With Christmas smack dab in the middle of the week and family perhaps sticking around until next weekend, here are a few ideas for things the fam can see and do and places to eat in St. Paul.

So, put down your phones, pull on your boots and get out there.

Lowertown St. Paul

There’s a massive lighted tree in front of Union Depot to check out. Take a stroll through Mears Park, which glitters with lights this time of year.

The St. Paul Saints ballpark is a winter playground, with WinterSkate set up in the infield and a giant slide. It’s called “Destination Winter St. Paul.” WinterSkate, which has been set up outside Landmark Center since 2005, has a new home this winter near home plate. Open skate hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays. Access to the rink is free, skates can be rented in the visitors’ clubhouse for $5 or free with a Wells Fargo debit or credit card. There are skating lessons available. For info: visitsaintpaul.com.

SuperSlide was created two years ago for St. Paul festivities connected to the Super Bowl. Side-by-side wooden chutes start 40 feet above the field on the second story patio of the Securian Financial Club and send innertube riders down over the seating bowl as they “slide” in toward second base. Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for children younger than 12 for unlimited slides during a one-hour time slot. They can be purchased in person by visiting the CHS Field ticket office, over the phone by calling 651-644-6659 or online at saintsbaseball.com.

Rice Park lights

The glitter is back in downtown St. Paul’s Rice Park, which was shut down last year for renovations. The centerpiece of the park is a giant evergreen with 1,500 blue lights and topped with a 5-foot star. The garden and entry of the nearby Saint Paul Hotel are worth a stop for a look at the lights.

And as long as you’ve got a twinkle in your eyes, check out the holiday lights on Summit Avenue. You can drive down the 4 1/2 mile stretch or, better yet, bundle up and take a walk.

Visit Saint Paul recommends the lights at 1526 York Ave., where 60,000 lights are choreographed to “Rockin’ Rudolph” on 91.5 FM. The display is put on by the Schultz Family and runs nightly from 5 to 10 p.m. through Dec. 31. Bring a donation for the Merrick Food Shelf.

Minnesota Capitol

A major four-year renovation of Minnesota’s Capitol wrapped up two years ago, restoring the creamy marble exterior, paintings, stencil work, skylights and more. This is the first year since the renovations that a Christmas tree has returned to the Capitol Rotunda. The 17-foot tree is from Happy Land Tree Farm in Sandstone, which grew the state’s Grand Champion Christmas Tree at the Minnesota State Fair.

Free guided tours of the Capitol take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 1 to 3 p.m. Sundays (except on the holidays, of course). For info: mnhs.org.

MN History Center

A new permanent exhibit, “Our Home: Native Minnesota,” at the History Center in St. Paul tells Minnesota stories from a Native perspective. Native Americans – Dakota, Ojibwe, as well as people from other tribal nations – have lived in this area for thousands of years. The 2,700-square-foot gallery features multimedia, contemporary art and artifacts. Instead of being organized chronologically, it is split into Dakota and Ojibwe sections. The History Center has five pieces on loan from the Smithsonian, a few family artifacts and a couple of newly purchased works. But the majority of the items on display are from the roughly 6,000 objects from the Minnesota History Center’s collection.

The “First Avenue: Stories from the Mainroom” exhibit continues through May 3 at the History Center.

There are holidays tours and events all over the Minnesota history map, with a Victorian Christmas at Alexander Ramsey House and a look at holiday traditions upstairs and downstairs at the James J. Hill House. For info and ideas: mnhs.org

Science Museum

Science Museum of Minnesota has a new digital omnitheater. The museum touts better sound and better images on the 90-foot domed screen. And there’s popcorn and other concessions in the lobby, including beer and wine for adults. The only domed IMAX theater in Minnesota is showing “Superpower Dogs” – not the cape and Kryptonite types, the rescue and therapy types.

Also at the Science Museum, “Bodyworlds Rx,” which uses real human specimens, preserved through the process of Plastination, to provide a beneath-the-skin view of the human body – in distress, disease and optimal health. There are more than 100 specimens, from individual organs to full-body plastinates. The exhibit illustrates common ailments such as back pain, arthritis, cancer, diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, dementia and more. The original “Body Worlds” exhibition debuted at the Science Museum of Minnesota in 2006 and drew more than 750,000 visitors. “Bodyworlds Rx” is included in regular Science Museum of Minnesota exhibit gallery admission.

