It happens every year. Not long after the presents have been unwrapped, Suzie’s elaborate Lego set will have lost its luster and Billy’s cheap hoverboard will sit abandoned in the yard. Thoughts might then turn to sledding, if we had any snow on the ground. Instead, parents may begin to calculate: How many times can Nana and Pop take the kids to “Star Wars: The Force Awakens’’ before I’m driven insane by toy lightsaber battles and imitations of that adorable little droid BB-8’s chirps and whistles?

Figuring out what to do with children over the holiday break between Christmas and New Year’s Day can be a head-scratcher. To the rescue, here’s our pick of things to do with kids over this quasi-vacation week— activities, amusements, events, classes, destinations, and distractions, both indoors and out — all within Greater Boston, or a short drive away from the area.

May the Force of child sanity be with you.

(Oh, and be advised: Many venues alter their schedules during this season. Please check the websites or call for general holiday hours.)

KIDS KINGDOM

Navigate a two-story climbing maze. Shoot objects through air tubes. Explore the underground realm of worms and subterranean burrows. Goof around with water, ice, and mist, or build a bridge and plan a city. These are just a few of the activities on offer at the Providence Children’s Museum. During the holiday break, special programs include a robot and contraption invention class called “Rigamajig’’; puppet and vaudeville shows; and a workshop where kids and their families can make noisemakers and other musical instruments to ring in, and shake in, the New Year. (100 South St., Providence; www.childrenmuseum .org; $9.)

MUSEUMS WITH CLASS

Art museums are fine places to get lost for a few hours and immerse kids in painting and sculpture, mummies, and suits of armor. But two local art institutions are among those that take advantage of vacation time to offer classes for young aspiring artists. At the Museum of Fine Arts, kids hit the galleries for inspiration, then make their own stained-glass windows, handmade puppets, and festive party hats. (465 Huntington Ave., Boston; www.mfa.org/programs/series/december- vacation-week; adults $25, kids free; classes free with admission.)

At the Worcester Art Museum, young artists learn how to draw “Heroes, Villains and Creatures,’’ or aerial views and two-point perspective in “It’s All in Perspective,’’ among a range of workshops. (55 Salisbury St., Worcester; www. worcesterart.org/education/ vacation-week; $14 adults, $6 kids; classes $25.)

PLAY TIME

Weather outside too frightful? Imagine: A Center for Community & the Arts is a unique, 12,000-square-foot indoor play space with activities for children 12 and younger, including two huge halls with a “role play town,’’ an indoor playground (a climbing castle, swings, bounce house, and more), a ball pit, a marble run, puppets, dress up costumes, arts and crafts materials. For older kids, there’s Ping-Pong, Foosball, a book library and scooters and bikes, as well as rental space for private events. (23 Bay State Road, Cambridge; www.imaginecambridge.com; first child $12, second child $8, third child $5.)

GREENSPACES

Aside from sniffing your Christmas tree, another great way to get your hit of chlorophyll is to visit the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens. Inside the 16 greenhouses (7,200 square feet in total), children will delight in the tropical palms, bananas, and vines, the blast of arid and jungle air, and the sensory and carnivorous plant collection. The outdoor gardens impart a taste of a maple swamp, meadow, and native forest habitats in winter. (106 Central St., Wellesley; www.wellesley.edu/wcbg; free.)

Families travel to the Tower Hill Botanic Garden this time of year to take in “Winter Reimagined,’’ its annual light and ornament display spread throughout the grounds’ conservatories and formal gardens. Kids activities include scavenger hunts, an igloo made out of recycled milk jugs, and crafts. (11 French Drive, Boylston; www.towerhillbg.org; adults $15, children $5, under 5 free.)

GAMING MAVENS

Can you survive a battlefield, a spooky house, or the depths of the jungle? Are you able jump, crawl, climb, dance, and think your way through clever traps, tricky riddles, and secret passages? These are the “quests’’ your team will encounter at Boda Borg Boston, a new live-action reality gaming center that challenges both mind and body. (90 Pleasant St., Malden; www.bodaborg.com; $18 for two hours, $28 all day.)

With bowling, indoor mini-golf, and places to eat, the old-fashioned Funspot, tucked near the shore of Lake Winnipesaukee, calls itself the “largest arcade in the world.’’ But its claim to fame is video games, particularly the American Classic Arcade Museum, where you can introduce younger generations to “ancient’’ relics such as Pac-Man, Defender, Joust, and Robotron 2084, not to mention dozens of pinball machines. (579 Endicott St. North, Laconia, N.H.; www.funspotnh .com.)

OUTDOOR EXPEDITIONS

Mass Audubon operates several wildlife sanctuaries and properties to give kids a wintry taste of nature. Drumlin Farm’s 206 acres are populated with barnyard regulars — pigs, sheep, goats, chickens, and cows — and trails taking you to enclosures with owls, a fox, and deer. (208 South Great Road, Lincoln; www.massaudubon .org; $8 adults, $6 children.)

