Free Things to Do In January In and Around New Jersey

VENTNOR BUSINESS ASSOCIATION / Ventnor City Polar Plunge

From guided hikes to polar plunges to ice skating, these activities are free this month!

January 1

Ventnor City Polar Plunge and Winter Festival
Polar Plunge: Newport Avenue Beach, Ventnor City
Winter Festival: St. James Memorial Hall, Ventnor City
Cool off in the Atlantic Ocean during the plunge, then warm up inside the church hall after. New this year is a winter festival that will have food trucks and vendors, inflatable sports games for kids, DJ music, and a chili cookoff between police officers and firefighters.

First Day Hike
Multiple Locations
A tradition to start the new year is to take a hike through nature and start off fresh, inspired and invigorated. The New Jersey Park Service offers various hikes throughout the state, whether it’s along the canal, through the forest or on the sands of the beach.

Dog Hike
Belleplain State Forest, Woodbine
Megan and her dogs will lead a 4.5-5-mile-long hike. This is a moderately paced hike with a few stops along the way to make sure the entire group is together.

Double Trouble First Day Jaunt
Double Trouble State Park, Berkeley and Lacey Twps.
The 1-2-mile leisurely walk along the Mill Pond Trail and waters of Cedar Creek finishes with a walk through the historic village.

Sunrise Hike & Tower Climb
Wharton State Forest, Hammonton
This easy 2.5-mile roundtrip guided hike begins at 6 am and heads to Apple Pie Hill where you will be able to climb the fire tower and watch the sun rise over the Pine Barrens on the first day of 2025.

January 2

It’s a New Year! Hike
Marina Boathouse at Mercer County Lake, West Windsor
Ring in the new year by taking a brisk guided walk along Lake Mercer.

January 2-5

Newark Winter Village
Mulberry Commons Park, Newark
Stop by for a day of ice skating, go-karts, games and activities, heated private igloos or pods, an open-air holiday marketplace, and special events throughout the season.

January 3-5

Free Drop-In Activities
New Jersey State Museum, Trenton
Inside the Imagination Studio, projects range from bark crafts to acrylic wash paintings.

January 4

A Twelfth Night Celebration
Hancock House State Historic Site, Hancocks Bridge
The open house goes back to 1775, on the eve of the Revolutionary War, with historical lessons through games, music and snacks.

Welcome Winter Walk
Watershed Institute, Pennington
Families can explore the natural world in the winter, talking about the unique survival strategies of local plants and animals as you go through the field and forest.

January 4-5

Bank of America Museums on Us Weekend
Various Locations in NJ and NY
Bank of America, Merrill and Bank of America Private Bank cardholders can receive free general admission to various cultural attractions on the first full weekend of each month.

Select dates, January 4 – February 22

Lunar New Year
American Dream, East Rutherford
Parts of the celebration include traditional lion dances, live bands, dance showcases, a youth talent competition, a photography competition, a student and teacher piano concert, a lighting of the Dream Wheel, a spring festival gala, and then the ultimate Lunar New Year Spectacular.

January 5

Kids Hike For Fun
South Branch Reservation at Pine Hill, Annandale
Winter Hikes for Fun are designed to combine fun, education and exercise in the great outdoors for kids age 5 and up.

Cutting, Splitting & Hewing
Historic Longstreet Farm, Holmdel
Get warmed up using a two-man saw and splitting wedge, and then learn how farmers used a froe to rive shingles or a broad axe to hew beams.

Mondays, January 6 – March 17

Kids Craft Hour
Jake Branch County Park Nature Center, Beechwood
Kids ages 3-5 can come by for nature-inspired crafts. Activities each week include snowmen, snowflakes, rainbows, owls, trees and flowers.

January 10

Baby Walk
Hoffman Park, Hampton
Get your baby outside and explore your local trail. There will be some fun nature education for adults.

January 10-11

Cherry Valley Model Railroad Club Holiday Open Houses
Grace Episcopal Church, Merchantville
Saturday – Sunday
The displays are based on an operating O scale model railroad featuring 4000 linear feet of track and a model of the historic 30th Street station in Philadelphia.

January 10-11, 17-18

Peddler’s Village Fire & Frost Fun
Peddler’s Village, Lahaska, PA
Winter festival nights include dozens of ice sculptures, a DJ spinning party music, a family-friendly scavenger hunt, fire artistry, fire breathing, juggling, sales at the shops and boutiques, and food trucks.

