Forget about crossing off your older kiddo’s name with a Sharpie just to kinda sorta scratch your younger one’s name inside a hand-me-down shirt, jacket or pair of pants—because L.L. Bean’s Hand-Me-Down Trail tag is the solution you need right now.
Whether you’re handing clothes down from one sib to the next, giving them to your BFF for their younger child or donating them in any other way, the all-important name tag can get in the way.
Now with L.L. Bean’s genius idea, you can map out at least three different owners of the item. The Hand-Me-Down Trail tag looks like a pint-sized nature map and includes space for up to three different children’s names along a tiny dashed path.
The Hand-Me-Down Trail tag is available in select L.L. Bean kids’ items, including everything from rain jackets and cozy fleece vests to the brand’s insulated playground pants!
With our travel plans waylaid for most of 2020, we’ve been eagerly researching new places to explore (fingers crossed) in 2021 and beyond. Adding to our list of places to go before the kids get too big, is Peppa Pig World in Paultons Park. Read on to learn more!
Paultons Park is located around a two-hour drive from London in Hampshire, England. Voted the United Kingdom´s #1 amusement park in 2020 for a fifth consecutive year, it boasts more than 70 rides and attractions including the only Peppa Pig World.
Families can experience the popular British children’s book and animated characters in real life over five acres including Grampy Rabbit’s Sailing Club, Peppa’s Balloon Ride, George’s Dinosaur Adventure and more. Plus you’ll find Peppa’s Toy Shop, the largest and only dedicated Peppa Pig shop in the world.
If you’re worried your older kids won’t find enough to do, Paultons Park also offers other areas to explore including Lost Kingdom—a dinosaur themed area—and the highly anticipated Tornado Springs debuting in March 2021.
In a year unlike any other Kelley Blue Book is giving consumers an exciting new way to experience the 2021 Best Buy Awards with the launch of KBB.com HQ, a fully immersive virtual island created within the popular video game Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Players who visit the island can snap share-worthy photos, grab cool merchandise from the shop and participate in games and activities like virtually fishing in the ocean and rivers. As players fish out items to keep the water clean, Kelley Blue Book will donate up to $10,000 to American Rivers to help preserve rivers across the country.
“Car buying is meant to be an enjoyable experience, and what better way to celebrate the 2021 Best Buy Awards than through engaging with consumers in a way we’ve never done before with an activity that’s not only fun, but has also been a small escape from everything going on during 2020,” said Greta Crowley, vice president of marketing for Kelley Blue Book. “Games based on life simulation have surged during this time and we’re excited to venture into the gaming world for the 2021 Best Buy Awards. For those on the hunt for their next vehicle, we’ve designed the Best Buy Awards to instill confidence in the car shopping journey and help buyers narrow down their consideration set by defining the best of the best, so there is sure to be a car for everyone.”
Players can visit KBB.com HQ in Animal Crossing: New Horizons for a limited time, Dec. 8 through Dec. 17 from 3 p.m. to 12 p.m. ET.
The island will be accessible only through a unique Dodo code that players can receive after emailing KBBAnimalCrossing@coxautoinc.com.
Taylor Swift is bringing an “intimate” concert film for her latest album, “Folklore,” exclusively to Disney+ just in time for Thanksgiving. Swift along with Aaron Dessner (The National), Jack Antonoff (Bleachers) and Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) created an album that crossed genres, a musical journey that allows us to cry and laugh, and during these trying times, makes us feel like we’re not quite so alone. They recorded folklore thousands of miles apart from each other and had never been in the same room together until they filmed the folklore: the long pond studio sessions special.
folklore: the long pond studio sessions was filmed in upstate New York in Sept. 2020 and will premiere exclusively on Disney+ on Wed., Nov. 25, at 12:01 a.m. PT. Taylor, accompanied by co-producers Dessner and Antonoff along with a guest appearance by Vernon, performs each song in order of her critically adored, five star album, “folklore” and for the very first time, reveals the stories and secrets behind all 17 songs.
folklore: the long pond studio sessions was directed by Swift and filmed on 6 x Lumix S1H mirrorless cameras with Leica lenses embedded in the studio, along with a one Alexa LF with an Angenieux 24-290 on a Furio robotic camera with 30+ feet of curved track.
