A visit to High Point State Park was recommended to my family during a random, chance meeting with a stranger on the street, and it has served as a wonderful day trip destination just a short drive away in Sussex, New Jersey.

With outdoor adventures en vogue, High Point State Park is a great all-seasons destination. Featuring a spring-fed lake, miles of easy hiking trails—including a leg of the Appalachian Trail—and opportunities to fish, camp, picnic, swim, cross-country ski, go for a horseback ride, even dog sled, there are tons of activities for an active family to enjoy.

Read on for more details on the fun activities in this New Jersey state park, which may be worthy of a spot on our list of the best NJ parks and reservations for family-friendly fun.

These trendy hot chocolate bombs are the perfect antidote to cold winter adventures and stay-at-home orders. The sweet treats offer double the fun because crafting hot chocolate bombs at home is an easy baking project that results in one tasty snow day boredom buster.

These popular chocolate concoctions are small chocolate spheres filled with hot cocoa mix that explodes into a steamy, dreamy cup of hot chocolate when hot milk is poured over the top. Read on for our step-by-step recipe for homemade hot chocolate bombs.

Mayor Bill de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza announced sweeping admissions changes for public middle and high schools. Spurred by pandemic-induced limitations, middle schools will put a one-year pause on all screening requirements. High schools are eliminating geographic priorities over the next two years, plus conducting the specialized high school entrance exam at local middle schools, and allowing auditions for selective performing arts schools to be completed online.

In addition to announcing admissions changes, officials detailed the long-delayed application timeline; in a normal year, applications are submitted by the holiday break.

Find plenty more information about the NYC Department of Education, plus after-school classes and distance learning support in our Schools Guide.

Ready or not, Santa Claus is coming to town! For kids who may not have gotten the chance to deliver their letters in person this year, let them call Santa for a big thrill. We've rounded up several ways to call Santa, get Santa to call your kids (or text them), and more Christmas fun, like tracking Santa on the big night.

Want to really blow their minds? There are apps that let you share a photo of Santa handing out presents in your very own living room. Christmastime is already among the most magical seasons for children, but these fun tools take it to the next level. Read on for our favorite ways to check in with Santa before Christmas. Our special gift for you: These special Santa calls and experiences are (mostly) FREE!

For 2020, the elves have taken it a step further with virtual visits with Santa Claus, where kids can interact with the big guy from the safety of home.

Lights are as synonymous with the holidays as trees and trains. From festive holiday window displays to luminous drive-thru installations and dazzling residential displays, lighted artistic creations evoke holiday magic throughout NYC and beyond. In 2020, the New York Botanical Garden has added a brand new spectacular light display, NYBG Glow, to its seasonal calendar.

A long-time seasonal destination for its annual holiday train show, which is limiting attendance to members this year, NYBG Glow is a creative outdoor light exhibition offering holiday cheer and fun for the whole family.

Read on for more details on the inaugural light display, and be sure to peruse our Holiday Fun Guide for more ways to enjoy the season.

Keep the holiday spirits high this season by knocking your kids' socks off with a showstopping Christmas dessert. To top off your at-home Christmas dinner, we’ve combed through Westchester bakeries in search of the most festive, mouth-watering holiday sweets to end your holiday on a high note.

Whether you crave cake or cookies, are traditional or experimental, we've got Christmas dessert options galore. What's more, these special holiday offerings even include hot cocoa bombs, the trendy new treat for sipping in holiday flavors and styles.

Read on for the skinny on Christmas desserts, plus be sure to check out our ideas for new holiday traditions you can start with your family this year.

Let me guess: Your kids are spending more time at home than usual this holiday season. In between virtual gingerbread competitions, Zoom Christmas crafts, and backyard candy cane hunts, put on your thinking caps (they might be red with a white pom-pom on top) and make reindeer toothpaste. This holiday twist on the popular elephant toothpaste experiment uses hydrogen peroxide, active dry yeast, dish soap, and colored sanding sugar or food dye to create a fizzy, festive foam—the sort of stuff Rudolph might use to clean his teeth after sampling all those cookies on Christmas Eve.

Check out our mega list of easy science experiments using household stuff for more ideas to keep kids busy over holiday break.

If Christmas lights are your jam, you may have wondered about the oodles of drive-thru holiday light displays that have sprung up around LA this season as antidotes to the pandemic blues. With so many holiday traditions canceled for Christmas 2020, it's pretty exciting to find new ones. But are these commercial drive-thrus worth the price of admission? In the case of Holiday Road at King Gillette Ranch, I'm going to go out on a Christmas tree limb to say yes! If you're able to spend some of the cash you're saving by missing out on Disneyland and holiday travel, then Holiday Road could be a delightful and festive evening excursion for the whole family.