I know we've been sharing gifts galore , because hey, that's what we do this time of year. (And quite well, I might add. Ahem.) But I want to call your attention to one more gift idea that checks all my favorite boxes -- it's from an ind…
I'm just about ready to think about all things Thanksgiving , but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that NOW is the time to order an amazing Advent calendar so you can start the countdown to Christmas on December 1st. The best ones goes …
We're always happy to offer up parents ideas for what to do with all that leftover Halloween candy you'll surely end up with. Well, at least after the small gorge-fest that your trick-or-treaters may be entitled to after all their hard w…
Who here is a fan of no-carve pumpkins for Halloween? As someone with a toddler who definitely shouldn't be anywhere near sharp objects, I've become a staunch convert. And as someone who doesn't always get to my Halloween pumpkin until t…
I've been looking around the web for some great free printable Halloween coloring pages (did I mention free?) to help keep the kiddos occupied while the adults polish off that first bag of peanut butter cups. If your kids are anything li…
As the daughter of an immigrant and a long-time resident of Massachusetts, I watched in disgust as Florida's governor tried to humiliate and punish vulnerable migrants by flying them, unannounced, to the island of Martha's Vineyard. With…
While 4th of July is a time to celebrate freedom and the best of America, lately I know so many of us are having a hard time feeling celebratory. It’s hard to feel like waving a flag when many of our rights are under attack right now, in…
Lanyards are a summer camp mainstay -- remember making them back in the day? But like so many things from our own childhoods, these knotted summer crafts have only gotten way cooler. Lanyards (also called scoubidous, scoobies, boondoggle…
Readers have asked us for ways to celebrate Earth Day with the kids -- and while the 50th anniversary in 2020 was marred by quarantine, 2022 seems like a perfectly good time to make up for it. Certainly there will be celebrations in loca…
The truth is, handmade DIY Mother's Day gifts that kids can make and give themselves (or okay, maybe with a little help) are just extra touching. Of course as moms, we know that every gift from our kids is a special gift, whatever it is,…
As Easter gets closer, sitting down with Ukrainian Easter egg coloring pages and crayons or markers opens the door to talk to our kids about what they’re coloring — just as we mentioned in our roundup of fabulous, famous International Wo…
Just when I think I have my kids' artwork organized , more of it appears. So I'm perpetually on the lookout for creative solutions to display my kids' artwork in a way that makes those watercolor rainbows and handprint turkeys still look…
While we've already been sharing tons of holiday gift ideas , just had to share one more of the coolest last-minute gifts I know. I've written before about the adorable and smart washable design-your-own chalkboard tees from Chalk of the…
It goes without saying that I will always love Dolly Parton, so naturally I was drawn to these amazing Dolly Parton gifts. If you haven't listened to the Dolly Parton's America podcast yet, let me assure you that people of all stripes, p…
As we get closer to Thanksgiving , charity and giving to others is particuarly top of mind, which is why I was just so happy to discover several subscription boxes for kids that teach those very values. Many of us are talking to our kids…
With big holiday dinners back on the menu this year, I was thrilled to discover this cool color-your-own Thanksgiving activity tablecloth at Tiny Expressions. It's full of activities for kids -- like word searches, tic-tac-toe, and ample…
It's not too late to pull together an easy last-minute Halloween costume idea that helps make Halloween awesome.Even if you're doing everything last-minute lately. It's not just about the costumes, by the way; Liz recently shared some in…
For years, I've had tons of fun using plain pajama sets -- like the ones you can find at Primary or Hanna Andersson -- as the base for my kids' Halloween costumes. With some head-to-toe monochromatic pajamas, all I've had to do is add so…
If you stand by the old "no white after Labor Day" fashion imperative, we want to point you to this fantastic post with 9 cool DIY sneaker makeover ideas to help you -- or your kids -- turn those plain white shoes into something that loo…
My daughter came home this morning with a sweet little gift from her friend's mom: An adorable DIY locker kit full of essentials for young women and menstruators. So brilliant, right? I had actually considered putting together a little b…
This week we're doing something I don't think our team has done in 15+ years -- we are taking a full staff summer break . (Whoo!) Some of us are traveling , some of us are hanging with the kids, some of us are counting the seconds to Ted…
So many parents are looking for fresh ideas for screen-free activities for kids now that we finally turned a corner. I know I'm not the only parent with kids whose screen time increased significantly over the quarantine . It was their pr…
Each year, we try to go through all the clutter and crap, and put together the best Amazon Prime Day deals for you. I mean, with all due respect to the "flash deals" on Amazon Prime Day that look like your Great Aunt Hilda just cleaned o…
My 15-year-old son recently came home after a camp planning meeting with his friends and announced that they have decided to tie-dye their camp shirts this year. I kind of love this idea, so I wanted to look up some tie-dye pattern tutor…