Family Friendly New Year's Eve Events in New Orleans

New Orleans has been voted one of the top New Years Eve celebration destinations, but if any of you have been in the thick of it downtown, you know how family UN-friendly it can get! Luckily there are a few family-centric New Year's Eve events to take part in.

On both Wednesday and Thursday from noon until 8pm, head down to the Jax Brewery parking lot to participate in the Allstate Sugar Bowl Fan Fest. Try your football-throwing skills, enjoy food from the Hard Rock Cafe, take a picture with the Sugar Bowl trophy, and dance to the Gin Blossoms (Wednesday) and Lady Antebellum (Thursday). Admission is free, and there will be pep rallies for both Sugar Bowl teams (Cincy and Florida this year, in case you didn't know!).

On Thursday from 10:30am until 12:30pm, join Radio Disney at the Audubon Zoo to celebrate "Noon Year's Eve". Hugo the Hornets mascot will be there with the Honeybees and Junior Stingers, and the kids can create some arts and crafts and have their faces painted. Ring in noon with your kids with a Pepsi-sponsored non-alcoholic toast!

On the other side of town from 9:30am to 2:30pm, you can celebrate another countdown to noon at the Louisiana Children's Museum. This celebration is $10 general admission or $2 for members and includes music by Bruce "Sunpie" Barnes and the Louisiana Sunspots, and a balloon drop at noon.

Regardless of how you celebrate the new year, be safe and have fun!

Santa at Lakeside Mall

Santa has been on a 25-city tour since appearing in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, and will make his last stop at Macy's in Lakeside Mall on Tuesday at 2pm. He'll only be there for an hour before heading back up to the North Pole to get ready for his trip on Christmas Eve, so get there while you can! Enjoy Christmas music and a reading of The Night Before Christmas, and take a picture with Santa before its too late!

New Orleans Area Free and Frugal Events this Weekend

Here are a few things to work into your schedule this weekend:

On Saturday morning at 10am, the Luling Planetarium will host "George and Oatmeal Save Santa" - a Christmas show for little ones. A second showing is scheduled for 2pm, followed by another holiday show called "Season of Light". Both events are free.

Saturday night the Saints will be (hopefully) beating the Cowboys in the Superdome. If you don't have tickets to the game and want to watch it in a unique setting, head over to Celebration in the Oaks at City Park. They'll have the big screens set up, and if you wear your black and gold, you get $1 off the $7 admission price.

On Sunday 12/20 there will be free admission to the Louisiana Children's Museum courtesy of Target.

Enjoy free, beautiful Christmas music with your family on Sunday evening at St. Louis Cathedral's annual Christmas concert - part of the Cathedral Concert Series. The final event in this series will be a gospel performance on Monday at 6pm.

Enjoy the beautiful weekend!

More New Orleans-area events for this weekend!

If you're still looking for things to do this weekend, check out the Treme Creole Gumbo Festival Saturday and Sunday at the Jazz and Heritage Center on N. Rampart. They've moved the events inside the center, so the rain will not put a damper on the great musical performances (Kermit Ruffins, Trombone Shorty), but will make for perfect gumbo-eating weather!

If rolling on the river is more your style, head over to the Steamboat Natchez at Toulouse Street and the river for a cruise with Santa on Saturday morning. Bring 2 non-perishable food items to donate to the Second Harvest Food Bank and receive a free ticket! The boat sets sail at 11:30am and the ticket office will begin accepting donations at 10:30am.

Have a great weekend!

New Orleans Area Free and Frugal Events this Weekend

There are only 2 more weekends before Christmas, and no shortage of ways to celebrate! On Saturday, take the family down to Canal Street for their Kids on Canal Street events. Radio Disney, the Calliope Puppets, and Santa will all be on hand at various Canal Street locations to entertain.

If music is your thing, head to St. Louis Cathedral and check out one (or more) of the Cathedral Concerts. See Philip Manuel on Thursday, Ellis Marsalis, on Sunday, or any of the other 6 concerts scheduled in the next week. All are free and open to the public.

Celebrate the beginning of Hanukkah with the lighting of a 12-foot menorah on Sunday at Chanukah at Riverwalk. Enjoy dancing, music, and food from 4-6pm.

If you haven't yet made it out to Miracle on Fulton Street, this weekend you can watch the Christmas movie Elf on the big screen, or enjoy music from the Topcats (Friday), Cullen Landry and Midnight Streetcar (Saturday), and the Yat Pack (Sunday).

Keep your fingers crossed for good weather, and get out and enjoy the holiday season in New Orleans!

New Orleans Area Free and Frugal Events this Weekend

Christmas lights EVERYWHERE! At 5:30pm Friday, the famous Al Copeland Christmas lights will be turned on at Lafreniere Park. Running from 5:30pm to 10pm nightly until January 6th, the lighting ceremony will include performances and carolers.

What would a holiday season be without a parade? Saturday morning at 11am head to Canal Street downtown to see the Krewe of Kringle in the Canal Street Christmas Parade. Stick around afterwards for a free concert at Elk Place and enjoy the sounds of Jeremy Davenport, Kermit Ruffins, and others.

While downtown, why not make a day of it and head over to Miracle on Fulton? My 4 year old is annoyed at the fact that we likely won't see snow this season, so maybe I'll placate him with the fake snowfall on Fulton....

Also on Saturday is the next installment of the Kids Culinary Camp sponsored by the Junior League of New Orleans at the Southern Food and Beverage Museum.

If your kids are more of the crafty type, head to your nearest Lowe's Build and Grow clinic to make a gingerbread house, or to your nearest Michael's to make Christmas present crafts for the family!

Have a great weekend enjoying the spirit of Christmas!