Tag Archives: family activities
Preparing for Family Travel by Separating the Kids
I love traveling with my family. As much as I enjoy the time I travel solo, with my husband, or my girlfriends, traveling with my family is absolutely my favorite. However, rarely do I remember to take the time to travel one-on-one with my kids, which means that when the kids travel with us, they are always stuck with their brothers. Always. We rarely do kids clubs, but if we do separate from our kids it’s because we signed them up for resort sports activities (i.e. ski lessons), together.
My little ones have been fighting a lot lately. A lot of arguing and tattle telling. A lot of whining and complaining about each other. As we start prepping for our summer road trip, it is important that we consider our children in those preparations as well, especially since they will be stuck with each other in tight hotels and car space for almost 20 days.
Tribeca Film Festival Kicks Off with The Tribeca Drive-In
The Tribeca Film Festival Outdoor Drive-In Series starts tonight! Attendees can enjoy films and activities for families and movie lovers of all ages. The first film, which might be a little too scary for little ones, is the classic Hitchcock film, The Birds, followed the next night by Tim Burton’s comedy Beetlejuice on April 19 and Lil Bub & Friendz, a new film playing in the Festival about a cat made famous online and his friends on Saturday, April 20. Each evening will feature games and activities inspired by the films, including movie trivia contests, costume contests and giveaways.
The events, taking place at Brookfield Place (World Financial Center Plaza), co-sponsored by AT&T and JetBlue, and hosted by Brookfield, are free and open to the public. Doors open and pre-screening activities begin at 6 p.m., screenings begin at dusk (approximately 8:15 p.m.). The Tribeca Film Festival runs April 17-28 in downtown New York City.
Touring Madava Farms, Home of Crown Maple Syrup
On a lazy Saturday, one of the first of Spring, my family and I decided to venture out to Dutchess County, NY on a maple farm tour.
We had first toured a maple syrup farm in Lake Placid a couple of years ago, and though the terrain was had more snow and the weather was colder, we learned a lot about the process and got to take home some yummy syrup. This time, we were venturing to the Hudson Valley on a much sunnier day, which also meant we were arriving on the end of maple syrup production season.
Family Fun at the Scotland Run & Festival
On Saturday, April 6, 2013 families can join the festivities at the 10th Annual Scotland Run (10k) and Festival in Central Park (a free event). It’s a really fun morning, filled with live Scottish music, face painting, trip giveaways, and more! After rooting for racers in kilts, the entire brood can take part in these kid-friendly activities:
Legoland Discovery Center Opens in Westchester
My children love everything Lego. They can spend hours upon hours creating and playing with these little blocks. We stop into the Lego store in Rockefeller Center as often as we can, but a trip to Orlando or Los Angeles for the full Legoland experience just hasn’t been a possibility for us yet. Thus, you can imagine the excitement when we received the invitation to check out a smaller, but still fun-packed Legoland Discovery Center in Westchester.
Liberty Island to Reopen This Summer
Hurricane Sandy did so much damage to our beloved Statue of Liberty that it forced the closing of Liberty Island. But July 4, 2013, Independence Day, will welcome the reopening of the island and tours onto the island will once again take place!
Guests who want to get a close view of the Statue of Liberty before opening day can enjoy one of the 20 daily tours being offered by Statue Cruises.
An Afternoon at the Morris Museum in Morristown, NJ
What is so great about NJ, I am finding, is that like NYC, it has a lot of different neighborhoods, each with its own personality. Traveling into a different neighborhood can make for a nice list of varied experiences and opportunities to explore.
This weekend, we headed over to Morristown, known in history mainly for its strong military role in the war of independence from Britain. It has a larger downtown area with plenty of shops, bars, and eateries. Two main points of interest are the Mayo Performing Arts Center in the center of town and the Morristown National Historical Park, a historical site visitors can explore.
Coming Out of The Shell with Broadway Edge’s Performing Arts Workshops
In the heart of NYC’s thriving Broadway theatre district, there’s more for your child to do than just see the best shows: they can also learn how to be in them. Only in New York can a kid find themselves receiving professional, Broadway-level training that rivals the best adult-oriented classes in the Big Apple. Two weeks ago, I joined a group from MamaDrama and their kids ages eight through fourteen for a special ANNIE workshop with Broadway Edge, the hottest training program to hit the Great White Way in years.
Three Awesome Gifts for The Adventurous Spirit
‘Tis the time of the year when we begin to search out the perfect gift to give our loved ones.
Perfume, sweaters, electronics and homemade pie are all very nice, but for the adventurous soul, you might want to do something a little bit different. For that special someone, you might want to gift them an “experience”.
Here are three of my favorite gift experience resources to choose from:
Sights of The Thanksgiving Day Parade 2012
This past Thanksgiving we had so much to be grateful for. It’s taken us a couple of weeks to get back to normal and it was nice to celebrate the beautiful day in the city we so love.
Thanks to our friend Barbara of BP Media Relations, the kids and my husband got to enjoy their very first ever live viewing of the Thanksgiving Day parade from the amazing views of her apartment.
And speaking of Barbara; she is an example of how lucky I am. We connected as blogger and agency, working together on campaigns for her clients, and have over the years become friends. It’s the beauty of what I do, meeting people through work and loving them as friends later on and having a chance to spend time with friends and family is what the holidays is all about!
