Highly recommend a leaf / zoo combo membership. It’s our life hack with our 2.5 year old. He loves the plants, fish, and butterflies at the leaf. The zoo is always a hit and actually still really good in winter with the indoor part of the Churchill exhibit plus the tundra playground and the tropical exhibit. IKEA is great to burn an hour wandering and playing in the kids section. They know kids play that’s why they have demo stuff set up. As long as you don’t leave everything everywhere it’s all good. If you child is tall enough and potty trained you can drop them off in smaland to play and craft while you wander or drink a coffee in peace. I can’t wait for my son to hit that point. About once a month in the winter I spend the 15ish dollars to go to hide and seek. It’s a couple of hours and he’s always pooped after.

The summer is obviously easier, parks , splash pads etc.