When the weather is beautiful, there's nothing better than an outdoor event. Whether you're celebrating a birthday, graduation, or another special occasion, there are plenty of beautiful nearby parks that are perfect for hosting celebrations. Our local parks and playgrounds are some of the simplest places to host a summer birthday bash, so if you're looking for an easy way to gather the family to celebrate, try one of these parks! 

For more park fun, check out our Parks and Playground Guide, or head over to our Pools and Spray Parks Guide to beat the heat this summer. 

Long Island's Lavender By the Bay lavender farms offer a stunning and serene experience—not to mention fantastic photo ops and a great summer day trip. Lavender By the Bay has two North Fork locations, Calverton and East Marion, and both are an oasis of delicious-smelling flowering plants in early summer. 

Both lavender farms offer more than 20 varieties of lavender in shades ranging from white to pale blue, pink, and, of course, purple. 

Check out our Guide to Visiting the Hamptons and North Fork for more things to do in the area, and be sure to bookmark our Ultimate Long Island Kids Summer Vacation Guide for tons of seasonal family fun. 

About 100 miles north of Manhattan, the quaint town of Rhinebeck in Dutchess County is a prime destination for a family day trip. Steeped in Dutch history, Rhinebeck is home to the Dutchess County Fairgrounds, where numerous fairs and family-friendly productions are held annually, as well as a performing arts center, an aerodrome, the oldest hotel in the country, great eateries, family shopping, and nature excursions.

We've gathered up some of our favorite Rhinebeck attractions culled after a recent visit. These include both year-round opportunities and some seasonal excursions, as well as a sampling of the creative shops and eateries that remind visitors of the quaintness afforded by a town supportive of independently owned businesses.

Read on for our inside scoop on all the great fun that lies ahead for your family in beautiful Rhinebeck! And for more great days out, check out our guide to family fun in Hudson Valley.

These sunflower fields near Chicago will ddd a little extra sunshine to your summer. Here, you can get out in nature, pick flowers, or stroll through a maze of sunflowers. For a day on the sunflower farm, make sure to pack bug spray, sunscreen, some kid-friendly scissors, pruners, and vases to get those gorgeous bouquets home. Bring your phone fully charged as well: These farms have amazing photo opportunities (we're talking holiday card potential)! 

For more outdoor adventures in seasonal farm fun check out the best places to go strawberry picking as well as our favorite family farms near Chicago.

It's no secret the Bronx Zoo is one of our favorite local haunts, and we love that it's always reinventing its offerings. The latest addition to the fun at the Bronx Zoo is Budgie Landing. The exhibit transports visitors to the open woodlands of Australia, where 1,000 budgies—small, colorful, and social parrots—fly freely and visitors have a chance to feed them.

These free-flying beautiful birds provided plenty of entertainment for my daughter and I. Read on for our tips for visiting Budgie Landing at the Bronx Zoo and find more fun animal encounters in our Guide to Zoos and Gardens for NYC Kids.

Foam parties are the newest way to totally crush the birthday party game. Forget having a pinata as the main event and blow everyone out of the water by turning your backyard into a foamy paradise. From foam machines to foam blasters, we put a range of foam toys to the test to discover the best way to throw an epic foam party.

For more sudsy fun, you can have a real bubble blowout by adding bubble guns and bubble toys to the foam party mix. And don't actually forget the pinata! We've got tips on making easy paper bag pinatas at home.

For more great outdoor birthday party tips, check out our article on outdoor birthday ideas for kids. It's all in our Birthday Party Guide.

Amazon Prime Day is July 11 & 12 this year, and we've rounded up our favorite items at Amazon's biggest sale of the year that parents and kids adore.

Every year, the Amazon Prime Day sale has some of the best deals and lowest prices of the year. And as parents, we're most excited about the deals and steals on the baby gear, toys, and more that we happily pay full price for the rest of the year.

However, it's easy to get swept away by big discounts. So this year, I've done a ton of research and have been asking friends and coworkers to determine which of the sale items are really worth the money. These are huge brands, beloved products, toys, and home hacks that make parenting easier. And during Amazon Prime Days, you'll save a fortune on them.

While we can't know everything that will be on sale yet, here are the early announced deals we're tracking... come back Tuesday to see what we recommend that's newly on sale!

For more favorite products we have tested and love, check out our recommendations for the best backyard toys, coolest pool floats for kids, and very best beach gear for families.

Classes and camps are a big part of growing up for many kids. They are fun, enriching, and provide parents with some much-needed alone time on weekends or during school breaks. But as every parent knows, the cost of camps and classes can add up quickly.

Luckily, not every class your kid takes has to cost an arm and a leg. Many national chain stores offer fun and free camps and classes for kids that will teach them something new and show them a great time. These include cooking classes, coding and tech lessons, arts and crafts workshops, and more.

Here are 11 nationwide chain stores that offer free classes and camps to help fill kids' schedules without breaking the bank—even if your child does ask you to buy something while you're there! Check out our Guide to Classes for Kids and our Summer Camp Guide for even more fun ways to fill your kids' days.