The countdown to Christmas can be a frenetic round of shopping and cooking, and amid all that it is easy to forget the simple things that children enjoy at this time of year, such as visits to the man in red, making seasonal decorations or enjoying a festive film.

So stop worrying whether gran is going to complain about how tough the turkey is, if your teenage offspring will manage anything more than a grunt at the Christmas table, and whether your Christmas decorations are completely over-the-top, and get out and enjoy yourself.

’Tis definitely the season to be merry at the National Media Museum, where Santa has delivered a sleigh-full of festive movies, Christmas-themed family activities and the opportunity to donate gifts to disadvantaged children.

Fantastic films with a seasonal twist on Family Film Fundays include Home Alone and The Snowman – great value at just £1 per ticket. The Fundays include free activities based on the film and free Christmas decoration workshops after each screening of The Snowman.

Disney’s A Christmas Carol and the IMAX 3D Experience, Santa Vs The Snowman, are spectacular 3D animated films showing in Yorkshire’s only IMAX cinema.

Other free family activities include making rockin’ robins on December 12 and 13 and winter landscape Christmas cards from Monday, December 21, to Christmas Eve.

You can step into Santa’s magical toyshop at Eureka! in Halifax, where children can help the elves prepare for Christmas before meeting Father Christmas in the grotto, which will be open every weekend until December 20.

The fun doesn’t stop with Christmas, because the children’s museum will be celebrating New Year with a Noon Year’s Eve Party on December 31 and January 1. It is an alternative daytime celebration with a party atmosphere, popular music and dancing.

Step back in time and celebrate Christmas the Victorian way at York’s Castle Museum. There’s nowhere like Kirkgate, its world-famous Victorian street, to soak up the atmosphere of Christmas.

Be wished a merry Christmas by a costumed guide before being charmed by street vendors selling lavendar bags, handkerchiefs, ribbons and ginger pigs. The street will be garlanded with overflowing street barrows, old-fashioned lights and a Christmas tree.

You can also treat yourself to some Christmas gingerbread and see the Charles Dickens seasonal classic, A Christmas Carol, brought to life. You might even be invited to help with the retelling as the story unfolds across the length of the Victorian street.

Santa and his reindeer friends are going underground at the National Coal Mining Museum for England between Huddersfield and Wakefield until December 23, when he sets up his grotto 140 metres down the mine. There will be festive art and craft activities, and the Yorkshire Philharmonic Choir will be performing carols underground on selected dates.

Experience a day out with a difference by enjoying the festive fun at Chester Zoo. Not only will there be 7,000 animals and 400 species to see in the 110 acre zoo, but there’ll also be lots of festive activities to enjoy.

Santa will be paying a visit to the zoo, you can enjoy the Heart Christmas carousel and Heart Christmas Express train ride, and try your luck on the sideshows. It’s a fun day out for the whole family to enjoy with a real Christmas theme.

The downstairs and garden of East Riddlesden Hall will be dressed in Victorian style when Santa visits next weekend, December 12 and 13, but he won’t be dressed in his usual scarlet as he’s a green Santa. As well as a visit to the grotto, there will be Victorian music on a hurdy-gurdy and other traditional instruments.

Get your skates on and enjoy some outdoor skating in Huddersfield town centre. The ice rink is open every day except Christmas Day and Boxing Day, and with student offers and family friendly weekend sessions, there is something for everyone. The rink is in The Piazza, next to the library, until January 3.

* Festive Fun at Chester Zoo runs from today to January 3. The zoo is open from 10am, and tickets are £11.95 adults, £9 children.

* Huddersfield ice skating, £6 for adults and £3.50 for children. Weekdays (until December 17) 3.30pm to 9pm; weekdays (from December 18) and weekends, 11am to 9pm.

* Santa’s grotto, East Riddlesden Hall, from noon to 3.45pm. Admittance to the grotto is by timed entry and booking is essential. The child entry includes a present and refreshment. Tickets are £7.95 for children and £2 for adults – call (01535) 683800 and specify age and gender of child.

* York Castle Museum is open from 9.30am to 5pm. Admission, £7.50 for adults, children £4.

* Eureka! is open from 10am to 5pm. Admission, £7.50 for adults, children aged 3+ £7.50, toddlers aged 1-2: £2.50. A visit to the grotto is an additional £1 per child.

* The National Coal Mining Museum for England on the A642 at Overton is open daily from 10am to 5pm. Admission is free.

* The National Media Museum is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am until 6pm. Entry to the museum is free. Non-£1 film tickets, £6.95 to £8 adults, £4.95/£6 children. Box office 0870 7010200.