Long Island Restaurants Open for Thanksgiving 2017

A Thanksgiving feast is usually prepared and served in our homes. But sometimes it’s nice to take a break from tradition. Drop the daylong prep for Thanksgiving and head out to one of these Long Island restaurants serving up a traditional turkey dinner. Who knows, maybe you can enjoy a Thanksgiving run, volunteer, or (gasp!) relax a little.

For those who aren’t fans of turkey, many of these restaurants offer regular menu items. so everyone can have what they prefer. Just be sure to call ahead for reservations.

Have a happy Thanksgiving! And for more tips and activities this season, check out our Long Island Fall Fun Guide.

Ultimate Guide to FREE Halloween Events in Houston

Halloween is almost here! Don't sweat it if you don't have costumes yet - we have you covered. There are tons of trunk-or-treats happening around the city this weekend and the next as well as on Halloween (along with continued pumpkin patches and haunted houses) where kids can collect candy in a safe and controlled environment, but if you're looking for some wicked fun on actual Halloween day, read on for great FREE options.

Our Ultimate NYC Bucket List is Now a Free Printable

What should we do today? It's the age-old dilemma anyone with kids faces. And even though New York City is seemingly overflowing with things to do, somehow it's still possible to feel at a loss.

Of course, we hope our website, event calendar, Go Lists, newsletters and many guides help you find inspiration whenever you need it, but we also know that sometimes you just want the answer to stare you right in the face. That's why we've made our most popular 100 Things to Do with NYC Kids Before They Grow Up list into a handy printable sheet that you can stick on your fridge (or wherever people stick things now that fridges are often stainless) and access at any time. We've cut down the list to just the top 50 things that are doable on any given day (although some are seasonal). If you need details on the activity just go to the short URL listed on the page and you can click to find all the deets for your activity. 

Jump N Play Is the Latest Must-See Queens Bounce House

Queens already has more indoor bounce houses than any other NYC borough, but it just added another! Jump N Play opened this past summer in Ozone Park, a neighborhood that's also rapidly growing its list of exciting indoor play spaces.

This location, with its fire-engine-red exterior, is impossible to miss. Inside is even harder to resist. The humongous two main rooms offer one bounce house after another. My 5-year-old's jaw dropped and he went speechless for about a full 60 seconds. Read on for our review and important know-before-you-go details about this new play spot.

New Sensory Room Opens at Long Island Children’s Museum

The bubble wall is a soothing visual. Photo by the author

The Long Island Children’s Museum, part of Nassau County’s famed Museum Row in Garden City, is dedicated to providing fun, educational exhibits, programs, and performances to children and their families. But with its vast open spaces—it’s housed in a converted airplane hangar—bright lights, noise, and overexcited visitors, for some children a visit can be overwhelming.

With the needs of those children in mind, the museum in October 2017 opened a new sensory room. The dedicated space is the latest component of LICM4all, an initiative that helps the museum better serve all children and families.

Disney on Ice Brings Moana and Elsa Show to NYC Metro Area

A Disney on Ice show skates into the greater New York City area this November with some of the entertainment company's most popular female characters. This Dare to Dream production features Moana for the first time, but also Belle of Beauty and the Beast, Elsa and Anna of Frozen fame, and plenty more princesses.

The family show kicks off in the metro region at the Prudential Center in Newark, November 1-5. It then plays Barclays Center in Brooklyn, November 9-12, and finally at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Long Island, November 15-November 26.

New Guidelines and Tips for Early Allergen Introduction to Babies

Photo by Nicole Starr

From crying it out to co-sleeping, swaddling to self soothing, conflicting parenting ideas can make our poor sleep deprived heads spin. And even more so when it comes to feeding. For​ ​decades,​ new parents​ ​were​ ​instructed not to introduce possible ​allergens before baby's first birthday or later. Foods like fish, eggs, cow's milk, and peanuts were stuck under a fridge magnet with a scary warning about potential life-long allergies, and the need to create an allergy management plan, if your little one was found to have an allergy when you finally introduced these forbidden foods.

More recently though, research is changing the way families approach the introduction of potentially allergenic foods. In fact, in 2015, the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (AAAAI) said that there is no reason to delay the introduction of potentially allergenic foods past 4-6 months of age - a total reversal from previous beliefs and practices. Since that time, even more research regarding the early introduction of allergens has been pouring in and, most recently, the FDA approved a qualified health claim for the early introduction of ground peanuts just this month.

Head spinning yet? We’ve partnered with Inspired Start to provide tips to simplify introducing potentially allergenic foods to baby, in accordance with AAAAI’s latest information:

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