Your weekly curated guide to activities in and around Boston. By Kim Foley MacKinnon Thursday-Sunday, December 2-5 Gingerbread Festival Gingerbread houses are always fun to see, especially when there are more than 100 in one place. Check out dozens of creations built by community members, businesses and families. Jeremiah Lee Mansion, 161 Washington St., Marblehead. Various times. Visit the website ... Read More »

Your weekly curated guide to activities in and around Boston. by Kim Foley MacKinnon November 22 – 30 Friday, November 26 Friday After Thanksgiving Chain Reaction This annual family fest at the MIT Museum has teams link their machines together for a crazy chain reaction. MIT Museum, Rockwell Cage Gym, 77 Mass. Ave., Cambridge. From 1-4 p.m. Visit the website ... Read More »

This time of year, we’re supposed to count our blessings. For me, it is a very, very long list — too long for a blog post, certainly. Instead, I decided to focus on five products I’m thankful for as a mom, which is a much shorter list and seems more appropriate for this particular venue. 1. Xplory stroller Now that ... Read More »

Your dollars spent at Magic Beans and other local businesses have three times as much impact on your community as dollars spent at national chains. When you shop local, you simultaneously create jobs, fund more city services through sales tax, invest in neighborhood improvement and promote community development. Did you know that small businesses are the largest employer nationally? We ... Read More »

You can recycle a cardboard box. Or you can turn it into a car. A robot. A playhouse. A birdhouse. Or anything else you can imagine. New craft kits from makedo make it really easy to create all kinds of playthings from leftover cardboard. These kits come with a special saw that cuts through cardboard but poses no hazard to ... Read More »

Ben Rudnick & Friends This Sunday, Nov 21st at 10:30 a.m. The Coolidge Kids Show proudly presents Ben Rudnick and Friends. Ben Rudnick’s adventurous acoustic music and lyrically humorous style have won him oodles of awards — and fans. The whole family will enjoy it. Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for children. Check out their website here. Best ... Read More »

Your weekly curated guide to activities in and around Boston. by Kim Foley MacKinnon November 15-21 Thursday, November 18 Moms Going Out Join Moms Going Out (including me!) at Healthy Habits Kitchen to learn how to build a better meal in minutes with Cristin Jones, a registered dietitian and the writer of the popular blog (Eat Like Me) on SELF ... Read More »

Magic Beans is proudly co-sponsoring the weekly Coolidge Kids Show at the Coolidge Corner Theater in Brookline. These shows are a great way to get out  and about on Sunday mornings. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for kids, and free for lap-sitters! Here are some of their upcoming attractions: Best of New York International Children’s Film Festival: Kid Flix ... Read More »

This Saturday, Nov. 13, is ASTRA’s (American Specialty Toy Retailing Association) first ever Neighborhood Toy Store Day. As a local toy store, we’re so excited to be a part of this celebration. With the economic ups and downs of the last decade, neighborhood toy stores have become something of an endangered species. But many of the ones that remain are ... Read More »

Your weekly curated guide to activities in and around Boston. By Kim Foley MacKinnon November 8-14 November through April Belmont Kidspace Opens Need an indoor space when the weather is bad and the four walls of your house are closing in? Just in time for winter, the Belmont Kidspace opens for the season. There’s a large play area, trains, trucks, ... Read More »