Things to do in the Twin Cities Southeast Metro this weekend – with kids & family!
This Weekend Family Guide includes events and activities near the Twin Cities, Minnesota, communities of Afton, Apple Valley, Cottage Grove, Eagan, Farmington, Hastings, Inver Grove Heights, Lakeville, Mendota Heights, Rosemount, West St Paul & Woodbury.
This guide covers the weekend of December 30-31, 2023 — including New Year’s Eve. Not locating the city you’re looking for? We also cover tons of fun family events in the areas of:
End (or start) off the new year right with a mix of fun indoor, and outdoor activities to choose 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 Southeast Metro
All the best wishes from our Family Fun Twin Cities team as we warp up 2023 and head into the new year. We’ve done our best to collect as many ways to get out and celebrate New Years Eve 2023 as a family in the Southeast Metro. Take heart, parents and caregivers – these are daytime and early evening events that will have you in bed before midnight. Or moving onto your grown-up fun, whatever suits you. Click the graphic for more fun family NYE options around the greater Twin Cities or find southeast highlights here:
Southeast Metro New Year’s Eve events – tickets required
Plan-ahead required for this family fun on New Year’s Eve. Reserve your tickets in advance as events may have limited capacity. Jump down for some FREE family options, too.
EAGAN: New Year’s Eve Party at Lebanon HillsÂ
860 Cliff Rd, Eagan, MN 55123
A kid-friendly outdoor New Year’s Eve Party featuring wintery activities (note: sledding, snowshoeing, ice skating and kicksledding are unlikely). If all else fails, there’s supposed to be warm bonfires with free cocoa and s’mores. A ball drops at 7:59 p.m. December 31, 2023, 5-8pm. $8/pp, typically sells out.
INVER GROVE HEIGHTS: Noon Year’s Eve at the VMCC
8055 Barbara Ave, Inver Grove Heights, MN 55077
Indoor alert – the lack of snow can’t cancel a fun pool party with dancing, family-friendly games, and crafts, culminating with a special countdown to noon. December 31, 2023, 10am-12:30pm. Tickets: $10 (age 12+); $8 (11 under).
WOODBURY: New Year’s Eve Matinee at M Health Fairview Sports Center
4125 Radio Drive Woodbury, MN, 55129
Kids ages 3-7, this afternoon New Year’s Eve celebration is for you: inflatables and moonwalks, obstacle courses, bingo, ice skating, music and crafts, a photo booth and an NYE countdown. December 31, 2023, 2:30-4:30pm.Â
GOT BIGGER KIDS? Opt for the New Year’s Family Celebration with similar activities just a little later in the day. December 31, 2023, 6-9pm. Both events are $13/advance, $15/door.
FIND OUR COMPLETE GUIDE TO FAMILY-FRIENDLY TWIN CITIES NEW YEAR’S EVE EVENTS!
Shine on: Christmas & holiday lights events in the Twin Cities Southeast Metro
Holiday venues are getting close to hitting the lights on their displays following New Year’s weekend so LIGHT IT UP, TWIN CITIES while there’s still time!Â
Magic of Lights at Viking Lakes
2685 Viking Circle, Eagan, MN 55121
FINAL WEEKEND! The newest drive-through Christmas light experience in the Twin Cities adds some glitz to the Viking Lakes complex in Eagan. Featuring a see-it-to-believe Holiday Barbie display, prehistoric dinos and a giant lit monster truck you’ll want to catch this before closing out the year. Thru December 31, 2023. Starting at 5:30pm nightly. $25-$35/car. Show your Magic of Lights ticket to warm up with 2 FREE hot chocolates at the Warming Haus.
FIND MORE WINTER FUN AT VIKING LAKES: It’s not necessary to visit the Magic of Lights display to enjoy Winter SKOLstice fun at Viking Lakes. You can ice skate for free on the SKOLstice Market Rink (5-10pm Sat & until 9pm on Sun, BYO skates or rent a pair for $5) and shop the Winter Market until 8pm. Ice is tentatively scheduled to be open starting December 22 due to weather conditions but no guarantees.
Outdoor ice rinks in the Southeast Metro have not seen flooding yet due to the warm weather. But if you just can’t wait to skate, there’s a refrigerated option for you open this week:
- M HEALTH FAIRVIEW SPORTS CENTER OUTDOOR RINK, Woodbury: FREE. Skate rental is available for $6 if need be in the Sports Center. Open 4-9:30pm on weekends. 4125 Radio Drive, Woodbury MN 55129.
For the whole sparkling scoop on the best holiday light displays in the Twin Cities, visit our 2023 Twin Cities Drive Thru Christmas Events & Walking Tours page. OR – we’d love to help you design your own drive-thru holiday lights event! We keep a simply dazzling list of homes around the Twin Cities that get all decked out for the holiday season: Buzz over to Light it Up: Twin Cities & Greater Minnesota Christmas and Holiday Light Displays for our map. Here’s a taste of some local efforts in the Southeast Metro:
- APPLE VALLEY: Porter’s Holiday Light Show, 13596 Hollins Ct. Week: 5-9p & Fri-Sat to 10.
- BURNSVILLE: Christmas Lights on Big Oak Drive, 2012 Big Oak Drive. Starts at 5pm.
- INVER GROVE HEIGHTS: Strandlof’s Christmas Lights, 7050 Blaine Ave. 5-10pm
- WOODBURY: Holiday Lights of Woodbury, 8846 Glacier Road. Starts at 5pm.
Fun outdoor activities in the Twin Cities Southeast Metro parks this weekend
We’re bringing you the scoop on dozens of outdoor activities this weekend in Twin Cities parks carefully curated on our FAMILY FUN CALENDAR. Here’s a sampling of our top picks in your area of the metro:
Some fun family ideas for this weekend: Outdoor activities
Spending time outside doing winter activities is a hallmark of our winter break: ice skating, snowboarding and snow tubing spots are up and humming with activity already. If we finally see some white stuff this weekend, make sure to consult our huge list of the best sledding hills in the Twin Cities – they’re FREE! Try one of these refrigerated outdoor ice skating rinks if the community sites aren’t yet open:
- MAPLE GROVE CENTRAL PARK ICE SKATING LOOP (free ice skating, rentals available for $7)
- ROSEVILLE OVAL ($9/pp, rentals $5)
- WOODBURY HEALTH EAST SPORTS CENTER ice rink (free skating)
Snow tubing in the Twin Cities Southeast Metro
Ten-plus years ago, when we began this adventure called Family Fun Twin Cities, our oldest kiddos were more than satisfied with the neighborhood bunny sledding hills. Now, as many of them are well into their teens, they’d prefer to hunt down something a bit more thrilling. Sound familiar? Then you might benefit from our roundup of the best spots to snow tube in the Twin Cities – a couple of which are convenient to communities southeast of Minneapolis & St Paul.
Trapp Farm Park Tubing Hill
841 Wilderness Run Rd, Eagan, MN 55123
75 tubes or so craft are available to rent for this designated tubing-only hill. Make sure to pre-register online for 2-hour time slot. This weekend’s hours: Sat, Dec 23 – 12-8pm & Christmas Eve, 12-4pm. $5 per person.
Buck Hill
