This is the beginning of my eleventh year as a parent, and every one of those years, I've had the same resolution on my list: have more fun with my kids. Happily, Connecticut is chock-full of fun family activities all winter long. This week, kids can visit with animals, take a cooking class, or enjoy a special drop off adventure just for Harry Potter fans. We are hard at work updating the Event Calendar for the new year so check back often to see the latest free and fun activities all over the state. Be sure to sign up for our newsletters and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest so you won't miss a thing. We look forward to spending time with you in 2016!

Just south of Prospect Park, Ditmas Park and Kensington are neighboring Brooklyn nooks oozing family-friendly charm. Centered around Cortelyou Road and Church Avenue, most flock to the area for excellent dining options, including The Farm On Adderley.  There are also several tried-and-true destinations for fun, including the terrific Lark Cafe, which offers a calendar full of toddler entertainment.  

Some staples of community life such as bookstores, children’s shops and playgrounds are not as plentiful as you might expect. Instead, visitors and residents share unique experiences such as Kensington Stables, Green-Wood Cemetery and one of the hippest farmers markets around, Cortelyou Greenmarket.  For just a taste of both neighborhoods, a single day might be enough. But to really feel like a local, we recommend you dedicate a full day to each enclave. We hope you love these sweet spots as much as we do. 

Check out our NYC Neighborhood Guide to find the best things for kids to do in each of the city's most popular hoods.

Trying to plan for a tween or teen birthday party might be a little more challenging then planning for your younger child. They are at an age where the cool factor is pretty important. Unfortunately you can’t just easily book a party at Chuck-e-Cheese anymore, you need to find something that is still entertaining and age appropriate. Here is a listing of places in Hartford County that might still be appealing to your tween/teen for a fun birthday celebration. Check out our CT Party Guide for even more fun options as well as a post we did on Flight Trampoline Park and Visiting Avery's Soda.

With the new year upon us, we thought it would be fun to review some of the Boston-area parenting blogs we loved in 2015. They cover everything from hyper-local events and healthy eating to LGBT solo parenting, and are the perfect additions to the two previous lists of some of our favorite local blogs from 2014 and 2013. In no particular order, here are some of our recommendations for local parenting blogs to start following in the new year:

School schedules, sports practices, predictable sleeping patterns... I am longing for normalcy to return to my home. To be clear, I love celebrating with family and friends while taking a break from our regular lives. But, I notice that my kids thrive when there is order and routine.

To settle back into the familiar, Philly families can count on our event calendar which features a variety of fun. Take your little ones to the library for storytime. Appreciate art at a local museum. Or, explore the outdoors during wintertime.

Read on for our top picks for the week. But, don't forget to browse our January GO List to help plan out fun for the entire month. Enjoy the week ahead. As for me, I'm looking forward to getting back to normal this week!

As far as aquariums go, my family is a pretty tough audience to impress. We’ve been there, done that, from the huge Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta to the Miami Seaquarium in our hometown. But since moving to NJ last summer, we’d heard some great things about  Adventure Aquarium, so with (happily!) no big plans for the holiday weekend, we piled into the SUV and made the hour and a half drive from our Jersey City apartment to Camden along the Philadelphia waterfront. Having a 2 1/2 year old, we were mostly excited about the new interactive hands-on exhibit called KidZone, geared towards kids 6 and under.

I spend the winter telling my children to hold their horses about going to playgrounds: “Soon it will be warm and we’ll be able to play outside all day long.” Spring comes, we hit a few local parks and then before you know it, the temperature soars and I hear myself saying: “It’s too hot out!  Let’s play inside!” Well, I’ve found a happy medium that makes everyone happy—playground for kiddies and air conditioning for Mommy and baby.

Check out this list of must-visit free indoor play spaces in Fairfield County.  Be warned, although these spaces are free to use, you and your children will be surrounded by lots of shiny stores offering everything from cute sandals that would pair oh-so-nicely with that darling sundress you saw in the last window to the biggest and brightest Thomas the Train and Cars II paraphernalia. For even more indoor fun check out our Connecticut Indoor Play Guide.

The holidays are behind us but there are still a couple of months before spring is sprung, and it can be a challenge to fill up these lazy, winter days. As a mom to three young kids, I'm all for cozy afternoons watching movies, play-doh sessions in our pjs and finger painting to pass the hours. But sometimes, we need a change of scenery! A chance to get out of the house, explore, learn and fill another gray and chilly day. Fortunately, New Jersey offers up some awesome indoor activities. Bundle up, pile the gang into the car and check out our top 10 fun and educational picks.