Had so much fun chatting with WPIX 11 about virtual school field trips! You may not be traveling as much this spring, and schools probably aren't doing their normal field trips, but you can still get a little bit of that kind of experience from home. Hear me talk about some of my favorites!
PARENTING
How to Keep Your Cool Around Your Kids When You're Ready to Blow
The Best Empty Nest Advice for Parents Whose Kids Are Leaving the Coop
Why Do Children Have Imaginary Friends, and How Far Do You Have to Play Along?
Gossip Is the Best Toddler Parenting Hack (if You Do It Within Earshot)
What Is TikTok? A Full Guide for Parents
Justin Baldoni, Star of 'Jane the Virgin,' on Raising His Kids Free of Gender Stereotypes
Tamron Hall Reveals Her Toughest Parenting Moment, and It's so Relatable
What Are Standard Babysitting Rates? It Depends on Your Location, Family, and Priorities
30 Fun Things to Do at a Sleepover to Keep Them Busy All Night Long
These Will Be the Most Popular Baby Names of 2020
The Most Popular Baby Girl Names for 2020 Will Be Inspired by Nature
The Most Popular Baby Boy Names for 2020 Are Inspired by Travel
ENTERTAINMENT
20+ Best Kids' Movies 2020 Has in Store for Families
Here Is Every Confirmed Original Movie Coming to the Disney+ Streaming Service
A Full List of Every New Disney Show Available on the Disney+ Streaming Service
A Full List of Every Disney Live-Action Remake Coming Soon
A Complete List of Every Upcoming Superhero Movie, Including Ones From Marvel and DC
How to Watch All 23 Marvel Movies in the Correct Order
10 'Game of Thrones' Locations You Can Actually Visit in Real Life
20 Best End-of-the-World Movies for When You're in the Mood for an Existential Panic
Blippi's National Tour Won't Include the Guy Who Plays Blippi, and Parents Are Pissed
Build-a-Bear's 'Frozen II' Bears Will Melt Any Frozen Heart
Everything You Need to Know About LEGOLAND New York, LEGO's Biggest Theme Park Yet
Mattel Makes History by Launching a Gender-Inclusive Line of Dolls
HOLIDAY
65 Kids' Halloween Costume Ideas for Easy, Creative, and Unique Trick-or-Treating
20 Unique Toddler Halloween Costumes That Are Too Stinkin' Cute
What Is Trunk-or-Treat? Halloween Tailgating Is Genius When You Really Think About It
40 Trunk-or-Treat Ideas for the Spookiest Car Ever
40 Best Halloween Movies on Netflix That Will Give You the Chills
20 Coolest Halloween Gender Reveal Ideas That Celebrate Your Little Pumpkin
10 'The Purge' Costumes for People Who Are Dead Serious About Looking Scary
20 Cute Baby Thanksgiving Outfits for Their First Turkey Day
60 Christmas Crafts to Bring a Handmade Holiday to Every Room in the House
The Best Types of Christmas Trees for People Who Want the Real-Tree Smell in Their House
20 Christmas Gift Tags for the Perfect Finishing Touch
How to Tell Your Kids About Santa Without Breaking Their Hearts
20 Baby's First Christmas Ornaments That Celebrate Your Growing Famil
30+ Best Christmas Books for Readers of All Ages That Aren't "The Night Before Christmas"
20 Classic Christmas Cards to Delight Your Friends and Relatives
16 Creative Christmas Card Photo Ideas for Your Best Holiday Greeting Ever
GIFT GUIDES
20+ Magical Unicorn Gifts for People Who Love Rainbows, Glitter, and Sparkles
20 Toy Advent Calendars for Kids to Get Them Excited About the Run-Up to Christmas
These Cool Advent Calendars Make the Countdown to Christmas Extra Exciting
Chocolate Advent Calendars for People Who Want a Sugar-Filled Christmas Countdown
The Best Advent Calendars for Men Who Love Beer, Comics, Meat, and More
Stocking Stuffers for Teens That They'll *Actually* Want
Target Says These Toys Will Be the Most Wished-for Christmas Gifts
Walmart Says These Will Be the Hottest Holiday Toys for 2019
20+ Best Baby Gifts to Delight Brand-New Parents
10 of the Coolest Baby Boy Gifts to Buy in 2019, According to Parents
10 Fun Gender-Neutral Gifts for Babies Whose Parents Want to Be Surprised
SHOPPING/STORES
15 of the Coolest Kids’ Clothing Stores to Shop Online
The Best Baby Stores Online for Parents to Bookmark Right Now
