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Throw a dinosaur birthday party that all the kids will love, here are our planning tips and party ideas. My baby just turned 3. Three, you guys! That calls for a party. This one came out great and I want to share how to throw a totally dino-mite dinosaur party. This theme for a children's birthday is timeless and I can't wait to share my design.The guest of honor tells me every day that he's not a baby anymore. He's a big boy! What do big boys get? Big boy parties, of course. This year he chose his own theme:...

An indoor playground is a perfect option when the weather doesn’t want to cooperate Whether it’s snowing, raining, or even sunny outside, sometimes it’s just easier to play inside. Skip the layers, skip the snowsuits, skip the umbrellas, and even skip the sunscreen. It really is okay to enjoy a beautiful Chicago day indoors particularly if you need to get stuff done. So where are you going to play today? When your living room loses its luster (your kiddos can only bounce off the walls for so long), check out a neighborhood play space. With indoor jungle gyms, pretend play...

I homeschooled all three of my kids from Grade 0 to Grade 12. Along with giving them a formal education, I gave them a valuable School of Life education. I taught them about life by giving them age-appropriate chores that taught them everything from the cycle of life to conservation, to how to use their newly-acquired math skills in the real world (by the way, counting sheep can take a while if you need a peaceful moment) and I taught them about good animal husbandry and growing their own food, as well as what they are not allowed to do....

Here's how etiquette experts handle this common conundrum. Last year, I received an invitation to a kid’s birthday party that said, “please, no gifts.” As an aspiring minimalist and the parent of a toddler who has way too many toys, I wanted to respect the family’s wishes — but I also didn’t want to show up empty-handed. So I brought a card for the birthday boy and put a small gift certificate for a local bakery inside.  When my family arrived at the party, a dozen huge colourful gift bags were already sitting on a table. I felt silly for...

It was fun being a kid for a day in Disney World Magic Kingdom, especially during Walt Disney World 50, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Resort. It truly felt special being a part of “The World’s Most Magical Celebration.” Seniorhood second time around My BFF M and I had made a weekend stopover in Orlando, after our Amtrak Auto Train trip south to Florida, and decided to end 2022 with a Disney vacay in honor of our mutual 65th birthdays. We had visited the Magic Kingdom as high school seniors in 1975 and felt it was worth a repeat...