You don't have to go over the top with a birthday party to make it out of this world fun for kids. A simple, inexpensive at-home birthday party can be thrown together last minute by picking up some craft supplies and baking a cake. My daughter still calls her Tie-Dye Birthday Party the best one ever and all I did to prepare was run the local hardware store for some RIT Dye and rubber bands. Actually the hardest thing to find was the plain white T-Shirts (who sells Hanes in Manhattan any more?)

When I saw the Star Wars: Jedi Training Academy at Disneyland last year, my first thought was, "this is so cool. I bet you could recreate this experience at home for an amazing birthday party theme." (I never claimed to be normal.) If you haven't seen it, Disney's Jedi Training Academy lets kids learn light saber moves and battle Darth Vader. It's pretty freaking cool, and I figured if you cut out some of the stage craft (like the fog machine) you could fairly simply recreate the Jedi Training Academy experience at home for the most amazing birthday party idea a mini Star Wars geek could imagine.

New York City got an F in geography this month as news got around that 311 (the official New York City info line) has been giving out inaccurate information about elementary school zones. Over the past few years, there has been an unprecedented amount of school rezoning due to the introduction of several new schools to help ease overcrowding. Apparently even the DOE and NYC.gov can't keep up with the changes, so what are parents supposed to do—especially with the deadline for kindergarten applications looming?

I spent several hours sussing out where NYC parents can find accurate school zoning maps. It was not an easy task as there literally is no one place to find accurate school zoning maps for NYC... until now. Read on to see how you can get the right information when looking up your zoned schools.

Some babies are early talkers, some are early walkers. My second child was a precocious jokester. He told his first (nonverbal) joke at about six months. Since he's my second child I don't recall the actual joke, but I remember making a mental note that I had a little comedian on my hands. Years later the comedy continues... to the chagrin of his teachers, I'm sure.

Of course, exposing him to age-appropriate funny business hasn't been easy. Let's face it, if you tried to take kids to your average comedy show, you'd spend most of the evening covering their ears (and possibly their eyes) with your hands. But there are a handful of family-friendly comedy shows and great kids' comedy classes in New York City, so you can see your own wisenheimer on the stage.

My son and I attended a couple of these shows, and he also took a few improv and comedy classes. Read on to find out what they're like, and find out details about a series of free kids' comedy classes that start next week.

   I have to admit that motocross really isn't my thing. I'm much more likely to get excited by the idea of spending an evening curled up with a copy of Pride and Prejudice than sitting in an arena watching motorcycles fly through the air to heavy metal music. But I'm always up for trying something new—especially when the prospect makes my kids go wild. So when we were invited to check out Nuclear Cowboyz, the FMX (freestyle motocross) extravaganza, I put on my best tweeds and went to see what surprises a pyrotechnic motocross show might hold for us.

After watching the promo video, I became intrigued. The footage promised daring tricks, fire and lasers. Is Nuclear Cowboyz the Cirque du Soleil of motocross?

It's cold outside (finally) so going to the playground is no longer a sure bet. Time to sign up for some winter classes. We reached out to some of our favorite play spots and asked them to extend deals to our readers. The result is ten excellent offers for kids that you won't want to miss, from babies through tweens. Save up to 50% on classes like chess, music, cooking, swimming, art and more. Or snag amazing savings on children's gym memberships and classes. Act fast! These deals are too hot to hang around long.

How often do NYC kids get to hang out with pigs? Well, real pigs. At two New York summer camps, NYC kids can get a taste of real farm life with real animal chores and hands-on gardening experience. There are two different farm day camp experiences NYC kids can try that take them to a world completely outside of NYC, even if they are in NYC.

[UPDATED: JANUARY 9, 2013]

This is the second in a series of posts about All-Inclusive Winter Resorts for Family Vacations in the New York City Region. In our previous post, we reviewed Woodloch Pines Resort in the Poconos.

If you like your vacations a little more on the rustic side, Ridin-Hy Ranch might be the answer. This Adirondack ranch resort offers good old-fashioned winter fun, hold the glitz and glamour. Winter activity highlights include horseback riding through snow-covered trails, sleigh rides, ice skating, snow tubing, snowmobiling, cross country skiing and nightly entertainment.