKE ELMO: Green AcresÂ
8989 55th St N, Lake Elmo, MN 55042
Reservations for your 2-hour session are required. The lodge is open when you need to warm up! Opening for the season Friday, December 22, 6-9pm. Saturday: 11 am, 1, 3 or 5 pm starts. Open Christmas Eve, December 24 for 11am or 1pm start times. $20/pp.Â
More ideas for things to do this weekend in the Twin Cities with kids – Northeast Metro
For many families (particularly those inclined to consult this website), this weekend is part of a lovely string of vacation days from school. Many of us are also taking a break from regularly-scheduled extracurricular activities as well. A few years back we put together a list of THINGS TO DO OVER WINTER BREAK IN THE TWIN CITIES to keep ourselves sane-and-entertained at home during this stretch, and, just in case, polished up our annual WINTER FUN SURVIVAL GUIDE.
