Ho, ho, ho! Both December and some chilly weather are coming and there’s no shortage of events to get you in the holiday mood. Check out Scrooge! The Musical, or have brunch with Santa at the Camden Children’s Garden. For a change of pace from the holiday whirlwind, try a Winter Hike at the Watershed Reserve or stop by Family Day at the Montclair Art Museum. Read on for our top picks and remember you can find a listing of all NJ activities in our Event Calendar.

So you’ve got a belly full of turkey, a fridge full of leftovers and out of town guests waiting to be entertained? Tackle the holiday season full on with the Turtle Back Zoo Holiday Lights Spectacular, Pictures with Santa at Jackrabbit Toys or American Repertory Ballet’s Nutcracker. For some regular fun without candy canes, check out the Rock and Mineral weekend or Aesop’s Fables: A Zany Adaptation! Read on for our top picks and remember you can find a listing of all NJ activities in our Event Calendar.

We were just dressing up our little ones as superheroes and fairies, but Thanksgiving is already next week! Holiday events are starting to pop up on our radar, so check out the Turkey Trot or the Gingerbread House Demonstration. Not ready to break out the jingle bells? Round the family up for the Cirque Chinois, Angelina Ballerina the Musical or the Medieval Knights Sword Fighting Show. Read on for our top picks and remember you can find a listing of all NJ activities in our Event Calendar.

Now that our family has settled into a busy fall routine (work, school, dinner, repeat), we're usually so wiped out we fall asleep before we get a chance to spend any quality time together. This got me thinking back to my own childhood and the fond memories I have of playing classic board games like Candyland and Monopoly with Mom and Dad. My husband and I are excited to bring back the old-fashioned 'game night' with our children--read on for 5 great suggestions for your own!

In the weekend before Halloween, there's no shortage of events to put your family in the trick-or-treating mood. Check out Liberty Science Center's costume contest, head to Morristown for Pumpkin Illumination, get your tickets for Stagefright - A Halloween Musical or see NJ Ballet's Ghost of the Ballet. If you've had your fill of spooky, check out the Popcorn Harvest or WBGO Kids Jazz Concert. Read on for our top picks and remember you can find a listing of all NJ activities in our Event Calendar.

My family and I moved to NJ last summer from sweltering Florida, where it’s tough to grow anything that isn’t a palm tree or an orange. One of our first experiences was visiting the farmers market at the local park and strolling among rows of golden apples, juicy pears and late summer strawberries & tomatoes made me realize why Jersey is called the “Garden State.” As we get ready to welcome the cozy sweaters and cool evenings that autumn brings, a tasty new season of fruits and vegetables awaits. Check out some of our state’s awesome farmers markets where New Jersey kids and their families (and maybe even the dog too!) can sample the fall harvest:

I find that dog owners with kids are separated into 2 categories. There are those that had pups well before human kids and treated them like children, lavishing attention on their fur baby before taking the plunge and trying for a real one! And then there are those that don’t even think about adding a furry friend into the mix until their lives are already buzzing with activity from 2 or 3 tots running around. After all, what’s one more body in the house to entertain and feed?

The holidays are a wonderful time. We pick out trees, give and get thoughtful gifts and watch the magic in our children’s eyes as we live the season through them. But let’s be real – the holidays are also extremely exhausting. There are some days, as I remember I have to give yet another gift to our dry cleaner, preschool teacher or person on my husband’s family’s Secret Santa list that I just want to fast forward to boring old January. But there’s hope! I recently decided to toss my “I don’t have time/energy/talent/patience to make desserts” rule out the window (never mind the fact that I’m a terrible baker) and get in the kitchen with my toddler and actually... wait for it… MAKE some of our gifts this year!