Winter weather brings with it the promise of cozy nights indoors by the fire with family and friends—at least, after busy days outside, that is. And fun-packed winter days are both easy to come by and hard to resist in New York, where fluffy snow is piled high, shopping and culture bustle on, and all the bright lights twinkle with holiday spirit.

Here’s a brief look at the activities and travel deals New York has to offer this winter, starting at the tip of the mountain.

Sweet Snow
In winter, New York’s Adirondacks are covered in miles of pillowy snow—more than enough for adventurers looking to try their hands (or feet) at any number of the snow sports available: downhill and cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, snowboarding, snow tubing.

Extreme-athlete wannabes and general snow enthusiasts alike can get started during Learn a Snow Sport Month, a statewide event throughout January (excluding the weekend of Martin Luther King Jr. Day) offering those new to snow sports a discount on lessons at participating areas. With the voucher at www.learnasnowsport.net, students can snag 20 percent off the cost of beginners’ packages, including a lift pass, ski or board rental, and a professional lesson.

Little ones can join in the fun for free at 28 New York resorts this winter, too, right alongside their parents. The NY 4th Grade Ski & Ride Passport program awards fourth-graders from anywhere in the U.S. or Canada with a booklet of coupons for free lift tickets with the purchase of an adult lift ticket at participating resorts. Parents just need to send an application, available at www.44free.com, along with a report card, progress report or school letter and an application fee to get out on the slopes. New this year is an optional Learn to Ski or Snowboard package booklet that contains one free lesson and coupons for a 20 percent discount on a future visit for fourth-graders and accompanying adults. Three coupons per ski area are in both the traditional passport and the learn-to-ski booklet.

Families who really want to immerse themselves in the white stuff can take advantage of the state’s Ski & Stay program, which offers a free third day and night for travelers who plan a two-day, two-night stay at a participating resort. The offer is eligible the weekends of Jan. 9, Feb. 6 and March 6. Lift tickets are included. All the information is at www.skiandrideny.com.

Holiday Gatherings
While New York City may lure holiday shoppers and seasonal revelers with upscale retail and always-popular Broadway shows (all worth checking out in their own rights), a bevy of special activities around the state are well-deserving of a little attention, too.

The Polar Express, for example, is set to depart from Utica, N.Y., for the North Pole on the Adirondack Scenic Railroad on Dec. 2, 3 and 16. Passengers will get to live the much-loved holiday tale as it’s being read on the train. Hot chocolate, Santa and caroling will round out the journey. The Man in Red will also make an appearance on the trains running along the Santa Train Excursions at Medina Railroad Museum in Medina, N.Y. Located in the old New York Central freight depot, the museum is the largest of its kind in the U.S. Visitors can hop the holiday train to ride along the Erie Canal, passing through small villages, before taking a tour of the museum.

The Annual Winter Family Day at the Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum and Carriage House, a mid-1800s country estate in the Bronx, will welcome families Dec. 5 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with a puppet show, horse-drawn carriage rides, photos with Santa and a holiday boutique.  In Tarrytown, N.Y., Lyndhurst—an 1838 Gothic Revival mansion that was home to the likes of former New York City mayor William Paulding, merchant George Merritt and railroad mogul Jay Gould—will usher in the season with live music, mulled cider and scads of decorations. Overlooking the Hudson River, the mansion is now home to a collection of decorative arts. Event dates are Dec. 5-6, 12-13, 19-20 and 26-27.

Grownups can get away to finish holiday shopping and relax with a glass or two of wine with the Shopping Spree Package at the Holiday Inn in Auburn, N.Y. An overnight stay for two at the hotel is enhanced by two tickets to the Cayuga Wine Trail Holiday Shopping Spree, where guests take home a souvenir wineglass, a grapevine wreath, an ornament from each of the 16 wineries on the trail, holiday recipes and a shopper’s card that nets $5 off $35 wine purchases at each winery. Breakfast for two at Holiday Inn’s Fall Restaurant, a bottle of regional Finger Lakes wine upon check-in, a holiday souvenir, and a complimentary glass of wine with the purchase of a dinner entrée at the hotel’s McMurphy’s Pub are also included in the package, available Nov. 19-21.

Season’s Shine
Holiday lights are arguably almost as popular as fall foliage these days, and New York visitors don’t have to travel far to spot some of the season’s glittering displays.

From Nov. 25 through Jan. 10, Lights on the Lake in Liverpool, N.Y.’s Onondaga Lake Park will wow with a two-mile, drive-through show featuring towering displays, a re-created Land of Oz, a fantasy forest, a Victorian village, animated scenes and a fairytale magic finale. It’s open every night, including holidays, from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

In Utica, the annual Wonderland of Lights is set to attract more than 30,000 visitors. Open every night from Nov. 35 through January, save Christmas Eve, the light show’s main goal is to raise funds for New York’s Resource Center for Independent Living, a civil rights organization that offers independent living and advocacy services for people with disabilities. Individuals, families and small business can sponsor the lights in the show, set up on the Masonic Care Community Campus.

At the Pumpelly House Estate in Owego, N.Y., an early-1900s Georgian-style home situated on three acres along the Susquehanna River, the season is celebrated with the Lights on the River fireworks display. Visitors can opt for a special, two-night-minimum Dec. 4 package that includes afternoon tea by the fire, dinner at Tioga Trails, the fireworks show and breakfast at the property’s Bistro the following day.

Light of a more antique kind illuminates Candlelight Tours and Twelfth Night at Van Cortlandt Manor in Croton on Hudson, N.Y. Historically the last of the 12 days of Christmas—Jan. 5—Twelfth Night is similar to Christmas Eve. At the Van Cortlandt Manor, it’s a late-18th-century style celebration staged in a candle-lit, post-Revolutionary War-era home with Colonial and Federal furnishings. A lively dance with fiddle music and a hearty toast in the manor’s ferry house make Dec. 12, 19 and 26 special.

Planning Your Trip
For more information on these and other events and deals happening this season in New York, call (800) CALL-NYS or visit www.iloveny.com. For maps, TourBook guides and other trip-planning assistance, visit AAA.com/travel.