Seasonally speaking, ice skating is one of the great winter activities for families. During this week's holiday break, there are many open skating sessions too. Check out the many open skating sessions at one of the local Ann Arbor ice areas. No ice skates? Not to worry, many of the rinks offer reasonable skate rentals as well!

Open public ice skating at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube (2121 Oak Valley Drive, Ann Arbor), Dec. 27-30 includes the following sessions:

- Monday - Thursday: 6-7:50 a.m., 10:30-11:50 a.m., 1:30-2:50 p.m., 4:30-5:50 p.m.and 7:15-8:35 p.m.)

-Friday: 6-7:50 a.m., 9-10:20 a.m. and noon-1:20 p.m.

Admission is $4 for adults and $3 for youth with $3 skate rental fees. For the most up-to-date scedule, check the Ann Arbor Ice Cube public skate schedule at their website.

The Buhr Park outdoor ice arena (2751 Packard St., Ann Arbor) will have public skating sessions available on from noon-2 p.m. Monday thruough Thursday,  as well as from 7:45-8:45 p.m. Tuesday, 3:30-4:30 p.m. and 7:15-8:45 p.m. on Wednesday, and 7:15 - 8:45 p.m. on Thursday. Skating fees are $5-6 for adults and $3.75-5 for youth and seniors with a $3 skate rental cost.

The Veterans Memorial Sports Complex (2150 Jackson Ave., Ann Arbor) has an indoor ice rink with open skate times on Tuesday and Wednesday from1:20-2:45 p.m. and Thursday from 11 a.m.- 1 p.m.. Fees to skate are $5- $6 for adults, and $4-5 for youth/seniors. Ice skate rentals are $3.

And finally, there are plenty of public skate times at Yost Ice Arena (1016 S. State St, Ann Arbor) this week as well. The public can skate from noon-1:50 p.m. Dec. 27-28 or noon-12:50 p.m. Dec. 29-30. The cost for skate rentals is only $2 (check for available sizes, though), with open skate costs of $5 for adults and $3 for youth/seniors.

Tammy Mayrend is a Ann Arbor search marketing professional and mother of two who blogs on low-cost local activities, events, and Ann Arbor area freebies for families at annarbormom.com.