These recently opened destinations for kids and families in New Jersey deserve a place on your family’s bucket list.

Two Essex County playgrounds have recently undergone major transformations, with brand-spankin’-new play equipment just waiting for your kids to try out before the weather turns cold. If you're looking for a birthday gift, skip the big-box store on the highway and shop local at a cool toy store in Maplewood. Read the day away in a cozy children’s indie bookstore, like the one you’ll find in Bayonne, and when your family is ready for some action, head to Woodbridge for the grand opening of NJ's first Dave & Buster’s. Or get the kiddos out of the house on a rainy day and burn off some serious energy at a new indoor trampoline park in Milltown.

And here's one that's worth a trip into the city: American Girl's flagship Midtown store is relocating to a new location on November 11, just in time for the holidays.

Read on to learn more about these new NJ hot spots, and find even more things to do in our Fall Fun Guide.

Let’s be honest: Going to the museum can be an expensive proposition, especially with a whole family. Buying a membership might save you some money if you visit on a regular basis, but it has considerable up-front costs as well. When you’re thinking of making a commitment like that, it’s good to know which museums have special perks for their members. Some offer reciprocal memberships to other museums in the area and beyond, some provide entry to special events, and others give you a discount on food or items for sale in (or even outside) the museum. Whichever you choose, be sure to make the most of your membership (which, by the way, is 100% tax-deductible). Our city has some of the best museums for families in the U.S.!

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.