December Vacation Week With Kids Around Boston, 2026
Which Boston-area museums and zoos are closed on which days between Dec. 26 and Jan. 1, plus where to go on the Tuesday everything shuts.
Tuesday, December 29 is the day to plan around: the Boston Children’s Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts and the Peabody Essex Museum are all closed on Tuesdays. Wednesday, December 30 closes PEM as well, and on Friday, January 1 PEM is closed for New Year’s Day. December 26 is a Saturday this year, so the week runs Saturday to Friday.
Closed days, from each venue’s posted schedule
| Day | What is closed |
|---|---|
| Sat., Dec. 26 to Mon., Dec. 28 | Regular weekend and Monday hours at the museums below |
| Tue., Dec. 29 | Boston Children’s Museum, MFA, Peabody Essex Museum |
| Wed., Dec. 30 | Peabody Essex Museum |
| Thu., Dec. 31 | None on a regular Thursday; the MFA is open until 10 p.m. |
| Fri., Jan. 1 | Peabody Essex Museum (the others: check their holiday hours) |
Christmas Day itself is a Friday, so check holiday hours for December 24 and 25 separately. Venues post December hours late, so confirm each one the week before you go.
Animals and lights
ZooLights at Stone Zoo, Stoneham. November 20 through January 3, 4 to 9:30 p.m., closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, according to the Zoo New England ZooLights page. The page also lists Visit with Santa, group and EBT/WIC tickets, and an Intergalactic Night on January 2. Prices are on the zoo’s ticket and Santa pages.
Franklin Park Zoo. Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Day; the zoo’s page shows 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and phone 617-541-5466. Zoo New England’s winter visit page names what stays open indoors: the Tropical Forest, kept at 72 degrees, and Bird’s World, plus the Farmhouse Cafe. The Aussie Aviary is closed for winter.
New England Aquarium. Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekends; weekends and holidays often sell out, so book online. Prices are in indoor things to do with kids around Boston.
Museums
Boston Children’s Museum. Open Wednesday through Monday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed Tuesdays. It opens at 10 a.m. on the first Saturday of the month, which is January 2. Ticket price and hours: bostonchildrensmuseum.org/visit.
Museum of Fine Arts. Open Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday and Friday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., closed Tuesdays. Adults are $30, ages 7 to 17 are $14 and ages 6 and under are free. Last entry is 30 minutes before closing. Check the MFA visit page for holiday hours.
Peabody Essex Museum, Salem. Open Thursday through Monday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed Tuesday, Wednesday, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Under-16s and Salem residents are free. More on the city: Salem in December.
Museum of Science. Hours and vacation-week programs are at mos.org.
Outside, if there is ice
The Boston Common Frog Pond skating season runs November to March; hours and prices are on the Frog Pond page, phone (617) 635-2120. More rinks: outdoor ice skating rinks.
Backups
Library museum passes can cut admission at several places above. Holiday train rides and free holiday things to do in Boston fill out the week.
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Sources
- Zoo New England, ZooLights at Stone Zoozoonewengland.org
- Zoo New England, Franklin Park Zoozoonewengland.org
- Zoo New England, Franklin Park Zoo winter visitszoonewengland.org
- Boston Children's Museum, hours and admissionbostonchildrensmuseum.org
- Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, plan your visitmfa.org
- New England Aquarium, visitneaq.org
- New England Aquarium, ticketsneaq.org
- Peabody Essex Museum, plan your visitpem.org
- Boston Common Frog Pondbostonfrogpond.com
Details such as dates, hours and prices come from the sources above and can change. Check with the organizer before you go.
How we report: every date, price and address comes from a linked source.
