Trends in frozen desserts come and go in the balmy Southland (three words: charcoal ice cream), but new arrival on the scene Cauldron Ice Cream covers enough icy sweet trends under one roof to cater to anyone's passing fancy. After building a rabid fan base in Artesia and Santa Ana, Cauldron has set up its tanks of nitrogen and its puffle cone maker in Glendale, within walking distance of The Americana at Brand (already a pretty cool place to spend an afternoon with kids). Grown-ups with a taste for artisan ice cream may even want to do the responsible thing and try this place out alone first. Just to be fully informed, of course.

The popular children’s museum we know and love has just gotten a major overhaul. Following a five-month gut renovation, Imagine That!!! in Florham Park, New Jersey, has been transformed into a beautiful and bright 16,000-square-foot indoor play space that feels fun and inviting. The updated fun spot boasts brand-new play structures like an electronic sand table and an interactive, LED light board, plus new-and-improved versions of original attractions like the grocery store, dance studio, play maze, and more.

Imagine That!!!, which quietly reopened in December, will celebrate its grand reopening the weekend of January 13-14. Here's a sneak peak inside the new space and its awesome attractions.

Nursing moms headed back to the office now have one less thing to worry about. On January 8, Gov. Chris Christie signed into law new protections for women who choose to breastfeed or pump breast milk for their babies while at work.

If recent weather has kept your family holed up, recoup from cabin fever with any of the great programs we’ve identified for Westchester and Hudson Valley families this weekend.

Reinforce the meaning of MLK Day by investing time in the Martin Luther King Day of Service. Meet Mike Piazza and other famous athletes at The East Coast National Baseball Card Show or take advantage of the free offerings of assorted workshops in STEAM, improvisational acting, drumming and more at Free Arts Day. More indoor fun can be had with marionettes at the Annual Puppet Festival or embrace the season with fun activities that at Hudson Valley Rail Trail WinterFest.

There's more! Be sure to check our January GoList and our Event Calendar to plan your entire weekend—and beyond!

We honor Martin Luther King, Jr. with a federal holiday on Monday, and that means school will be closed. If you're trying to figure out how to spend the long weekend, you've got plenty of options, whether you want to visit the colorful, underwater world of Bubblelandia, take part in a celebration of Dr. King, or pretty much anything in between.

You can spend the morning as a Junior Keeper at Jenkinson's Aquarium and the afternoon crafting your very own masterpiece at the Drop-In Studio at the Montclair Art Museum; cure cabin fever with outdoor options that include a Day Off With Nature at the Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center and an MLK Day of Service opportunity for ages 4 and up at Reeves-Reed Arboretum.

If you'd rather stay warm and toasty, check out one of NJ's many indoor play spaces and fun zones. Still looking? Find more fun things to do in our Calendar of Events and January GoList.

As real estate in Park Slope skyrockets out of reach, many families have been turning their sights on its southern neighbor, Sunset Park. Its crown jewel, the 25-acre namesake green space, boasts an outdoor Olympic-size pool, sports fields, a recently renovated playground and one of the highest points in Brooklyn, from which you can see the Statue of Liberty and New York Bay. The historic 478-acre Green-Wood Cemetery is also a highlight, and even hosts annual family events like its Memorial Day Concert and Battle of Brooklyn reenactment.

Dive into the culturally rich neighborhood with our top 25 activities, play spaces, restaurants, and nature spots.

Sensory activities for babies open the world up to our kids while they're still happily stationary. Maybe even more important, it begins to familiarize them to their own bodies. Every new day delivers a fresh overload of sights, sounds, and sensations. 

Bonus: Sensory games give us something fun to do with our little ones beyond tummy time! We've rounded up a dozen of our favorite sensory activities that you can create right at home. DIY sensory toys nurture a basic understanding of the people, places, and stuff that populate their lives, along with the motor and communication skills that they'll need to interact with the world. There will be new things for baby to touch, smell, see, and figure out. Watch as your little one giggles her way through these micro-discoveries. 

Everything featured here can be crafted from simple, recycled materials and stuff found within reach around the house or a couple of clicks on Amazon.

For more sensory fun, see our posts on 99 Sensory Activities for Toddlers, Infants, and Kids of All Ages and 10 Sensory Bin Ideas for Busy Toddlers.

While I miss the days of my son's impromptu tea parties, these days his (and our) tea party tastes are far more grown-up. Forget make-believe beverages and fake cakes—we're now in the market for three-tiered trays of pastries and little sandwiches with the crusts cut off (because why not?). Lucky for us, we have many options in and around Los Angeles for pretending we're in an episode of The Crown or Downton Abbey. So here's a toast (with pinkies raised) to the best afternoon tea spots in the Southland.