 Every Thanksgiving I like to make a list of the things I am grateful for.
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 Photo Credit: Ken Teegardin Kids are a blessing and our time is together is so valuable. That is, when we are not thinking of committing some kind of felony so we can enjoy the downtime and pre-made meals in prison. So, when the days are gorgeous and our spirits are high, take advantage and do something really fun with your kids. Here are my top 5 picks for your weekend in LA: Columbia Memorial Space Center Downey If you were a fan of the film "Space Camp", or you and your kids just dream of seeing the stars up close, you have to visit the Challenger Learning Center at the Columbia Memorial Space Center in Downey. It’s open to the public Tuesday through Saturday from 10-5 and tickets are affordable at $5 for kids and adults over 4, free for the little ones. There are incredible exhibits including a real space suit, shuttle simulator, robotics lab, and a paper airplane station, plus the Challenger Learning Center where kids get to sit in as mission control. Seriously, it’s so cool you may just want to ditch your kids and go yourself.  Photo Credit: Neil Kremer Santa Monica Pier Scavenger Hunt Santa Monica No doubt about it, the Santa Monica Pier is a great, kids friendly place to visit. But now it’s even more fun because your kids can participate in a unique, and fun, scavenger hunt. A free form can be downloaded here. Make a day of it! Visit the beach and the pier, grab an ice cream cone, and enjoy a fun activity together. Discovery Cube LA Sylmar There’s a NEW children’s science museum in town, and it is not only super cool, but great for your kid’s brains, too. Discovery Cube LA just opened and has exhibits like multi-video helicopter tours, a discovery market, planetary research station, and starting February, a “Science of Hockey” exhibit featuring the LA Kings! Tickets are only $10 through the end of the month as a grand opening special, so check it out asap. It's my new favorite "discovery."  Fairies and Warriors Beverly Hills A unique way to inspire your children’s creativity is to attend the Fairies and Warriors event this Sunday, November 23rd, at Franklin Canyon Park from noon to 3. They can learn the MAYAYA dance method, learn French with Sophie & Les Petits, play with dancing wings, do tribal body marking, and listen to live music. The only fee is a suggested $5 donation. The idea behind Fairies and Warriors is to empower children of all ages to discover their natural magical beings and find both the fairy and warrior inside themselves. We could ALL use a little more magic, right? Starlight at LV Open Space Preserve Calabasas
Star Light, Star Bright, first star I see tonight (over the smog and when it’s not too cloudy and my kids are quiet and settled enough to sit still). Want to take your kids star watching? Meet up on Friday, November 21st at 6:30 at the Upper Las Virgines Canyon Open Space Preserve at the Victory Blvd. entrance trailhead for a ½ mile guided hike to the viewing platform. You will fall in love with the quiet area in Calabasas and might even snag an extra cuddle or two from your kids as you look upwards to the night sky. Share your ideas for fun family activities by following me on Twitter and Instagram @nickerberger, catching the SCV Buzz on KHTS AM 1220, or watching CTV’s The Buzz. The holiday season is upon us. So grab your family, some candy canes, and…what are they called again? Right, “sweaters”…and go have some fun with your kids! Here are my top 5 picks for Family Fun in Los Angeles this Weekend:  Photo Credit: Justin Elliot Free Old-Fashioned Video Games Chatsworth Remember the days when video games were a little less like an actual warfare and more like a gentle round dot chasing blurry colored blobs? Now you can take your kids to enjoy those games of the past for FREE! Yep, The Arcade Warehouse in Chatsworth is opening its doors up for free playtime every Saturday from 9-4. It’s at 21819 Plummer Street and you can get the full info here. *Warning, you might need an exit strategy so you don’t stay ALL day. For you, not the kids. Free Screening of Odd Squad West Hollywood In the age of cartoons and movies that feel a little too mature for even for us parents, it’s nice to find something new for your kids that you actually feel comfortable letting them watch. PBS SoCal is hosting a preview event of their new show Odd Squad, made for 1st and 2nd graders, and it’s going to be a fun free event for the whole family. Doors open at 10 am at The Cinefamily Silent Movie Theatre and there are movie snacks, activities, and prizes. You can get the details and RSVP here. It will be so pleasant watching something you don't have to explain to them later. Or have them explain to you...  Photo Credit: Trey Ratcliff Gingerbread Event at The Oaks Mall Thousand Oaks Making a Gingerbread House can be an incredibly fun and messy craft, often resulting in manic, sugar-happy kids and a few half-eaten walls left askew. Why not make it civilized by taking them to the 4th Annual Gingerbread Event at The Oaks Mall in Thousand Oaks? It’s Sunday, November 16th, from 11-3 at the JC Penny Court and your kids will be inspired by the amazing gingerbread houses on display from all sorts of local businesses. Your kids can make a gingerbread man craft for $5, and proceeds will go to the Cancer Support Community. It’s a messy win-win for all! A Walk into the Chumash World Pacific Palisades The weather is at it’s best right now, so you might want to take your kids out to enjoy it. On Saturday, November 15th at 3pm, meet at the front parking lot to take “A Walk into the Chumash World” at Temescal Gateway Park. This 2-hour gentle walk led by a ranger will talk about the ways that the Chumash Indians used natural resources to create a sustainable way of life. So you will get fresh air, exercise, learn a little something, and it’s free. Any reason you can think of NOT to go? Me neither.  Mom Expo Calabasas