And on Friday and Saturday nights through the end of the month, the Science Museum has “Illumination,” which promises to transform the museum with colored lights and large-scale installations. (smm.org)

At the Children’s Museum of Minnesota, the special “Curious George: Let’s Get Curious” exhibit runs through Jan. 5. And there are plenty of places to play on the three floors, including a laser maze. At “Imaginopolis,” there’s a cosmic junkyard and kids crawl through a black hole to enter the gallery. The Scrambler is a four-story climber with a giant spiral slide and a 40-foot high catwalk. (mcm.org)

Como Park Ski Center

It’s called “Mount Como,” though it doesn’t really qualify for mount status. Still, the Como Park Ski Center touts two rope tows, a 150-foot vertical drop on 15 skiable acres, more than 5K of groomed cross country trails, lessons for all ages and skill levels and ski and snowboard rentals. The chalet has restrooms, concessions and a restaurant. Como Park Ski Center is located at 1431 North Lexington Parkway near Lake Como and the Como Park Zoo and Conservatory. (stpaul.gov/departments/parks-recreation/activities/winter-spring-activities/downhill-skiing-snowboarding)

And if some of the family is more hothouse flower than alpine edelweiss, they can check out the nearby Marjorie Neely Conservatory, where the sunken garden is a-bloom with the annual holiday flower show, which showcases poinsettias. (comozooconservatory.org)

Wicked Plants: The Exhibit

How can you resist an exhibit that touts bloodcurdling botany? Or diabolical botanicals? “Wicked Plants” is a traveling exhibit at the Bell Museum through Jan. 5. It’s set up in a space that looks like a “derelict Victorian-era home divided into a warren of creepy rooms” and is packed with plants that “stink, burn and even kill.” The exhibit starts with a lesson on deadly nightshade and continues into a room that has 10 of the world’s “most nefarious invasive plants.” It’s inspired by author Amy Stewart’s best-selling book, “Wicked Plants: The Weed that Killed Lincoln’s Mother and other Botanical Atrocities.” The Bell Museum has added some wicked and not-so-wicked plants and a botanical collage station. And the Bell, which opened in its new space at 2088 W. Larpenteur in 2019, has plenty of other features to explore, including the giant Woolly Mammoth display and nature dioramas and shows at the planetarium. For more info, admission and holiday hours: bellmuseum.umn.edu.

Feed the family

Pioneer Press food writer Jess Fleming offers these suggestions for places to stop with the family:

Rival House Sporting Parlour: My children have loved Rival House Sporting Parlour, the hotel restaurant with games, pizza and other upscale pub food, from elementary school all the way through high school. Though they always play a few games of Skee-Ball while they wait for our food to arrive, they generally beg to stay after to play some of the restaurant’s extensive selection of board games. There’s also craft beer and cocktails to keep the adults happy. 411 Minnesota St., St. Paul; 651- 255-0645; rivalhousestpaul.com

Cossetta: This sprawling Italian eatery is the best place for families with small children, because there’s no waiting time. You go through the line, grab what you want, pay and find a spot to eat. And if those little ones still have gas in the tank after a giant slice of pizza or mostaccioli with red sauce and ricotta, you can hit the gorgeous Pasticceria for a scoop of gelato or an Italian cookie or pastry when you’re done. 211 W. Seventh St., St. Paul; 651-222-3476; cossettas.com

Shamrock’s: One of the most-requested restaurants for my kids’ birthday meals, Shamrock’s has killer burgers, fresh-cut fries and cheese curds that taste like they came straight from the State Fair. It’s big and noisy enough that kids making noise aren’t noticed, but beware that your more sensitive and hearing challenged relatives might find this a difficulty. Also, be sure to get there early as there’s almost always a wait. There is a little arcade room my children have enjoyed dozens of times, as I can’t ever seem to plan ahead enough to avoid waiting for a table. 995 W. Seventh St., St. Paul; 651-228-9925; crnook.com