My daughter who is 7 years old had an educational workshop about fire safety at her after school program. I'm interested in taking her to a real fire house to help bring his lesson home. Do you know of any? — Yolanda

It's great to teach our children about fire safety and I've always found the firemen at our local firehouse to be really friendly. If they're not rushing off to a fire, they generally will welcome kids into the station to check out the trucks and see what they do. But, there are also two special museums set up just to teach children about fire fighting and fire safety rather than just trying to show up at your local fire house.

Aigner Chocolates, formerly known as Krause’s Candy Kitchen, is a magical walk back to the time when small shops ruled New York City. This unassuming storefront on the corner of Metropolitan Ave and 71st Road in Forest Hills, Queens has small town charm combined with homemade quality. As soon as you walk in the door, one is hit with the smell of chocolate which instantly takes me back to my childhood.

I’ve always found the weekend before Thanksgiving to be exciting, since the whole family is starting to get in the holiday spirit and kids know vacations (and presents, of course) are coming. But before you start thinking about gifts or prepping food before the big cook-off, take some time to enjoy the pre-Rockefeller Tree-d city—it won’t look like this again until mid-January. This weekend there’s an incredible array of free and cheap art events, live music and food at El Museo del Barrio, a scarecrow making contest, circus fun, a gross (but awesome) icky festival and more.  

Every once in a while I find something that I think is the absolute perfect holiday gift and want to give it to everyone on my list. This year my singular obsession is the new DVD created in celebration of the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street.

[UPDATED: December 1, 2012]

There are many benefits to buying handmade goods this holiday season. It makes for more meaningful giving, it supports local craftsmen and is overall better for the environment. The accumulating effects of mass production are a major cause of global warming. If buying with a conscious is high on your list of things to do this holiday season, where do you find high quality handmade goods? The internet is crawling with items that claim to be unique and handmade but it is almost impossible to discern the junk from the gems. Here is the 411 on where to get unique handmade goods in NYC.

Since we've become parents we've grown used to the period between Thanksgiving and New Years being a big blur of activity. The Holidays are a wonderful time in New York City and we try to enjoy its magical moments, whether it's with out of town guests or just with our own children. One thing we know is that there's always too much to do.

We hope our Holiday Guide will help you a little bit by providing you with lots of information organized and in one place, whether it's how to get a Christmas tree or where to volunteer with your children, and lots and lots of fun Holiday activities which we'll keep posting as the information becomes available. One event we hope you'll make time for is our Holiday Toy Swap and Drive.