We all know being a Mom is quite the journey, so why not go to an event that celebrates you and all of your hard work? The Mom Expo is coming to Calabasas and you are not going to want to miss it! The event runs Friday, November 14 from 10-3 and Saturday the 15th from 10-4 at the Agoura Hills/Calabasas Community Center. Tickets are only $5 for adults and free for anyone under the age of 12. More tickets are available at www.socalmomexpo.com. There are vendors, yoga demos, workshops and panels, and even a book signing. And it’s all about you, moms! GO, because it’s not often that you hear that phrase anymore. Share your ideas for fun family activities by following me on Twitter @nickerberger, catching the SCV Buzz on KHTS AM 1220, or watching CTV’s The Buzz. This weekend is really an extended one with Veterans Day and all, except for that weird Monday just stuck in the middle and ruining the whole thing. So take the opportunity to have an adventure that is far from home…but not THAT far. Here are my top 5 picks for Family Fun in Los Angeles this Weekend:  Photo by: Rick Bottom Lavender Faire at the Muse School Good smell lovers rejoice, you can make your nose very happy this Saturday at the Lavender Faire! Saturday, November 8th, from 10-4 head over to this free event at the Muse school in Calabasas and enjoy eco-vendors, kids activities, and great food, plus sustainable workshops for the whole family. Visit www.museschool.org/lavender-faire for all the info. Let’s face it, with all the bad smells our beloved little ones can provide, might be nice to fill your nose with some good ones.  Club MomMe Fall Fest It has to be a pretty amazing event to make me get on the 405 freeway on a weekend, but the Club MomMe Fall Fest is so totally worth it that I’m making the drive with a smile on my face and my kids in the backseat. You should make the journey as well with the whole family because this is one of those times that you and your husband AND your kids will all have something fun to do! There are panels and speakers for you and the spouse, a Daddy (and Mommy too) lounge for hanging and watching the game, a kids activities lounge with a certain unnamed “cold” princesses and some superheroes, and innovative products that might even make the hardest job in the world a little easier. Visit clubmommefamilyfest.com for info on tickets. And give me a honk on the 405…  Calabasas Classic Run As the holiday season revs up, you may find that you have consumed enough calories to feed a small nation for a month…so why not burn it off in a fun way that also does a little good too? It’s time for the Calabasas Classic Run! The Calabasas Classic, benefitting the Community Center Alliance, will be held on Sunday, November 9 in front of City Hall in Calabasas. Runs start somewhere around "crack of dawn" o'clock and continue through to "almost awake as long as I have caffeine" -thirty. The event will feature 10K and 5k runs, plus a one mile Fun Run for families, plus a fun expo with activities for all ages. Visit www.calabasasclassicrun.com for more info and registration. I'll be there too...clapping for you with the one hand that isn't holding my coffee.  Photo by: Nauj Brown Hello Kitty Exhibit Seeing that iconic white cat just brings back a whole bunch of childhood memories that I would love to revisit, like cute lunch boxes and tiny ineffective erasers. If you share my love of the original adorable cat then you should take the kids to the exhibit “Hello! Exploring the Supercute World of Hello Kitty” at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles. The tickets are timed so make sure you book ahead here. You might want to plan something dour for the rest of the day to counteract ALL THAT CUTENESS!  Reagan Library: Amazing Automobiles
If your kids think cars are AMAZING, then they need you to drive them to the Reagan Library’s Amazing Automobiles: The Ultimate Car Exhibit. They will have tons of cars on display including the Pope-Mobile, the car from that classic race scene in the move Grease, and even the Ford Thunderbird drove in Thelma and Louise. This is all thanks to the museum’s partnership with The Petersen Museum. It’s running now through May 1st and tickets are $16 for adults, $9 for teens, and $6 for kids 3-10. Click here for details. Think of how great it will be to visit something presidential WITHOUT having to talk politics! Share your ideas for fun family activities by following me on Twitter @nickerberger, catching the SCV Buzz on KHTS AM 1220 or at scvbuzz.com, or watching CTV’s The Buzz. |
AuthorLaura Nickerson, Queen of cheap and local family activities, Momblogger of 2, Host of CTV's The Buzz and KHTS AM 1220's SCV Buzz, visit #buzzLA for daily tips. Archives
November 2015
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