I’m having a slightly hard time keeping track of the dates lately. Because whatever the calendar may say, all I can hear is LESS THAN TWO WEEKS 'TIL CHRISTMAS ALL IS LOST ABANDON HOPE PACK IT IN NOW. Or something to that effect. Luckily, Mommy Poppins is here to help me separate the nuts from the Nutcrackers, to keep me from getting light-headed with all the light displays, and, most importantly, to help put a little booty in my stockings. (I refer, of course, to the final days of our Biggest Holiday Giveaway - one of the many perks of being a Mommy Poppins reader.)

We have enough events this week to fill three or four newsletters. It's only through serious exercise of self-restraint that I've kept this post down to mere Russian novel length; you can find scores of other events on our daily calendar. No doubt things will slow down next week, because that's the week before Christmas and... oh. Well, after that there's Christmas week, which means some serious school break time, and then New Years Eve... I'm sorry, but for the next few weeks we simply have no choice but to provide you with an overabundance of fun, festive, and frequently free activities. If you need a break, I suggest you pencil it in sometime early 2013.

Keep reading for a small sampling of our favorite picks for this weekend...

Wreck-It Ralph is fun, funny, moving, laugh out loud clever, and nostalgic (but be warned - it's likely to be too scary for younger viewers). This latest film from Disney Feature Animation is a love letter to video games old and new. When my daughter and I decided to see it, our choice was for a theater was clear; we hopped in the car and made the journey to the "happiest theater on earth" - Hollywood's El Capitan.

So I'm chatting with this friend and she's all "la la la, Thanksgiving next week," and I'm all "la la la, um, no it isn't," and then I'm all, looking at the calendar and I'm totally "no way! Thanksgiving's next week! How can that be?!" True, the writing has been on the wall, the trees quietly being lit, the jolly old elves popping out of chimneys and into the malls. And perhaps my favorite harbinger of the season, the appearance of the red cups at our favorite coffee joints (I, for one, will be getting my caffeine on this weekend). But doesn't it seem as if the turkey is getting short shrift in this arrangement? Or maybe that's just the way he wants it...

In the meantime, you can use this building-up-to-the-holidays time to blackmail strongarm encourage some good works in your children. This weekend, kids can help clean up the California coastline and participate in a fundraising walk. Perhaps they'll be so inspired they might even clean their rooms. (A mom can dream.)

We've got another newsletter giveaway this week. If you're reading this in our newsletter, look up, there it is!  If you're a subscriber reading this on the website, go check your email! If you're not a subscriber, I just don't know what to say to you. Except maybe: subscribe!  Then you, too, can participate in our super cool, subscriber-only giveaways!

Keep reading for our favorite picks for the weekend...