[UPDATED: July 18, 2012]

We hear a lot about the benefits of cooking and eating healthy meals together as a family, but despite our best intentions, it can be tough to make that happen on a daily basis, whether for lack of time, energy, creativity—or all of the above.
 
You can get a little help in the kitchen and have fun doing it by taking a cooking class to learn easy, healthy recipes and techniques for getting food on the table for your kids. Despite what you might think, cooking classes don't have to be fancy or expensive, there are some casual options here in the city that are a good fit for parents for making family meals.

The semi suburban sprawl of Queens has endless birthday party options. Vanessa in Astoria had her son's first birthday at an indoor playspace, booked live music, and even got a professional photographer. If you are looking for a Queens birthday idea then you have come to the right place. Here is the lowdown on the best birthday party places in Queens. You can find even more options in our Birthday Party Guide including 10 more Queens party places.

The first weekend of March is living up to the cliché that the month comes in like a lion, since it is packed with Spring-welcoming holidays Holi and Nokour (don't forget this weekend is the big , colorful Pagwah Festival!); a free children's gardening workshop; a Dr. Seuss Birthday Party; St. Patrick's Day Parades in Queens and Staten Island; and cool crafts, music and museum, and Shakespeare events. Read on and plan your weekend!

Most commonly known as a drinking holiday, St. Patrick’s Day is usually a time to lock the kids in your house. But not this year! Queens has one of the largest Irish communities in NYC and there are some great parades and classes to look into even before the actual holiday. Here is the skinny:

One of the really great things about New York CIty is having all these cultures living here together. And by far the most fun way to experience them is through food. From food carts to family friendly restaurants, dining out on ethnic foods is delicious, fun and educational.  

One of my favorite ethnic food experiences, and probably one of the most interesting restaurant experiences for kids is Korean barbecue. Korean barbecue has a couple of things going for it that make it a favorite for both me and kids:

When I was a little kid we lived near what we called Abingdon Square Park and is now called Bleeker Park, the playground on 7th Avenue in the West Village. It was a great park and the main feature was a giant concrete boat that we would climb on, tunnel under, jump over and in general inspired many imaginative games. The concrete boat is long gone now and I can only imagine that some kid smashing their face into it one too many times hastened its end.

Now most NYC playgrounds look pretty much the same: generic climbing equipment, slides, sometimes swings or a water feature, but a new playground in Union Square definitely breaks the mold for NYC playgrounds.