Long Island holiday road trip: Festive events, from east to west

The combined talents of former and current Hollywood and Broadway set designers, a Grammy Award-winning composer, professional lantern and light festival creators and top-notch bakers have turned Long Island into a magical holiday season.

They bring us dancing, singing elves that are naughty and nice, a 50-foot sparkling ice castle, make-believe snow , a milkshake that tastes like Christmas and so much more. You can be part of all these events in just one day by following this holiday road trip.

You’ll drive on a route that zigzags from east to west. The road trip includes approximate amounts of time it will take to drive from one location to the next, average times families and friends tend to spend at each activity and breakfast, lunch and dinner in restaurants with funny holiday specials. Every event is sprinkled with new surprises.

There are just three road trip tips: Check websites in advance for event dates. Events tend to sell out, so purchasing tickets in advance is strongly recommended.

Feel free to adjust your road trip schedule based on your needs.

Ready, set, go!

Stop 1: Devour Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer pancakes

9 to 10 a.m.: Begin your road trip with breakfast at Denny’s (255 Centereach Mall, Centereach; 631-580-3838, dennys.com). Nibble on the new Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer pancakes. Two buttermilk pancakes are the reindeer’s head and body. It has turkey bacon antlers, vanilla cream and chocolate wafer eyes and a strawberry nose.

Stop 2: Go to an 'Elf' Show

10:30 to 11:45 a.m.: "The Happy Elf," a family-friendly holiday show with music and lyrics by Harry Connick Jr. returns to the Argyle Theatre through Jan. 4 (34 W. Main St., Babylon; 631-230-3500, argyletheatre.com).

As the tale unfolds, Eubie the Elf travels to the town of Bluesville, where he meets elves who are on Santa’s "naughty list." During an adventure filled with upbeat, jazzy songs, dances and a cast of 15 including Santa and Mrs. Claus, Eubie turns the "naughty" elves to "nice" before Christmas. "But there are lots of shenanigans along the way," says Nikki Rinaudo-Concessi, director/choreographer. "We also change the choreography, staging and actors every year so it’s a little bit different." There’s a meet and greet with the actors after every performance.

• More info Ticket starting at $27

Stop 3: Slurp a super-duper Christmas milkshake

Noon to 1:30 p.m.: Walk across the street and you’ll be ready to slurp and munch on lunch in the Babylon Burger Bar (1 W. Main St., Babylon, 631-620-3362, babylonburgerbar.com). Co-owner Roy Feicco says, "We do a super-duper vanilla shake with a Christmas tree cake on top along with Santa and a snowman, plus candy canes, whipped cream and green and red holiday sprinkles along the sides." Pair it with a meal on the family-friendly menu filled with more than a dozen types of burgers, fries, salads, sandwiches and three versions of mac and cheese.

Stop 4: Skate in your socks

2:00 to 4:30 p.m.: Inside the Long Island Children’s Museum, the popular holiday sock skating extravaganza is back through Jan. 4, along with a new play area and holiday crafts (11 Davis Ave., Uniondale, 516-224-5800, licm.org). Sock-skaters begin by placing fuzzy slip covers over their shoes (or wheelchairs). Those of all ages skate, slide and glide across an indoor rink with a high-tech, synthetic polymer surface. "Children love it, and it often gives grown-up guests the feeling of sliding across the kitchen floor when they were kids," says Jessica Boccio, director marketing and communications.

An interactive land of make-believe surrounds the rink. Kids can huddle inside a giant snowman and pretend to make hot chocolate. In a s’mores area, there’s a digital fireplace and stumps to sit on, so kids can pretend to roast marshmallows on sticks. In a sweet shop, kids gather around a play kitchen and pretend to make baked goods. At a toy cash register, kids give out make-believe change or accept pretend credit cards. Next to the rink, kids can play in a new winter activity area with a dollhouse and woodland creatures. On specific dates, kids can make a snowball popper craft or a glowing gingerbread house.

