Belle River, Ontario

[NinaBella]

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[Madame]

If you don't mind driving there's a brand new indoor water park in Windsor - Adventure Bay. Point Pelee isn't too far - Leamington.

 

[mapleleaf4ever]

There is not a lot in Belle River itself, but it is very close to Windsor and Leamington. One place that might have something for everyone is Colassanti's in Leamington (indoor mini golf, indoor rides for the younger ones,, a petting zoo, a restaurant, and some shopping - seasonal merchandize and garden related. ). Windsor has a bit more to offer, just depends on your interests.
Also, are you talking Canadian or U.S. Thanksgiving?

 

[NinaBella]

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[mapleleaf4ever]

If you are looking for things to do for just one day in November you might find the waterfront parks in Belle River and Point Pelee to be a little cool (especially compared to Florida). There is a Chuck e Cheese restaurant in Windsor, food is nothing wonderful but the games and atmosphere have kid appeal. There are also a couple of indoor mini golf and laser tag places. I think Colosanti's is a good spot, but it will take you an extra 45 minutes further away from the border.
If you want something low cost you could also go to Amherstburg. Their River Lights festival starts that weekend, and there are light displays in the parks at night, and a lot of other activities. I think you miss the Santa Claus Parade by one week. The town itself is just fun to explore, check out the ice cream place downtown (don't remember the name.)
As previous post also mentioned, there is a new water park, Adventure Bay. Haven't been there myself, but I understand that it lots of fun for the kids.

 

[Gigi22]

American Thanksgiving. We are going to visit DH relatives in Detroit, Michigan but his mother is buried in Belle River and DH wants to go visit her grave. I thought we could make it a full day and add something else to do while we are there. Belle River is where she lived with her second DH, but my DH family does not keep in touch with her DH relatives as things went sour between them. So after visiting her grave I thought the kids might enjoy doing something else in the afternoon.

We live in Tampa, Florida and will be driving to Detroit! LoL. Too expensive to fly. I did check all of our passports last night and we are all good except my 11 year of DD. Her's expired in April so I am debating if I want to pay for a new passport or just bring her original birth certificate. From what I read online they will take the original birth certificate for children. She also has a U.S. Military Dependent ID with her picture in case a valid photo ID is needed (which it didn't seem like it was).

If your add is 15 or younger, her birth certificate should be fine. If she is over 15 she will need a passport, or NEXUS card.

 

[4kids4karen]

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[Madame]

I told DH last night I would rather go Christmas week than Thanksgiving. Of course he would rather go when the chance of snow is lower, I would rather go when it's higher. My kids rarely see snow (we went on a ski trip a few years ago and they loved it). I think I would rather find a place where the kids can go snow sledding/tubing or play in the snow. Is there a place like this within driving distance you are familiar with? We will be there for an entire week if we go for Christmas, just short of a week if we go for Thanksgiving. I don't see being at the his mother's grave more than 30-60 minutes at most. I will ask his niece where we can go on the U.S. side for the kids to play in the snow as well. (Hoping for snow!)

It's pretty flat terrain here, but Malden park in Windsor has a hill for sledding (it's artificial - used to be a dump I think).

There is an outdoor skating rink in downtown Windsor. I found this article - it looks like skates are being landed by a local church for those who don't own any...

http://blogs.windsorstar.com/news/w...all-saints-church-will-loan-you-what-you-need

 

[mapleleaf4ever]

As previous post mentioned the area around Windsor and Belle River is very flat. Malden Park is one of the few hills, and it is not a certainty to have snow.
One place that is really a lot of fun is River Valley Tube Slide. Should have a good snow cover by Christmas week. The only problem is that it is about a 2 hour drive. It is just north of London, Ontario near the town of St. Mary's. You can definitely make a fun day of it, but need to check driving conditions as St. Mary's is in the heart of the snow belt area.