This year, and every year, I am very thankful for my family and I am looking forward to spending Thanksgiving with at least some of them in DC this week.

If, like me, you have guests visiting for the holidays – or you are a guest visiting DC for the holidays – you will need something to do once the Thanksgiving feast is over and the kids are getting restless.

A great resource any time of year is the Washington Post’s Going Out Guide. It is full of up to date information about area museums and special performances. Definitely a resource to check out if you are planning a trip to DC or just looking for a weekend activity. Last Friday I was very excited to find the Going Out Guide included the Holiday Guide 2012. In the guide you will find an interactive calendar and museum suggestions for the whole family, from the hipster to the traditionalist and of course the kids.

A good place to go for a little bit of everything is Chinatown/Penn Quarter. Leave the car at home and hop on the metro to the Chinatown/Penn Quarter metro stop. This area is home to the International Spy Museum, is a short walk to the National Sculpture Garden Ice Skating Rink, the National Mall (home to the Smithsonian Museums) and lots of kid friendly restaurants. You will also find a small selection of shops, including a special holiday market next to the American Art Museum on F Street. There is also a movie theater and a bowling alley in this area.

If you want to avoid the city, head the opposite direction and check out the Air and Space Museum at Dulles.

This is where you will find the Space Shuttle Discovery, and other aircraft from World War II all the way to today’s spy planes. Don’t miss the IMAX movies and the flight stimulators, always a big hit. There is no metro stop so you will need a car to reach this spot.

And we of course all know that as soon as Thanksgiving is over, Christmas is right around the corner. Stay tuned for our upcoming post all about Christmas activities in the DC area: model trains through a woodland wonderland, afternoon tea and a nightly indoor snowfall.

But until then, Happy Thanksgiving from the Kids Will Travel Family to yours and safe travels to DC or wherever the road takes you this week.