Hasbro Promises to Remove Nearly All Plastic From Its Packaging By 2022
Disney Stores Are Setting up Shop Inside 25 Target Locations, and We Want to Live in Them
Walmart's Car Seat Recycling Program Means Savings for Parents — Here's How to Get Some Money Back
STORIES I EDITED FROM OTHER WRITERS
Do Girls Really Prefer Pink? There's No Hard-Wired Reason for Girls to Choose Pink Over Blue
13 Things Nobody Tells You About Postpartum Recovery (But Really Should)
Who Are My Kids Talking to Online? Internet Safety Facts for Parenting in a Digital Age
How to Spot and Treat Anxiety in Kids, According to Child Psychologists
Child Therapists Explain How to Stop Your Kids' After-School Meltdowns for Good
The Sunday Scaries Are Tough, but Here's How to Beat Them
The Best Ways to Handle Teen Anger, According to Psychologists
Long-Distance Relationship Tips for Couples Who Are Separated by Miles
Are There Foods That Induce Labor? Why Overdue Moms Can Skip the Eggplant Pizza
Do Kids Actually Need Playdates?
20+
Pretty Christmas Living Room Décor Ideas for the Coziest Room in the House
20+ Christmas Mantel Ideas for a Holly, Jolly House
ESSAYS I EDTED FROM OTHER WRITERS
I Happily Changed My Last Name After I Got Married, but I Didn't Realize What I'd Lose
I Won't Let My Son Play 'Fortnite,' and This Is How His Friends Reacted
My Husband and I Plan Our Whole Lives Around My Chronic Paranoid Schizophrenia
Breast Cancer Made Me a Better Mom
I Wasn't Ready to Talk to My 3-Year-Old About Death. Then Nana's Cat Died.
Parents, Why Do We Belittle Each Other's Problems?
My Daughters are Ditching Their Big Dreams for Their Cell Phones
Disney World is on of my favorite places on Earth, so I was extremely excited to be one of the first to visit Pandora: The World of Avatar in Disney's Animal Kingdom for Parents. I had some tips on traveling there with the kiddos.
Click through to read the rest of the piece at Parents."1. Carve out some time to just explore the land. You may think that, with only two rides, it'll be easy to breeze through Pandora, but there's a lot to be seen just by walking around the paths. One Disney expert I spoke with suggested that you plan on spending 45 minutes there in addition to the time you'll spend waiting on line for the attractions. Look for interactive elements, like playable Na'vi drums and exotic plants that steam and squirt water at guests.
2. Pandora looks completely different in the daytime, when you can see all the details of the extra-terrestrial flora, and at night, when the bioluminescence of the land gives everything a blacklit glow. It's worth it to see it in both lights. Animal Kingdom is looking to beef up its other nighttime offerings, like adding the new Rivers of Light show (which was sadly rained out for my visit). If the kiddos can't stay up that late, though, you can get a good idea of the bioluminescence in the Na'vi River Journey.
3. Talk with the cast members. Everybody has a tale of how they ended up on Pandora—you can start by asking them if they were born on Pandora or Earth. The "Field Guides" walking around can give you even more background about the world's creatures, teach you some of the Na'vi language, and offer hints about what you may see, like how to tell the difference between a true Na'vi and a lab-created avatar. (Hint: Count the fingers.)"
Incredible Views from the Tallest Observation Wheels in the World
High Roller
Las Vegas, Nevada
Height: 550 feet
Ticket price: $24.95-$34.95
What you’ll see from the top: The current record-holder for the tallest observation wheel in the world (for now), the High Roller offers 360-degree views of The Strip (including the Bellagio fountains), along with Red Rock Canyon, the valley, and the mountains beyond.
FYI: Who needs a drive-through Vegas chapel? The High Roller offers its own quickie weddings, where you can say “I do” 550 feet in the air. Wedding packages can include a private cabin with a private VIP entrance, a personal in-cabin bartender, 90 minutes of photography, and room for up to 25 guests.
