Christmas and the New Year are pretty much right around the corner and that means winter break for the kiddos!  My kiddos have been going batty being locked inside and I can’t wait to play once the skies clear up.

Tonight we have a guest post from the very talented Yvonne, who blogs at YvonneinLA . If you are looking for something to do with the kiddos in the next few days, she has some great ideas.

Free and Not-So-Free Stuff for Kids in LA

It’s raining. It’s pouring. My kids are so bored all they’re doing is whining. We can’t wait to get out of the house and do something fun. I keep thinking of all of the entertaining things to do around LA that are not only fun, but free.

My kids love Travel Town in Griffith Park. There are amazing vintage trains for them to climb and explore and a little train to ride. After a couple of hours at Travel Town, which offers  free admission, there are so many options. The LA Zoo is close by and the Autry Museum is next to that (and it’s free on Tuesdays). There’s also the option of hanging around and riding bikes.

Speaking of bikes, there’s mile after mile of bike trails along the California coast that stretches from Torrance to Malibu. When I ride by myself, I start in Santa Monica and ride to Manhattan Beach. It’s beautiful and quiet. If I’m with the kids we go to Will Rogers State Beach and play in the sand and ride some of the trail there.

After that we like to stop at Back on The Beach in Santa Monica. It’s right next to the Annenberg Community Beach House, the historic estate, that William Randolph Hearst built for Marion Davies in the 1920s. Tours are free, but there’s a fee for parking.

One of my favorite free events in LA is The Grove Kids club on Thursdays. Every week from 11 am to 1 pm the Grove, an over the top outdoor mall, puts on either a concert or an activity. I dragged my kids to listen to The Bare Naked Ladies there once and it was fantastic. The Grove is next to the Original Farmers Market where you can find enough food for even the pickiest eaters. And for me, there’s the sale rack at Anthropologie.

I have all of these grand plans do something fun outside when my kids are off, but we’ll probably end up going to the movies or hitting a museum.

The Hammer Museum in Westwood is free on Thursdays and The Getty in Brentwood is free every day. El Capitan theatre in Hollywood is showing Tron for the next couple of weeks.  Admission to the movies is not free, but they sure  look fun.

I’m not sure what I’ll do with the kids on these long vacations days (my 1st grader also has 3 weeks off for winter break!), but we have a lot of choices.

*When Yvonne isn’t driving her kids around she’s blogging at www.yvonneinla.com, www.yvonnesgfgoodies.com and the soon to be launched www.whitemexicanblog.com