Blue Hills Trailside Museum, the interpretive center for the 7,000-acre Blue Hills Reservation, features a natural history museum and outdoor wildlife exhibits including rescued snowy owls and a river otter. (1904 Canton Ave., Milton; www.massaudubon.org; $5 adults, $3 children.)

Habitat Education Center and Wildlife Sanctuary offers 88 acres of easy trails, many stroller-navigable, that wind through a landscape of woods, meadows, ponds, and a Georgian-style mansion. (10 Juniper Road, Belmont; www.mass audubon.org; $4 adults, $3 children.)

THE SKATE ESCAPE

Introduce your kids to a wintertime classic: Boston Common’s Frog Pond, where young and old can sharpen their skating skills, then recharge their bodies at the Frog Pond Cafe with a plate of Belgian waffles covered in maple syrup, Nutella, and whipped cream, or Freddie’s Mac & Cheese. There’s also a playground right next to the pond. (Boston Common; www.boston frogpond.com; $6 or free, based on skater’s height; skate rental: adult $12, kids $6.)

If the elements aren’t conducive to outdoor skating, head indoors to Disney on Ice Treasure Trove, a performance of princesses (Ariel, Belle, Cinderella, Mulan), pirate acquaintances (Peter Pan, Captain Hook), and jungle pets (Simba, Nala, Pumbaa, and Timon from “The Lion King’’), among other familiar Disney faces. (Agganis Arena, Boston University; www.disneyonice.com/ treasure-trove; through Jan 3, $10 and up.)

DIY TIME

Would-be tinkerers and inventors and young creative types are engaged at Parts and Crafts!, a center where kids can make a lightsaber, program in Scratch and Java, sew costumes, capes, and pillows, play outdoor games like capture the flag, work in the woodshop, make books, or construct water-bottle and air-tube rockets, among dozens of workshops and activities. Get mentoring from a staff member or work on your own project. A four-day winter camp runs Dec. 28-31 ($250 for the session). Saturdays feature a free “Open Shop,’’ noon to 2 p.m., that lets families check out what goes on here and make something. (577 Somerville Ave., Somerville; www.partsandcrafts.org; $10-$75 per day.)

THE GREAT INDOORS

If you’ve ever wanted to try surfing or skydiving but don’t want to brave the ocean or leap from a plane, at kid-friendly SkyVenture & Surf’s Up New Hampshire, you can sample both and stay indoors. Their indoor vertical wind tunnel simulates the experience of free fall, minus the parachute, and a huge gizmo called the Surfstream creates an indoor wave you can ride using a real surfboard. Their other attraction is called The Fishpipe, a clear barrel that rotates and creates the sensation of shooting down an endless water-slide. (100 Adventure Way, Nashua, N.H.; www.skyventurenh.com; $20 and up.)

Closer to Boston is Brooklyn Boulders, one of the area’s premier indoor rock climbing centers. Classes over holiday break include Learn the Ropes and Learn to Boulder, and their Winter Adventure Days program, with bouldering, top-roping, slack lining, and arts and crafts, caters specifically to kids. (12A Tyler St., Somerville; www.brooklynboulders.com/somerville; adult day pass, $25, students, $20; single Adventure Day, $109, week, $539.)

ENTERTAINMENT IN STAGES

Several area theater companies offer kid-friendly shows during holiday downtime.

At the American Repertory Theater, “The Pirate Princess,’’ adapted from Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night,’’ is a swashbuckling, all-ages family musical adventure with a sea monster, seafaring twins, and riotous pirates. (Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle St., Cambridge; www. americanrepertorytheater.org; through Jan. 3, $20.)

The Puppet Showplace Theatre offers several programs, including “A Holiday Fantasy’’ (Dec. 24), about enchanted toys, fairy magic, and a clever mouse; puppet versions of the classic tales “The Three Billy Goats Gruff and the Lion and the Mouse’’ (Dec. 26-27); “The Frog Prince and Other Frogs’’ (Dec. 28-30), which is a froggy adaptation of “Little Red Riding Hood’’ and other amphibious stories; and the well-known “Peter and the Wolf’’ (Dec. 31-Jan. 3). (32 Station St., Brookline; www.puppetshow place.org, $15.)

Central Square Theater is staging two shows: “Arabian Nights,’’ a suspenseful, romantic, and comedic show based on “One Thousand and One Nights,’’ the collection of Middle Eastern and Asian folk tales; and “Matchless and the Happy Prince,’’ a witty version of Hans Christian Andersen’s classic “Little Match Girl,’’ twisted by “Wicked’’ author Gregory Maguire. (450 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge; www.centralsquaretheater.org; from $20 both shows, through Jan 3.)

Ethan Gilsdorf can be reached at ethan@ethangilsdorf.com.