End the holiday season on a high note! Many cities now have a "First Night" celebration: a family-friendly New Year's Eve with parades, fireworks, and, most of all, performances-- by musicians, dancers, acrobats. First Nights are low-cost, too: guests typically buy and wear a First Night button, which gives admission to all the fun.

Also, many resorts and other destinations are picking up on the "family New Years" buzz. Check out family New Year's Eve at Panama City Beach's "Beach Ball Drop", at Hershey PA, Disney World, a family camp in Vermont, and more...

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^{Photo by Susan Cole Kelley, courtesy of First Night Boston.}

If you're heading to Mexico or the Caribbean over the holidays - it's easy to bring along a toy, or baby clothes, or school supplies, and pass them along to kids who need them. Many small charities and schools accept "direct donations", and some resorts make logistics super-simple. Read more about Bringing In-Kind Gifts for Kids.

And for those who've vacationed during the year: now's a good time to remember the hardship that often lies outside the charmed circles of the resorts. Your kids may even have noticed signs of poverty and wanted to help somehow.

Check out some ideas for "giving back" in ways that your kids can easily understand: give to a "Children's Village", for orphaned kids; give an animal -- pig, goat, duck -- that can feed a family. Sponsor a child in the DR, which is such a popular spot for all-inclusive holidays.

• Click for ways to give back that your own kids can easily understand.

*Photo courtesy of The DREAM Project, Dominican Republic.

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New additions to a set of Christmas Vacation Packages include:

• free night at the 2400-acre Sandestin Resort in northwest Florida (and Santa Tuck-ins available for a modest fee that goes to a Toys For Tots charity)
• holiday show with your stay at upscale Chateau On The Lake, in Branson Missouri
• ice skating at Rockefeller Center, with your stay at Apple Core Hotels in NYC
• "Stone Mountain Christmas", at Stone Mountain Park, Georgia.

And that's in addition to decorating your own little tree at a Vermont Inn, and more...

See Christmas Vacation Packages

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Here's a site that might help family travelers save some bucks, when visiting towns in the U.S.: enter a zip code, and couponmap.com serves up a bunch of coupons at restaurants and other businesses in the area.

And while on the topic of saving money, see also:

• Kids Eat Free
• Kids Ski Free
• More deals and ideas for affordable getaways

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United Vacations has promotions for a bunch of destinations in Canada, including Vancouver BC, skiing at Banff, Whistler BC (home to the 2010 Olympics alpine events), Toronto, Montreal, and more.

• more info about United Vacations' Canada promotion

And for some ideas about family vacations in Canada, see:

more about skiing in Banff

Top Things To Do in Toronto, for families

Quebec City - and tack on a ski day, too

Vancouver BC: Three Ski Resorts a half-hour from downtown

^{* photo of Sunshine Village courtesy of Travel Alberta}

Like many people and businesses, Cancun took a few hits during the 00's decade. In October 2005, Hurricane Wilma pummeled beaches; reconstruction began at once, but Hurricane Dean struck the beaches again in 2007.

Beach recovery efforts have continued since, and a major push started this September 2009, with over 1 billion gallons of sand to improve Cancun's shores. The project is due to complete by February 2010. (Read more at the official Cancun Travel site.)

Meanwhile -- and even long-term, given that Mother Nature is always changing shorelines, with storms and erosion-- it's a good idea for visitors to check current beach conditions. Check recent photos of beach conditions at many Cancun resorts; also, read recent visitor comments at a site like TripAdvisor.com. (Check both the hotel reviews, and the Cancun Resort Forum.)

Click below to see these and other tips for a Cancun getaway: such as, do you need to tip at an all-inclusive resort? Are swimming pools heated?

And in the spirit of the season: "Give A Toy, Get A Smile" is an easy way to donate a toy to local kids, when visiting Cancun or the Mayan Riviera to the south.

tips about Cancun Resort Vacations for Families  | Top Cancun Resort Choices for Families

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Photo courtesy of Cancun Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Santa does get around: you might want to visit him in Bethlehem CT or Santa's Village NH or North Pole NY, or at Christmas Candylane in Hershey PA, or Santa Claus Indiana, or Santa Fe New Mexico, or on the Polar Express...

• Great Places to See Santa

Also: new this week, Disney Christmas Photos - special celebrations at Disney World.

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Yesterday's post about Universal Orlando theme parks is just part of the big, big picture that is Christmas in Orlando, the world's preeminent family vacation spot.

The Disney World theme parks go all out, with the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights, Holidays Around the World, Candlelight Processional performances, Christmastime Parade -- to name just a few highlights of Disney Christmas.

And as with Universal Orlando's Macy's Parade and Grinchmas show, all this fun is included in the regular park admission price. You do need to pay extra (and book early) for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, though. (And you'll get to ride the attractions without crowds.)

Meanwhile, the Gaylord Palm's Resort has carved out a niche for itself with ICE! , an indoor winter wonderland with ice slides and ice sculptures.

More about Orlando Christmas.

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Once again, Universal Orlando jumpstarts its holiday celebrations with a live concert by popular entertainers Mannheim Steamroller, free with general admission-- as is "Grinchmas" in Seuss Landing, with holiday musical show, and daily Macy's Holiday Parade in the Universal Studios theme park. Two more Mannheim Steamroller concerts are scheduled in December, too. Read more...

Any traveling family knows that feeding kids in restaurants gets expensive, so we're grateful for web sites about places where kids eat free. (Of course, there's some fine print with these "Kids Eat Free" deals: typically, kids must order from a special kids' menu, and be accompanied by an adult who's ordering a regular-priced meal.)

And for extra convenience, now you can find your "Kids Eat Free" restaurant on the fly: as an iPhone app. The KidsEatFor.com site will tell you where kids eat free -- or at a reduced price-- in a particular location; the site also offers an application for iPhone or iTouch, available at the iTunes App Store for a couple of bucks.

Looks nifty. (If you've tried it, post a comment below.)

more about Kids Eat Free deals  | more free things to do with kids

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