Even though the Houston Children's Festival has been around for longer than I have been on this planet - it celebrates its 29th anniversary in 2017 - I had never made the trek to see what all the fuss was all about. My family and I attended this year and I can happily say it was well worth the trip from our corner of the metroplex. The country's largest children's festival features live entertainment, booths for parents, local food trucks, games, and (so) much more. It can be an overwhelming weekend if you do not plan ahead, so check out our breakdown of how to maximize your festival fun.

CityCentre may be known as a happy hour hot spot, but it's also home to many family friendly restaurants as well as a green space perfect for kids to run around and play. In case you are not sure where to head with the kids in tow, look no further than our list of restaurants sure to please the whole family.

Hundreds of parents in Connecticut have made the decision to bring their children home from public and private schools this year. These families join the thousands of other families who have been instructing their children from home already. Although the reasons parents choose to instruct their children from home differ widely, their numbers are on the rise. According to the National Home Education Research Institute, there are around 2.3 million home educated students in the United States and the numbers are growing annually between 2 and 8 percent. If you are one of the families who have made this decision, you may be wondering where to start. 

Our readers have spoken. This summer we asked all of you—our wonderful community of Los Angeles area parents—to vote for the best family businesses and resources in 24 categories. You chose from 10 nominees in each category (and four voters were picked at random to enjoy great prizes from our sponsors!), and the votes are now in. We announced the winners at a fun event hosted by one of our nominees, the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium, and shared the moment via Facebook Live broadcast. In case you missed it, here is a complete list of the winners of our Best of LA Kids contest—and for future reference, be sure to bookmark our Best of LA Kids Winners Guide):

How do we love Boston? Help us count the ways! We know that Boston is the best place to raise kids, but even the best has its best. So we're counting on you, our Mommy Poppins readers and the most savvy parents we know, to help us pick Boston's BESTIES. The best play spaces? Boston's got 'em. Family restaurants? We've got those, too.

Fall is upon us, which means we are busy checking off all the fun apple and pumpkin-filled events we can cram in before the weather officially gets too cold to be outdoors. Topping off every list is the ultimate in fall fun—a hayride! Whether through a spooky field, in costume, or just for the fun of it, hayrides, and other harvest fun are a tradition from childhood we get to relive with our own littles. Just remember to wear denim, as all that dry hay can get itchy!

There are many levels of pumpkin carving. There's picking up a pumpkin at the grocery store and stabbing a crooked smile onto it. There's downloading a stencil and spending an afternoon with a $5 carving kit creating Jack Skellington. And then there's taking 5,000 fresh pumpkins per week and turning them into multi-gourd masterpieces never before conceived out of fruit. That last thing? That's Rise of the Jack O'Lanterns.

Halloween enthusiasts on Long Island have long enjoyed this gloriously over the top pumpkin extravaganza, but it is still relatively new to Los Angeles area families, and completely new this season to our readers in New Jersey and Boston. That's a whole lot more families getting to experience the glowing, walk-through exhibit, that brings out the Halloween spirit in visitors of all ages. Read on to find out all about this amazing spectacle and get a Mommy Poppins promo code!

Come October, millions of tourists from all over the United States and abroad flock to New England to catch a glimpse of the glorious colors of our fall foliage, to 'leaf-peep'. Nowhere in the world can you see such breathtakingly colored canopies as in our region. We have our sweet Indian summers and the diversity of our flora to thank for it. Yankee Magazine named Kent, CT one of the Best Foliage Towns in New England for five years running. Check out our day trip post to Kent to get the low down on what to do while visiting and soaking in the beauty of nature. For even more ideas in your inbox, sign up for our weekly newsletter.  Check out our Halloween and Fall Fun Guide for lots of other great info!