January 11

Linda’s Day Farm New Year Social
West Windsor Branch of the Mercer County Library System, Princeton Junction
The New Year Social provides social skills and peer socialization opportunities for adults ages 18+ with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Participants will create a DIY raft using natural materials, play some getting-to-know-you games, and enjoy snacks together.

Snow Fest
Wicoff House Museum, Plainsboro
The fifth annual Snow Fest includes a variety of snowy crafts, a scavenger hunt, and meetings with Olaf and other winter characters. Warm up with s’mores and hot chocolate or keep cool with snow cones.

January 12

Parlor Games for Wintry Weather
Historic Longstreet Farm, Holmdel
Strategize your best moves while playing Halma and Basilinda, two long-forgotten 1890s board games. You can try other old-time favorites like Backgammon, Checkers and Dominoes.

January 15

MLK Day Church Service
A Better Life Ministry, Jersey City
Special guests include the Rev. Al Sharpton, the Rev. Raul Ruiz, the Rev. Steffie Bartley, Sr., Bishop Jevah L. Richardson, former Governor Jim McGreevey, and the Rev. Daryl M. Griffin, Sr.

January 17-19

North Jersey Orchid Society Show & Sale
Cook Student Center of Rutgers University, New Brunswick
Check out dozens of displays of blooming orchids grown in homes and greenhouses in the mid-Atlantic area. Admission is free.

January 18

Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Lecture
Newark Public Library, Newark
Kevin Powell will talk about if Dr. King and Malcolm X were still alive today, and the impact they’d continue to have.

MLK March of Resistance
Martin Luther King Statue, Newark
Brothers Building a Better Nation (BBABN) joins the People’s Organization for Progress (POP) and more than 100 other organizations for a march from the MLK statue to Newark City Hall and back to the statue.

Pier Village Ice Festival
Pier Village, Long Branch
Wintry activities include an ice carving competition, live entertainment, an artisan market, a warming house, hot cocoa and chocolate chip cookies, s’mores around firepits, restaurant discounts, arcade games and skee-ball, bowling, paint your own pottery, and bead making. Admission is free, but certain activities have a fee.

Winterfest
Hackettstown
Celebrate the winter shopping season at local shops. There will be tastings, special offers and more.

Ferris Wheel-ebration
Palisades Center, West Nyack, NY
The Ferris Wheel officially reopened after its closure in 2020 due to the pandemic. Standing 60 feet tall, it is currently the only indoor Ferris wheel in the state of New York. During the “Wheel-ebration,” celebrate the grand reopening with a ribbon cutting, live entertainment, cotton candy, and half-price rides for all guests.

Tiki Barber Meet-and-Greet
Verizon store, Clifton
New York Giants fans can meet superstar Tiki Barber ahead of Verizon’s first-ever Super Bowl FanFest. Barber will hold a special meet-and-greet where fans can get autographs, take photos and grab some game-day snacks. The event is free for Verizon customers.

Bergen County “Unplugged” Reading Challenge
Westfield Garden State Plaza, Paramus
Kick off the book challenge registration process with storytime, a bookmark craft, meet-and-greet with children’s book character Pete the Cat, and snacks.

January 19

Muslim Heritage Celebration
Fair Lawn Community Center, Fair Lawn
The Fair Lawn Muslim Community will host an educational experience based on the cultural traditions of 15 Muslim-majority countries. This interactive event will have performances, cultural exhibits of clothing and artifacts, crafts, music, live calligraphy, food stalls, henna art and a photo booth.

January 20

The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service
Stockton University locations in Galloway, Woodbine, Atlantic City and Hammonton
Over 900 students, community members and community partners take part in roughly 25 projects both on- and off-campus.

Community Day: Martin Luther King Jr.: Stronger Together
Newark Museum of Art, Newark
The theme Stronger Together reflects a shared commitment to working hand-in-hand across communities through service, where love triumphs over hate, peace over conflict, and unity over division. A timeline of performances will be announced.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service: Beach Cleanup
Sandy Hook beach, Middletown
Support the National Park Service during the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service by cleaning up the beachfront.

