One of the best things about summer, in our humble opinion, is being able to party hardy in the great outdoors. So save your pretty plates and table linens for Christmas, and take your fiesta outside with the help of one of New Jersey’s numerous party planning companies. We’ve got everything from children’s birthday bashes to block parties to neighborhood movie nights, and it’s their job to help you enjoy your gala under a big blue sky.

Are the hot and sweaty trips to the beach, playground and pool getting to you yet? Is it time to look for some entertaining and enriching indoor activities for the kids? Well, if you haven’t seen the inside of a New York City museum since May, you may want to check out one these four exhibits that have recently been unveiled that the kids will just love – and maybe you will too.  Read on for the scoop.

We've asked our readers to share their awesome outings with us this summer. We'll be posting the best ones on the blog and one lucky winner will win a Flip Video Camera. Find out more details in our Summer Fun Activity Guide.
Read this submission by Bernadette Rivera and Chazz Rivera about their fun day playing in the fountain Washington Square Park.

Yup, it’s hot – scorching hot. But that is still no reason to skip out on the city this weekend. There is a ton of cool, free and fun stuff going on all around town, like car-free Weekend Walks, canoeing and nature programs in the parks, interesting science presentations, and I can’t forget the live music, magic and animal shows.  Or how about trying out a tour of the Little Red Lighthouse, a family friendly performance of the Rochester City Ballet or the special educational workshops for tweens with The Public Theater?

My son and I stopped by to add our brick to the Lego Big Apple last week at the grand opening of the Lego store in Rock Center and it was really fun. There is another NYC Lego store opening this weekend in the Queens Center Mall. Don’t miss it.  Or try a new park or playground this weekend.  We recently wrote about the new playground in Brooklyn Bridge Park, great picnicking spots around town and where to go fishing with kids.

If you are still looking for something to do this weekend be sure to try the recently improved search function on the events calendar. You can drill right down to the perfect event in or out of New York City for your family.

Read on to plan a great weekend and hope you can keep cool!

Have you checked out the new playgrounds in Jersey City, Union City and Hoboken?  Hamilton Park in Jersey City and Washington Park in Union City are completely redone, open to the public, and are prime summer destinations for the kids.  That is if you like mini-golf, barbecuing, tennis, and brand new spraygrounds, jungle gyms, & swings!  If you haven't visited them yet, pack your bags (and swimsuits, and tennis rackets, and portable grills) and make it a day at the park! 

We keep pretty busy here with our daily posts on all the cool stuff to do with your kids in the city, but I usually have one or two projects I'm working on in the background to make the site better. This week I'm announcing two that I've been working on for longer than I care to admit, our new Preschool Guide and our new and improved events calendar search function. I hope both these new functions will be big improvements to the site.

Happy 4^th of July! The highlight this weekend no matter where you are is of course - fireworks. In New York City there is the huge annual fireworks spectacular courtesy of Macy’s and if you plan on taking it in make sure to read our post on where to get the best view of the show.  We also have the scoop on the best fireworks displays on Long Island and in New Jersey.  

If you are staying in town this weekend, don’t fret, you don’t need a backyard or beach house to have a lot of fun, there are festive, patriotic and Americana events going on all around town. Dan Zanes is performing a concert in Battery Park where the audience can join in on the big brass parade finale (bring your own horn!) There are fireworks and live music from the Staten Island Philharmonic on Staten Island and an ecologically correct sand castle contest in Coney Island. While you are out on Coney Island don’t forget to check out the other annual 4^th of July event – the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest.

Happy 4^th of July!  Have a great one.

Are you ready for the Fourth of July weekend?  There is much more going on this weekend in NJ than just the family barbecue and watching 4th of July fireworks!  On Saturday you can take a train ride with Thomas the Tank Engine, watch some early fireworks aboard the Battleship NJ, make ice cream from scratch at Howell Living Historical Farm, and decorate & sail a sailboat at the Cooper Grist Mill.  On Sunday you can celebrate July 4th with the animals at the Turtleback Zoo or sign the Declaration of Independence at the Morven Museum & Garden.  If you are lucky enough to have Monday off, spend the day at Montclair's July 5th Parade and Family picnic and the evening at the NJ State Fair at the Meadowlands or at a demolition derby at the Cumberland County Fair.