• More info Skating offered during all museum hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tues.-Fri.; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sat.-Sun.; General admission: $18 skating and crafts included with price of admission

Stop 5: Play inside a Christmas House

4:45 to 5:45 p.m.: Families, friends and their dogs are welcome to wander through 12  magical, indoor, Christmas-themed rooms at The Christmas House (358 N. Broadway Commons, Hicksville, christmashouselongisland.com). The rooms are filled with everything from a Christmas Carnival, where you can play games and win prizes, to an interactive "Jeopardy" show with holiday questions. Staff members are in each room running the games and helping families take photos.

As founder Jay Schwartz describes it, "When you’re going from one part of the Christmas House to the next, it feels like you’re in a completely different universe."

This year, the attraction has been rebuilt from scratch and re-created by former and current Hollywood and Broadway set designers. "When you walk into the Christmas 'Jeopardy' game room, it feels like you’re on the real 'Jeopardy' show set," Schwartz says. There’s also a party room with Christmas karaoke, a movie room with holiday films playing, a Polar Bear Bar with a pool table and kid-safe dart games, plus snowflake and snowball rooms. "We have our own special blend of snow," Schwartz says. "It falls from above and disintegrates in your hands." In a separate room, families can toss kid-friendly, make-believe snowballs. "Every year, we want to outdo ourselves and make the Christmas House infinitely better than the year before."

• More info $29.99; $24.99 ages 3-13;  Hours: Mondays throughThursdays: 5 to 8 p.m., Fridays: 5 to 9 p.m., Saturdays: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sundays: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Open through first week in January

Stop 6: Eat 'The Grinch' and 'Nightmare Before Christmas' dinners

6 to 7 p.m.: The Haunted House of Hamburgers restaurant celebrates the holidays with a menu that includes dishes based on characters from the movies "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" (330 Fulton St., Farmingdale, 516-777-1031, hhhamburgers.com).

To honor Oogie Boogie from "The Nightmare Before Christmas," there’s an Oogie Boogie worm dessert — chocolate pudding with brownies, chopped cookies, gummy worms and green dust for holiday flair. Character co-star Jack Skellington is honored with Jack’s Black & White milkshake. To celebrate the Grinch, enjoy a Minty Mean One shake with whipped cream, chocolate syrup, green Grinch dust, mint chips and candy canes or a Grinchy Green Goblet mocktail. Green mac and cheese could be your haunted holiday favorite.

Stop 7: Walk Through a winter fairyland light festival

7:20 to 9 p.m.: Wander into LuminoCity, a 14-acre extraordinary light festival. This year, it returns with a new Winter Fantasy Fairyland theme through Jan. 1 at Eisenhower Park  (1899 Hempstead Tpke., East Meadow, luminocityfestival.com). Under the stars, follow well-lit, stroller-friendly paths that will carry you into a magical land filled with dazzling colored lights. "The festival is best appreciated in the dark," mentions John Baita, LuminoCity on-site manager.

On one path, a tunnel made of countless lights will turn five different colors as you walk through.You’ll approach a 50-foot ice castle that appears to reach the sky. On a second path, twirling, giant snowflakes swirl above your head and lead you toward a life-size train made of golden, glimmering lights or an enchanted carriage.

Another path leads you to a land of life-size lantern creatures inspired by children’s drawings. As part of a Long Island Children’s Museum art program,  10 drawings of fantasy-based holiday characters, created by kids, were selected and developed into lantern characters at the festival. Each original drawing sits alongside its matching lantern creation.

Along one last path through a mystical forest, there are giant lantern-style flowers that appear to grow from the ground, reindeer with lantern-lit antlers, a snow queen,  a polar bear  and Santa smiling in his glistening sleigh at the end.

• More info LuminoCity hours: 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday (last entry 9 p.m.); 4:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday (last entry 9:30 p.m.); ticket prices begin at $22

Stop 8: And to all a good night

9:05 p.m.: Drive home and crawl into bed, as visions of sugarplums dance in your head. Happy holidays!