MLK Day Community Gathering + Art Making
Arts Council of Princeton, Princeton
A free art-making workshop will be accompanied by a food drive and community gathering. Artist Tamara Torres will talk about how to use art to express emotions; after drawing you will year your paper and use the pieces to create a new collage that represents a different perspective. The Historical Society of Princeton and the Witherspoon-Jackson Historical and Cultural Society will hold activities. Kids will get a coloring book to color, read through short stories, and learn more about how Princeton came to be the place it is today.

Kids Eat Free on MLK Day
Chevys Fresh Mex, Clifton and Linden
Kids eat free off the kids menu on January 20.

January 22 and 23

Tot Walks: Patterns
Echo Hill Park, Flemington
Leave the strollers behind as the group reads a story and takes a walk to learn about nature, and then does a craft on each theme.

January 25

South Jersey Muslim Heritage Month Festival
Eden Gardens, Pennsauken
Presented by the New Jersey Muslim Heritage Month Coalition is an event that includes Muslim icons, poetry, cultural performances, art exhibits, global foods and an international bazaar.

Lunar New Year Celebration
Montclair Art Museum, Montclair
Join AAPI New Jersey for a traditional dragon parade, lion dance, cultural performances, vendor market, crafts and food trucks.

Lunar New Year Celebration
Westfield Garden State Plaza, Paramus
Welcome good fortune and happiness with dragon and lion dance performances, musical and dance showcases, cultural activities, interactive experiences, family-friendly crafts and Asian traditions.

Chinese New Year Celebration
MarketFair, Princeton
Celebrate the Year of the Snake with WULA Academy and HX Chinese School. There will be cultural performances, music, dance, games, arts and crafts, and lucky red envelopes with gift cards.

Rutgers Geology Museum Open House
Rutgers Geology Museum, New Brunswick
The 57^th annual open house features crafts, activities, a mineral sale, rock identification, lectures, access to the museum, and lots of learning. The theme for the 2025 open house is New Jersey Geology.

Lunar New Year Celebration
Vizzio’s Institute of Martial Arts, Fairfield
Learn the cultural diversity of this wonderful tradition with traditional Lion Dance performances.

Ice Harvest
Howell Living History Farm, Hopewell Twp.
Howell Farm was once known as the “ice farm” because neighbors could buy ice from the pond to keep their milk cool on the way to the train station on Pleasant Valley Road. In late January, visitors to the farm will learn about the tools and technology that made ice harvesting a successful business at the turn of the 20th century with demonstrations of ice cutting, hauling, and handling. You can also help pull ice blocks up the ramp to the ice house, chip ice to make ice cream, and make an ice candle to take home. Ice cream and snow cone samples will be available in the afternoon, and food will be available at the farmhouse for purchase.

January 26

Lunar Fest NJ 2025
The Woodland, Maplewood
There will be performances representing Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Southeast Asian culture, including children’s activities and food.

Last Friday of Every Month

Nature Game Nights
Last Friday of every month
Plainsboro Preserve, Cranbury
Inside the nature center, choose from nature-inspired puzzles and games, or bring your own from home.

First Saturday of Every Month

Kids Workshops: Activities & Crafts
The Home Depot, Multiple Locations
On the first Saturday of every month, bring your kids at 9 am for free in-store workshops that give them hands-on projects. Upcoming crafts include a piggy bank on January 4, a Valentine’s candy box on February 1, and a basketball game on March 1.

Third Saturday of Every Month

Kids Workshops at Lowe’s
Lowe’s, Howell Twp.
Your mini-DIYer can become a senior builder during a workshop where they’ll get a free tool bag after they attend and collect 12 badges. There’s also a Build a Birthday box to work on at home. Upcoming projects include a toy snowplow on January 18, and a tool chest on February 15.

Select Saturdays

JCPenney Kids Club
JCPenney, Multiple locations
Kids get a craft, ID badge and lanyard, plus a collector’s pin each month, and then a craft medallion after completing six crafts. On January 11, make your own penguin or yeti bookmark. On February 8, make an avocado magnet and card for Valentine’s Day. Crafts take place from 11 am to noon. Parents will get a 10 percent coupon to go shopping.

Select Dates

Free Entrance to National Parks
Multiple Locations
On select days throughout the year, you can explore New Jersey’s national parks for free. Days include January 20 for MLK Day, April 19 for National Park Week, June 19 for Juneteenth, August 4 for the Great American Outdoors Act, September 27 for National Public Lands Day, and November 11 for Veterans Day.

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