Day 1) Mini food tour adventure: NYC is full of great spots. Take one morning morning to go sample hot chocolate all over the village, or decide who has the best waffles in Manhattan. If kids are picky, have them make a list of their favorite places and splurge by adventuring to a few of them in one day. (*Note* the best part of this adventure is some full, happy, and worn out kiddies by time you get home. Naptime, anyone?).

Day 2) Craft Day: St. Patrick’s Day is coming up and that means green everything! Make sure to cover your work space with newspaper in case of spills or accidents. We love:

• Construction paper rainbows. Directions: attach rainbow paper to a “cloud” made of cotton  or cut out of white paper.
•  Pots of gold. Directions: terra cotta flower pots can be painted on and filled with chocolate that looks like gold coins.
• Try-on leprechaun mask mirrors. Directions found here.
• Green garlands to decorate. Directions: cut strips of green paper, roll and stapling into a circle, repeat to make a chain.
• Shamrock decorations. Directions: cut out of construction paper or just colored onto regular paper.
• Dye Easter Eggs. Directions: Hard boil a dozen eggs, purchase a dye kit, dip eggs into colors as desired. 
• Make an Easter Bunny. Directions: cut out two almond shaped white pieces and have lil’ ones color the inside pink leaving an inch or so border. Staple or glue these on to a paper plate. Attach two googley eyes. Use a foam shape or color in a nose. For whiskers, take pipe cleaners cut in half and glue them coming out from the nose. 

Day 3) Museum Hopping: Luckily, NYC has plenty of fun museums to take lil’ ones to. Check out this great guide of museums for kids based on how old they are. Most museums let lil’ ones in for free or deeply discounted rates, making this fun and affordable!

Day 4) Spring Cleaning: This may not be the most fun activity on the list, but it’s sure to keep lil’ ones occupied. Take a day out of the week and have lil’ ones clean out their room or pick one chore to help with around the house. Getting lil’ ones in the habit of helping clean will help you and them in the long run! This is also an opportunity to share stories, memories, and crafts that turn up (and scrapbook them if you’re into that). If lil’ ones are looking for change rearrange the furniture in their room or add a new decoration as a reward for a job well done.

Day 5) Playdates: One of the best resources moms have is other moms! Get together with a few friends and have a playdate party. Keep lil’ ones entertained with Wii games, puzzles, a dance party/contest, homemade pizza making, or movies while having the chance to chat with other adults.

Day 6) Scavenger Hunt: This one can take as much or little planning as needed. Kids (supervised by an adult) can find things throughout the city, or can stay inside the home and find things. Scavenger hunts can also include mundane things such as “eating lunch” or “checking the mail” as well as wacky and ridiculous like “do a headstand and take a picture” or “find someone wearing a pink hat.”

Day 7) Relax: With school the next day, take this day to unwind. Pop some easy homemade cinnamon buns in the oven with lil’ ones, put your feet up, and enjoy a movie. Finish up any homework, pick out outfits for the next day, catch up on some reading and enjoy family dinner.

Our enthusiastic sitters are always happy to help out and take kids on adventures all over the city or help entertain them in the home! Enjoy break!

-Lauren has been babysitting for years and works in-house at LLD. Her favorite part of spring break is curling up with a book, hot chocolate, and fuzzy slippers!

Mama Bell

It was the perfect accessory to keep her curly hair pulled back while playing water games. The lil’ model loved discovering that once unfolded, the scarf became a checkers board! Our sitter had a blast teaching her how to play checkers on that sunny day. Check out the website to discover some of Alexis’ other products, like the “Little Laces” that help kids learn the difference between left and right, or the too-cute wallpaper that teaches your lil’ ones how to say “rabbit” in 7 different languages. You and your lil’ ones will love the whimsically educational aspects of all the Little Name products!

-Little Name was independently created by designer alexis g. mcvicker, who designs for the child in all of us. she has resided in nyc, philadelphia, portland oregon and currently lives in new jersey. 

Laura, Lindsay, Kristy & Jennifer. Photo courtesy of Bellamyblue.com

The children ranged in age from newborn to 8 years old. Parents had theoption to keep their children with them or to leave them with LLD’sprofessional sitters. We had a bunch of fun activities to inspire and excitethe kids! From the “black hole” to laser tag or arts & crafts toa fun scavenger hunt the kids were happy, entertained and learning. The event ended with surprise guest Darth Vader!

-LB

1. Please Touch Museum- it’s a museum for kids! They offer so much for all ages of children to do. A great event for families and kids or kids and their babysitters to attend would be the Story Book Ball which takes place on Saturday April 21st from 6-9PM. The event happens to be a fundraiser all proceeds will go to the museum’s new program “Play Without Boundaries” which helps all children of socio-economic backgrounds, especially children with disabilities, enjoy new ways of learning at the museum and in their community. In the meantime the museum is hosting “Story Time in the Story Castle” Sunday the 4th at 12:30 and 3:30. 
2. World Cafe Live- it’s the home of WXPN a radio station here in Philly but they always have concerts and events for families. Their most popular events for families and kids is called Peanut Butter and Jams. A kid friendly artists usually a musician puts on a show for children and their parent(s) every weekend. 
3. The Franklin Institute- Best Place for kids to explore, learn and have a great time. The best part of the Franklin Institute is the IMAX theater which shows great educational yet really exciting films. 

Brittany B comes to LLD referred by one of our LLD families in ny. She is both gracious and kind with a slew of Childcare experience!

One of our Chicagositters did some digging, and here is what she found going on in Chicago forthe weekend:

• There are always greatactivities for kids/families at the touristy-type locations such as The Shedd Aquarium, AdlerPlanetarium, Museum ofScience and Industry, ChicagoChildren’s Museum, and the Field Museumof Natural History!
• Try visiting the InternationalKennel Club Dog Show happening at the McCormick Place this weekend! Theyactually put on demonstrations outside of the dogs being judged and it issupposed to be fun for all ages!
• Another great event that they brought back is Skatingin the Sky at the John Hancock Observatory. How about some ice-skatingwhile looking over the city of Chicago?? Beautiful right!

If you’re still looking for a V-Day activity for the kids, the Ottendorfer Library is having a Hearts and Flowers afternoon where heart-warming stories will be read to the lil’ ones while they make exciting pop up cards. Keep an eye out at New York Public Library’s website for more upcoming events at other public libraries all over the greater NY area. Don’t forget to follow them too @nyplkids!

A big shout out goes to all of the parents who brought their kids to our Day in the Park with Lucky Lil’ Darling sitters. It was a HUGE success! We loved having the chance to meet some new adorable kids, help them get a jump-start on homework after school, and spend some time in the great outdoors. The weather was beautiful and we couldn’t keep ourselves off the playground at the park. Some of the more adventurous big kids were climbing all over the rocks! As you can see, we were having a blast!

Our sitters helped kids pick different leaves, sticks and rocks for a school project about nature. LLD sitters really do try to go above and beyond!

Before we sent the kids on their way home, we had a tasty treat of ice cream and wandered around the outskirts of the park. We really were sad to see them go! Here’s a great picture of Lindsay hanging out with some of the kids during the event.

We really hope everyone enjoyed the play date as much as we did and we can’t wait to have another Day at the Park with LLD. Keep tuned for more upcoming opportunities to get involved with LLD! As always, make sure to follow us @Luckylildarling and like us on Facebook.