Click through to see the full slideshow at the Condé Nast Traveler.
Image Courtesy of the Linq
Sky-High History: Landmarks with Amazing Views
Sure, cities are constantly debuting new skyscrapers with amazing observation decks—but it's not only modern buildings that provide stellar views. These structures, all built before the 20th century, offer bird's-eye views that have stood the test of time, and offer a little bit of history to go with them. Sure, cities are constantly debuting new skyscrapers with amazing observation decks—but it's not only modern buildings that provide stellar views. These structures, all built before the 20th century, offer bird's-eye views that have stood the test of time, and offer a little bit of history to go with them.
Mole AntonellianaAt nearly 550 feet tall, Turin's Mole Antonelliana has earned plenty of bragging rights. It claims to be the tallest museum in the world, along with the tallest building in Italy, and it was once the tallest brick building in the world. One advantage it has over other historic platforms: You don't have to climb any stairs to take advantage of its height. Instead, take an all-glass elevator to the top, where you can see all the way to the Alps. Then, explore the rest of the building, which is now home to Turin's Museo Nazionale del Cinema and contains a vast collection of artifacts related to the history of film.
Click through to read the full slideshow at the Condé Nast Traveler
Image: © Stefano Cavoretto / Alamy
Oscars 2015: Trips Inspired by the Best Picture Nominees
The Imitation Game
Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) kept lots of secrets during his time at the United Kingdom's Bletchley Park, where he and other MI6 agents and mathematicians worked to break German codes during World War II. If he were alive today, he might be shocked to find out that now the whole complex is open to the public. The site may look more like a Victorian weekend retreat than an army base—but that was exactly the point. Today, the area has been restored with exhibits dedicated to the secret codebreaking operations that went on at the site. There, you can find examples of the "unbreakable" German Enigma machines, as well as a fully operational reproduction of the machine Turing help build to break the Enigma codes. Hut 8, where Turing worked, features a re-creation of his own office, and the park also hosts an exhibition dedicated to The Imitation Game, with props and costumes from the movie.
Click through to see the full slideshow at The Condé Nast Traveler.
Image: The Weinstein Company
Our Favorite Pop-Up Ice Skating Rinks Around the World
Le Grand Palais des Glaces
Paris, France
The gorgeous, Beax-Arts Grand Palais was built for the 1900 World's Fair, but it's still turning heads more than a century later. Starting in December, the floor of the glass exhibition hall is frozen to form the world's biggest indoor ice rink, checking in at more than 29,000 square feet. Come when it gets dark to see the projections and animations that light up the massive rink. Then stay until late—starting at 9 p.m. and lasting until 2 a.m., DJs provide the music while visitors dance under stars visible through the glass ceiling. Open through March 8
Click through to see the full slideshow at the Condé Nast Traveler.
Photo: Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images
Scariest Ghost Tours for Halloween
Explore haunted spaces, meet scary spirits, hear dark legends—and, yes, maybe learn a little history—on these ghost tours.
Boroughs of the Dead
New York City
Tour: The Ultimate Greenwich Village Ghost Tour takes guests through some of New York City's most famous haunts, including the "House of Death," (pictured) a house that is haunted by 22 spirits—including (possibly) the ghost of Mark Twain, who lived there for a year.
What Else You'll Pass: St. Mark’s Church in the Bowery, McSorley's Tavern, the Public Theatre, the Merchant's House Museum, and Washington Square Park.
You Might Meet: A boy who haunts the sixth floor of Hayden Hall at New York University. He hanged himself there more than 20 years ago; now he spends his time opening and closing drawers and moving furniture around.
FYI: All of Boroughs of the Dead's tour guides are writers who specialize in horror and speculative fiction (and a few of them are actors, too)—so they know how to tell a good ghost story.
Tours meet at St. Mark’s Church in the Bowery, 131 E 10th St, New York, NY, 646-932-0680; boroughsofthedead.com. Tours last two hours and cost $20 in advance, $25 at the door.
Click through to see the full slideshow at the Condé Nast Traveler
Photo Courtesy of Boroughs of the Dead
A travel piece about the amazing Ocean House in Rhode Island. Download the PDF above, or read it online here.