Unfortunately, National Costume Swap isn't happening in 2015. My eight-year-old daughter is the Imelda Marcos of costumes. Every Halloween she's invited to a terrifying number of celebrations and she insists on a different outfit for each one. I happen to love dressing up, too, so, I admit, I indulge her. Trouble is, she outgrows her costumes much more quickly than I do mine—we never get more than one Halloween season out of them.

Instead of throwing all of those barely used costumes into the donation bin (or worse, the landfill), we've found a better, eco-friendly option that saves us money and is actually pretty fun: Halloween costume swaps. At these community events, you trade your child's old costumes for new-to-you outfits. My daughter enjoys tearing through tables piled high with outlandish getups, and I love hanging on to my cash.

Costume swaps have really taken off in popularity in recent years as families become ever more frugal and environmentally aware. In fact, there's even an annual National Costume Swap Day! This year's edition officially takes place on Saturday, October 12, but local community organizations across the country hold costume swaps on various dates throughout the month. We've got the scoop on how to find costume swaps in your area and tips on how to host your own.

My daughter and I see a mind-boggling number of kids' shows every year. (One of the exhausting perks of being a Mommy Poppins blogger!) Some are wonderful; others, not so much (those are the shows I don't write about).

While there are lots of New York City theater troupes mounting productions for kids, there's one that consistently stands out: the New Victory Theater. Based in a beautiful and historic Off Broadway house, the nonprofit company produces a full season of eclectic works aimed at families. And when I say families, I mean every single member: I find that I often enjoy the shows as much as my daughter because they're offbeat, thought-provoking and never dumbed down or condescending. But the New Victory is much more than just a place to go see a show. Through a range of interactive educational activities like performance workshops and camps, post-show talk-backs and TXT Marks the Spot (a seriously cool high-tech scavenger hunt after select performances), the organization is raising the next generation of theatergoers and performing artists.

As longtime fans, we here at Mommy Poppins are excited to announce our new partnership with the New Victory Theater, which brings our readers more access to its incredible lineup of shows, ticket discounts and two exclusive special events (stay tuned for details). We begin with a preview of the New Victory 2013-2014 season, including show recommendations for every age and stage, tips on how to save money on tickets, exclusive video from the upcoming productions and details about enriching programs that may be under your radar.

I feel like summer just ended and school just started. Yet already it's fall and my daughter is complaining because we haven't figured out our family Halloween costumes. To help you avoid seasonal nagging in your home, we've started overhauling our NYC Kids Halloween Guide, including updating our roundups of pumpkin patches near NYC, on Long Island and in New Jersey, as well as posts about popular Halloween happenings that require advance tickets like the Great Jack o' Lantern Blaze in Historic Hudson Valley and the New York Botanical Garden's Haunted Pumpkin Garden.

Other posts of note: Our Westchester site wrote about the new Mount Kisco drop-in creative spot, Arts Garage, part of the popular go-kart track and bowling alley Grand Prix. Our bloggers in Los Angeles shared ideas for managing your child's food allergies in school and at parties. Meanwhile our Boston site has tips about being a good spectator at your kids' sporting events and 20 ways to ease the pain of flying internationally with a toddler. That info should come in handy if you're inspired to visit Bristol, UK after reading our post about all the fun things to do with kids there.

Feeling lucky this week? Use that mojo to enter to win our current giveaways: a children's art class at the Art Studio on the Upper West Side and a family four-pack to see The Wiggles in concert in Westbury, Long Island. Both giveaways end soon so enter right away.

Here's what else we covered on the NYC this week:

This weekend is all about festivals! Enjoy all things Greek at North Hempstead Beach Park. For an aquatic twist, head over to the Fish Hatchery Festival in Cold Spring Harbor. The streets of Hempstead come alive during the African American Heritage Parade & Festival. In the mood for live music or art? Why not enjoy both at the Jamboozi Festival at The Vanderbilt Museum. It's still apple season and there's no better way to celebrate the harvest than by attending the Apple Festival at the Sherwood Jayne House. There's even a festival for dogs at Old Westbury Gardens. As always, check our events calendar every day for fun activities for the family.

The first full weekend of fall, and there are plenty of things for families to do in and around Boston, from festivals (Fluff Fest, New England Americana Festival, Boston Seafood Festival) to free admissions (Smithsonian Museum Day, National Public Land Day), and everything in between. Read on for details, and be sure to check our Events Calendar as we continually update and add to it.

Also this week week on Mommy Poppins Boston:

• Tara writes about her ideal fall day with kids in Beantown;
• Our friends at Appalachian Mountain Club have some great spots to take the kiddos to play Old MacDonald and befriend a few farm animals;
• We've found places where families can not only pick their own pumpkins but also enjoy petting farms, hayrides and corn mazes;
• Kristin reviews Aura Restaurant’s fine dining family style - an experience that takes family dining to a new level;
• Celeste offers tips for taking an international flight with your little one - a must-read for anyone planning a family trip that involves air travel.

Enjoy!

With almost as many restaurants as NYU students, the East Village offers a wide variety of places to eat. The big issue for parents is that many of the eateries aren't traditionally family-friendly. They're pricey with exotic dishes (by kid standards, anyway), and filled with black-clad twenty-somethings who roll their eyes at the very sight of a child.

But as long as you're not expecting high chairs or chicken fingers and fries, there are a lot of great East Village restaurants that welcome families, even though they're not the main clientele. My daughter and I spend a lot of time in the neighborhood and we're big fans of a lot of local eateries, both new and old. And when I say old, I mean it: Some of our top picks, like Indian Row, date back to my childhood. Others, like Yonah Schimmel, my 78-year-old mother remembers going to as a kid!

We finish up our month-long focus on the East Village with a roundup of our 15 favorite places to eat in the area with kids, most of which my family can vouch for personally. You can find more family dining posts in our NYC Kid-Friendly Restaurant Guide.

Send September off with a bang this weekend in Westchester. Two art shows are taking place all weekend--the Armonk Outdoor Art Show and the New Rochelle Arts Fest. The Bear Mountain Oktoberfest continues this weekend as well.

On Saturday head to Green Chimneys for the Fall Harvest Festival. If you’re feeling more competitive, the Sleepy Hollow Adventure Race Experience allows you to compete with your children on the beautiful Hudson River waterfront. Stick around afterwards for the Sleepy Hollow Oktoberfest at Kingsland Point Park.

Great family fun continues on Sunday at the Rosenthal JCC’s Fall Fest in Pleasantville. In West Nyack, enjoy Family Fun Day and help benefit the American Cancer Society.

Read on for our top weekend picks. If you see something interesting, click through to the event listing to view full details. Looking for more options? Be sure to check out our Event Calendar for more fun happening this weekend and beyond.