Congratulations are in order. Rose Leslie debuted her baby bump in the new issue of Make Magazine. She and husband Kit Harrington portrayed star-crossed lovers Jon Snow and Ygritte on Game of Thrones.
Make Magazine shared an Instagram post featuring Leslie with the caption, “Not many people can pull off a Stella McCartney floor-length silk frock and a fashion shoot when expecting a baby but Rose showed no sign of fatigue on our world exclusive fashion shoot for the latest issue of Make.”
The actress and her former Game of Thrones co-star sparked dating rumors in 2012 while working on the series as co-stars. The couple were married in 2018.
Did you know that Chuck E. Cheese has a 5-star island on Animal Crossing? Ask any kid and they’ll tell you that’s a big deal. Now the family entertainment venue is having their first ever online game-a-thon on Twitch on Sept. 12. in celebration of National Video Games Day, benefiting Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
On Sat., Sept. 12, Chuck E. Cheese will host “Gaming for Good”, a game-a-thon streaming event. The eight-hour event will take place on Twitch, allowing fans to play and follow along on their quest to win crowns with other social media influencers on “Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout”. Additionally, they’ll be celebrating birthdays on their 5-star Animal Crossing Island that includes a one-of-a-kind Chuck E. Cheese virtual arcade and stage. During the live event, Chuck E. Cheese will encourage fans to click on a special “donate” button as an easy way for fans to contribute to Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
“This year, not only are guests able maximize their play time in our game rooms, but they can also join us at home for our first-ever online game-a-thon, benefitting our charity partner, Boys & Girls Clubs of America,” said CMO of CEC Entertainment, Sherri Landry. “We’re eager to host this virtual event and use our online presence for a great cause.”
Plus, in-store, guests can receive one hour of All You Can Play games for just $1 with any $20 purchase. This promotion is available at participating Chuck E. Cheese locations and is valid through Sept. 20, 2020. Check http://www.chuckecheese.com for the list of locations currently open for games. With All You Can Play, guests can play unlimited games during the play time purchased, with the ability to pause the time once. The time expires at the end of the day of purchase.
Chuck E. Cheese is committed to providing a fun and safe environment for cast members and guests. A video of the brand’s cleaning and reopening procedures, and a message from CEO, David McKillips of CEC Entertainment, can be found here.
Gamers rejoice! Nintendo just announced a new addition to the Switch’s 2020 lineup. Paper Mario: The Origami Kingwill launch on Jul. 17.
According to Nintendo, “Mario faces one of his most thrilling challenges yet in Paper Mario: The Origami King when the dangerous King Olly unleashes his plan to fold the entire world. Just when matters couldn’t get worse, he’s bound Princess Peach’s Castle in giant, colored streamers and transported it to a distant mountain. He’s even transformed Bowser’s minions into Folded Soldiers and enlisted them in his treacherous cause.”
The Origami King will join the Switch’s current lineup including Xenoblade Chronicles and Bravely Default II and their hit game Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which has sold more than 13 million copies.
For Sherrie Neely, one of the hardest parts of social distancing is telling her daughter she can’t walk over to her grandparent’s house to visit. Six-year-old Kira Neely has a very close relationship with her grandparents, who live right across the street from her Nashville, Tennessee home. Kira and grandpa have come up with a fun way to stay connected.
Neely recently shared a sweet video on Facebook of her daughter having a dance-off with her grandfather, both in front of their respective homes. The duo are dancing to the Jackson Five song “ABC.” The clip shows the duo taking turns performing dance moves, watching each other from across the street.
