Things to do in the Twin Cities Northwest Metro this weekend – with kids & family!
This Weekend Family Guide includes events and activities near the Twin Cities, Minnesota, communities of Albertville, Andover, Anoka, Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Coon Rapids, Crystal, Elk River, Golden Valley, Maple Grove, Otsego, Plymouth, Robbinsdale, Rogers & St Michael.
This guide covers the weekend of December 30-31, 2023 — including New Year’s Eve. Not finding the city you’re searching for? We also cover fun family events in the areas of:
Both end and start your year off on the right and active foot with a blend of family-friendly indoor and outdoor activities to pick from this weekend in Minneapolis & St Paul. For more ideas, hop over to our JANUARY FAMILY EVENTS GUIDE, our WINTER FUN SRUVIVAL GUIDE or our FAMILY FUN CALENDAR. We try our best to keep it stocked with options to fit your family’s needs.
Holiday events this weekend in the Twin Cities Northwest Metro
Twin Cities Northwest New Year’s Eve events
All the best from our families to yours in the new year! We’re excited to start out with a freshly updated round up what’s going on in the Twin Cities family-style for New Years Eve 2023. Nothing on this lists lasts til midnight, so you parents can still have some grown up fun (if you choose) or get to bed early. Click the graphic for all the festive options around the Twin Cities area or see highlights in the Northwest Metro here:
BROOKLYN PARK: New Year’s Eve Free Family Fun Day
Mississippi Gateway Regional Park, 10360 W River Rd, Brooklyn Park, MN 55444
Play outdoor games and roast marshmallows, add to a gratitude tree and share your new year’s hopes with the universe. December 31, 2023, 1-3pm. FREE.
MAPLE GROVE: New Year’s Eve Campfire at Eastman Nature Center
13351 Elm Creek Rd, Maple Grove, MN 55369
End the year with a naturalist-led campfire at Eastman Nature Center. Kids and families can write down things they are happy to end with 2023 and write resolutions on rocks to take home. December 31, 2023, drop in from 1-3pm. FREE.
FIND OUR COMPLETE GUIDE TO FAMILY-FRIENDLY TWIN CITIES NEW YEAR’S EVE EVENTS!
Shine on: Twin Cities Northwest Metro holiday lights displays
Before the New Year is upon us (signaling many of these venues to hit the switch) LIGHT IT UP, TWIN CITIESÂ while you can!
Maple Grove Rotary Holiday Light Display
Central Park, 12000 Central Park Way, Maple Grove, MN 55369
Maple Grove Rotary showcases their holiday light display featuring over 2 dozen trees around the skating rink area during the month of December. Bring your own ice skates to skate FREE on the loop or rent a pair from the pavilion for $7.50. The ice skating loop is open all weekend.
Plymouth Holiday Lights at the Hilde
3500 Plymouth Blvd. Plymouth, Minnesota 55447
The grounds of Hilde Performance Center are lit with holiday lights starting December 2 for the public to view at their own leisure.Â
Design your own holiday lights driving tour in the Twin Cities Northwest Metro! We’ve put together an illuminating list of the area’s most awesome light shows. Here’s just a glimpse of what we think is worth jumping in the car:
- ANDOVER: Cairl Family Christmas Lights, 2342 145th Avenue NW. Starts at 5:30pm.
- COON RAPIDS: Hope Lights – A Christmas Display, 12401 Partridge St NW. Starts at 5pm.
- PLYMOUTH: Plymouth Lights – Christmas at the Fischer’s Place. 16700 33rd Ave N. Starts at 5:30pm.
- ROGERS: Lights on Jackie Lane. 19700 Jackie Lane. The show contains over 15 songs with a great mix of holiday classics and upbeat tracks.
Hop over to Light It Up: Twin Cities & Greater Minnesota Christmas & Holiday Light Displays for our map!
Fun outdoor activities in the Twin Cities Northwest Metro parks this weekendÂ
The following is just a sampling of all we’re keeping track of across the incredible Twin Cities park systems. 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 embrace the cold is a large part of our winter break: ice skating and snow tubing spots are now open and buzzing with activity. At this point it’s anyone’s guess as to whether we’ll have a white Christmas, but in case check over our updated list of the best sledding hills in the Twin Cities. Or try one of these lovely, 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 $7.50. 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. 2661 Civic Center Dr, Roseville, MN 55113. $9/pp, rentals $5.
Snow tubing in the Twin Cities Northwest Metro
There are days we simply can’t believe we began this adventure called Family Fun Twin Cities more than ten years ago. The kiddos that were once thrilled by the bunny sledding hills are now careening down snow tubing runs. Sound familiar? Then you might benefit from our roundup of the best spots to snow tube in the Twin Cities – a few of which are located northwest of Minneapolis & St Paul.
Elm Creek Park ReserveÂ
12400 James Deane Pkwy, Maple Grove, MN 55369
Have fun snow tubing in 2-hr increments between 10am-9pm. There’s a chalet onsite if you need to warm up! $17/pp.
Wirth Park Winter Recreation AreaÂ
1301 Theodore Wirth Pkwy, Golden Valley, MN 55422
Tow ropes available Fri-Sun. Snow tube in 2-hr sessions. $17/pp or $8.50/non tow rope hours.
FREE WINTER FUN: You can sled on the tenth fairway of the Theodore Wirth Park golf course next to the Chalet. Bring your own or stop by The Adventure Shop to borrow one for free.
More ideas for things to do this weekend in the Twin Cities with kids – Northwest Metro
With many families (especially those likely to frequent this website) either starting or navigating through a lengthy school break, we suspected a list of THINGS TO DO OVER WINTER BREAK IN THE TWIN CITIES might be a helpful tool to whip out as needed. For extra armor, we’ve also shined up our annual WINTER FUN SURVIVAL GUIDE.
