Now that you know what bento boxes are and what supplies you’ll need, you may be wondering: What goes in them?

The short answer is whatever your kids will enjoy – virtually all their favorites can be worked into a bento box. One of the great things about bentos is that they let you present food in a fun, appealing way -- so your kids may even try something new. Here are some specific ideas:

It's hard to believe that last weekend there was enough snow on the ground to go sledding. This week, temperatures were so mild, we actually saw a few shoots popping out of the ground. But don't be fooled: Winter isn't going anywhere. That's why we posted about a lot of fun indoor activities this week, like children's yoga classes, sing-alongs and a bunch of family film festivals. You can find more cool seasonal activities in our Winter Fun Guide

In the interest of brevity, from now on our weekly wrap ups will primarily feature stories from Mommy Poppins NYC, although we'll highlight posts from our sister sites when we think they'll be of interest to our New York City readers, like Connecticut's awesome roundup of family ski resorts or New Jersey's extensive roundup of summer camp open houses. Also of note: Los Angeles' 100 things to do in LA with kids before they grow up, modeled on NYC's popular post. It's gone viral in the city, so if you're planning on visiting, this list is worthy of printing out. If you want to stay on top of everything that's going on in New Jersey, Long Island, Connecticut, Boston or Los Angeles, you can subscribe to our free newsletters.

Order up!  Today's menu includes pigs, ants, tree bark, and a very popular side dish of mice. Visitors to the Long Island Children's Museum's new permanent exhibit, "Feasts for Beasts," are invited to become servers at this child-size diner, where a raccoon, bear, beaver, snake, and leopard have come to feast. Give them the wrong food and a sugar container will light up "no," while the right food will generate a "yes."  

One of the advantages we Angelenos have over other members of the Mommy Poppins family is the disproportionately idyllic weather we have. Last weekend we suffered through a whole day of rain. This weekend looks to be summer-like. It's time to go outside. Break out the sunscreen, because we’ve got you covered! You’ve no doubt pored over our list of the best LA area hikes for families. But what about those of you with little ones still in strollers? Are you limited to malls and sidewalks? Nope: check out our why-didn’t-I-think-of-that list of stroller-friendly hikes.

Clearly, we at Mommy Poppins are all about giving back. And we like it even better when drinking our morning Starbucks counts. If you, too, want to feel both caffeinated and good about yourself, you’ll want to read the Starbucks DonorsChoose post. Another way we like to give back is to give away tickets to the most awesome shows in town. Like Cirque de Soleil. Hey, remember last week when we gave away tickets to Cirque de Soleil: OVO? That made us feel so good that we’re giving away four tickets to OVO again!

Read on for our favorite picks for this weekend.

Science and nature are the name of the game again this weekend, with Science Saturday at the Long Island Science Center, and A Nature Clue for You and Creature Creations at a couple of Long Island state parks. You'll also find a Chinese New Year celebration in Stony Brook, both a chocolate workshop (!) and an activity about eating right for and taking good care of your teeth at the Long Island Children's Museum, and an Alice in Wonderland ballet at the Tilles Center.

It’s already the last weekend of January, and our calendar is filled with things to do with kids in Boston. From the opening of Wheelock Family Theatre’s production of The Wizard of Oz on Friday to Chinatown’s Chinese New Year celebration on Sunday, we’ve got you covered.

Families can enjoy other shows like Fancy Nancy, magic with David Garrity, and Joanie Leeds and the Nightlights in concert. The annual Bread and Puppet Theatre performance - Man = Carrot Circus - is an entertaining option for families and a personal favorite. Note: this is not your traditional puppet show!

Calvin's Monster Ticket Giveaway: Boston Children's Theatre's latest production, Calvin's Monster, comes to the Boston Center for the Arts for two weekends, beginning February 4, and a Mommy Poppins Boston family can win free tickets to see the show. Just send me an email to enter.

Read on for all our picks for the weekend, and visit our calendar for other events.

Enjoy!

This week the Chinese New Year started and we covered fun events to celebrate the year of the dragon in Fairfield and Hartford Counties. For those considering moving to Fairfield County check out our suggestions for towns that are commutable to NYC. If thinking of soccer camps in Fairfield Co. this summer, get a jump on it using our list of options. In Hartford County we listed some fun birthday party locations. And finally, we covered ski resorts across the state (and a little beyond).

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This weekend there's lots of fun to be had:

It's time to fully embrace winter in New Jersey, especially now that we’ve actually witnessed a bit of snow. This weekends' events are filled with many outdoor winter celebrations and festivals in Lambertville, Sussex, Mt. Holly and Princeton to get your whole family  in the winter spirit. For those that prefer to stay warm inside there's plenty to choose from at the Museum of Early Trades and Crafts, Hunderdon Art Museum, the State Theatre of New Jersey and more.  Read on for all of our picks and remember, you can always find additional weekend activities in our Events Calendar . And don’t forget to check out our new Winter Fun Guide!