She wrote, “This is the street that separates my house from my parent’s house, and is typically crossed multiple times throughout the day. Kira loves her “Papa” so much and they’ve now started daily “dance offs” since the virus is keeping them separated. My Dad is turning 81 years old next month and I’ve never seen him dance, but he’s really putting forth great effort and has some special moves!!!!”
Kira’s grandpa also likes sitting outside so he can watch Kira playing outside of her house.
It’s clear to see that these two have a very special relationship.
—Jennifer Swartvagher
Featured photo: Stone-Hall Photography, Other photos courtesy of Sherrie Neely
Animal Crossing fans have a reason to celebrate. The newest installment of the beloved Nintendo series, New Horizons, is dropping next week. Anticipation for the release has been so high that New Horizons and its related merchandise has been topping Amazon’s best-sellers list for the past few months now. Along with the new game, Nintendo is also releasing a limited-edition Animal Crossing themed Switch console. Priced at $299, the same as the original Switch console, this new release is decorated Animal Crossing decals that feature Tom Nook and Nooklings, Timmy and Tommy.
Animal Crossings: New Horizons, the game drops on March 20 and is available for pre-order today at Amazon and other retailers. The game retails for $59.99.
As a parent, grandparent and educator, I am fascinated by the interactions of parents and their children. When I travel to New York for work several times a month, I have lots of opportunities for fieldwork as I make my way from Manhattan to Brooklyn. There are families with young children everywhere!
While venturing out for a long walk this past Saturday morning with my husband, Mark, I witnessed a father and his young son negotiating how the child would walk across the street. Actually, negotiating is the wrong word, because the parent was very clear that there was only one way to get to the other side… holding hands.
As those of you who have struggled with the independent child who is not a hand holder know, a situation like this—where a child’s safety is at stake—can be especially challenging,
Pedestrian accidents are a leading cause of death and trauma in young children and it is a matter that parents and caregivers should be informed and clear about.
Children should be taught from a very early age about street safety. Modeling actions and saying the words out loud, “Stop, look (left, right and left again) and listen” should be part of every stroll when young children are out walking. As well as learning to recognize a cross-walk or as it is known in some places, a zebra crossing (kids love that!) And no one’s going to like this part: holding hands is an absolute imperative.
Children are impulsive and even those children who run ahead and seem to always stop when they get to the corner, cannot be trusted to not dash out for a ball or shiny coin or some other distraction. Children under the age of 7 do not have the cognitive, perceptual or behavioral skills to be trusted not to act quickly and impulsively in certain situations. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, children up to the age of 10 are not developmentally capable of judging the distance and speed of cars.
An Academy study showed that parent’s expectations of their child’s ability to assess street safety were not in line with their developmental ability and in most cases, parents overestimated their child’s ability to correctly judge safety situations.
Everything about parenting is a balancing act. Reinforcing your child’s independence while keeping them safe and healthy is just another example of the daily challenges all parents face. But, just like the use of a car seat or seat belt, pedestrian safety should not be negotiable.
I will add that in addition to modeling good street safe behavior, including not walking and texting or looking at your phone, you can have a conversation with your child about how to be safe before venturing out. That’s what good nursery school teachers do before every outing, whether it’s moving from the classroom to the gym, or venturing out to the neighborhood park.
When parents at our school were surveyed about the pluses and minuses of using the local city park for our outdoor play, many parents cited going to the nearby park as a positive because in addition to being a great park for fresh air and physical activity, their children through their daily walks to the park had become better at street safety; holding hands and knowing what to do at each street crossing.
The father that I witnessed while strolling through Brooklyn, reminded his whining and resistant child, in a kind but firm voice, that the rule was that you hold hands when crossing the street. No discussion. The child didn’t like it, complained loudly, but got to the other side of an extremely busy street safely.
I restrained myself from approaching this father and congratulating him on his clarity and success. But what I witnessed reminded me of the importance of this issue. Safe travels!
I am a parent and grandparent with over four decades of experience in early childhood education. I share my passion, wisdom and experience, with parents and the people who care for and about children at Little Folks Big Questions, where we're out to answer the questions parents face in today's world.
