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emilykatie · 4 years

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20 Dad Things to Do on Father's Day

Make this Father’s Day Gifts delivery a great one with these 20 pop-approved games, projects and activities. Getting messy is definitely required!

In her job as a physician's assistant, my wife has been required to work in the E.R., get ready for 6 a.m. surgeries, and be on call — all things that have led to a rewarding career but nothing close to what our parents called a “normal work schedule.”

As such, it’s often just our two sons and me, the three Vrabel men, waking up to a day full of endless possibility and promise. And these days tend to begin the same way: with me making breakfast and asking, “So what’s on the agenda today?” and the boys responding with…well, abject silence, since they’re upstairs furiously Minecrafting while I talk to a stack of speedily cooling Belgian waffles.

Given the opportunity, my sons would be pretty well satisfied devoting one to 48 hours of their day to Minecraft. In these cases, it falls to me to devise the plan for the day, an activity or outing that not only has enough appeal to peel them away from their 8-bit fantasyland but also accomplishes the following: 1) enriches their lives; 2) helps them grow into wise, fulfilled adults; 3) is mentally active; 4) is physically active; 5) falls within my state’s laws of personal safety; 6) doesn’t cost $20,000; 7) is something I wouldn’t mind doing either. So, you know, no pressure.

Every parent wants to fill his children’s hours with activities that will empower and enrich them; every parent has stared at a wall repeating, “Yeah, I have no idea what that is.” To that end—and to celebrate Happy Fathers Day Gift to India online delivery —here’s an incomplete list of DAD things to do with your kids, as written by actual dads, prominent bloggers, musicians, and me, a humble writer-slash-Belgian-waffle aficionado.

1. Play in the street.

Sam Weinman, a New York City editor and author of Win at Losing: How Our Biggest Setbacks Can Lead to Our Greatest Gains, approaches parenting with this idea: “Allow them to be the conduit to your younger self. I like to remind my boys that being a kid never gets old.” His go-to? Dragging out two goals, waiting for traffic to subside, and playing a little hockey in the street. He’s even turned it into an annual event: a round-robin tournament with four kids and a dad on each team. Winners take home a replica of the Stanley Cup trophy—which is actually a popcorn maker. “It’s arguably the highlight of the year.”

2. Introduce them to a record player. Now, granted, this isn’t for everybody: It doesn’t always work to have a 2-year old’s peanut butter–covered hands around a precision device that doesn’t play if you bump it. But some years ago, I ventured into the attic to retrieve my old and spider-infested collection of records, and on many nights since, we’ve been charmed by this relic from the past. We page through the massive art, make jokes about bizarre 1970s-era artist names (“Meat Loaf?” my eighth-grader said one night, shaking his head in bemused disbelief. “Why don’t people make any sense?”), and indulge in the novel idea of listening to something straight through, instead of fast-forwarding or commanding Alexa to play something different.

RELATED: How to Spend More Quality Time With Your Child

3. Invent new cereals. According to my 6-year-old, I have been eating Cocoa Pebbles incorrectly for decades. He told me this while retrieving two other boxes of cereal, from which he created an innovative new breakfast called CocoaLuckyTrix. For the week after, we started breakfast by engaging in some cereal alchemy, producing such inventions as Cinnamon Toast Flakes, Rice Krispiespuffs, and my personal favorite, Marshmallow Apple Pebbles.

4. Learn which colas can explode. Everybody knows that Diet Coke + Mentos = geysers of carbonated awesomeness. But though it’s the most famous reactive liquid, Diet Coke isn’t the only drink that will activate on contact with Mentos and make a mess of your kitchen! Head to the grocery store and grab a sample of other sodas. (This is for science, so the cheap bottles work just fine.) If you’re feeling especially MythBuster-y, tape several pieces of poster board together, mark off heights, and see which beverage creates the greatest geyser. (Hint: Don’t skimp on the diet root beer.)

5. Send screens back in time. If your kids are into video games anyway, bond with and/or horrify them by showing them the ancient video games you had to deal with as a child. There are a few ways to do this: You can get an Atari simulator at Walmart for about $40, and Nintendo has released new (and tiny) “Classic Edition” plug-and-play versions of its NES and Super Nintendo consoles. The NES Classic Edition comes preloaded with 30 games, including Super Mario Bros. 3, Metroid, The Legend of Zelda, Dr. Mario, and Castlevania.

The Super NES Classic has Street Fighter II, Super Mario World, Super Mario Kart, and Super Metroid. Best part: Both let you save points, so hitting the power button no longer means obliterating your progress! Bonus: If your kids are into Minecraft, the graphics and gameplay on a Super Nintendo will seem like some impossible magic from the future.

RELATED: Want to Feel Old? Watch This Little Girl Try to Run a Gameboy

6. Climb your city. Troy Carpenter, dad and Instagram star @redblueox, has an altitude-themed go-to for his oldest: visiting monuments and ascending to urban heights. He’ll take his kids to Indianapolis’s downtown Soldiers & Sailors monument or figure out which days of the week he can visit the top floor of other skyscrapers. If you’re in a city with older kids, finding the highest heights can be a perfect mix of urban adventuring and making sure they get enough exercise to sleep well that night.

7. Create a spy network. Few concepts capture a kid’s imagination more than secret messages, which is what compelled Coy Bowles, guitarist with the Zac Brown Band, to fashion a game out of a quirk in his house’s design. “We have a 4-inch tall pipe that connects one recording-studio room to another,” he says. “Its purpose is to pass cables through the wall, but my daughter and I now use it for fun.” Bowles and his budding spy swap messages and toys through it. “It’s cute to see her so curious about what’s happening on the other side of the wall.” No pipe? Hide messages anywhere: in drawers, behind bookshelves, in the vegetable crisper, inside a favorite book.

8. Invent stories (with a little help). Take a few sheets of paper, cut them into squares, and write a single and possibly hilarious word on each. Biscuits. Alien. Rhinoceros. Havarti cheese. Then ask your kids to make up a tale, occasionally flipping a square over and adding the word on it to the story. It’s 100 percent free, 102 percent imaginative, and customizable to you and your family. (Translated: “You can use whichever ridiculous words you want.”) It’s this strategy that once made my 6-year-old spin a fantastic yarn about a space pirate who uses lightning to fight a volcano inside an evil toilet. (Full disclosure: His stories always seem to include a toilet.)

9. Go playground shopping. If you live in an area with multiple playgrounds, turn your travels into a piratical expedition. Make a playground map, mark the spots you want to hit, and devise a plan with your kids for exploring each one. Make lists of the best parts of each—which one has the twistiest slide, the biggest fountains, the most imposing jungle gyms—and revisit as needed.

RELATED: 7 Unique Playgrounds for Kids

10. Bust the kids. Mike Spohr is the editor of BuzzFeed Parents, coauthor of The Toddler Survival Guide, and inventor of the Police Officer game. “My kids ride their bikes until I (the police officer) pull them over—for speeding, to ask if they’ve seen an on-the-run thief, or any of a thousand other scenarios. They want me to differentiate it every time, which gets really hard!” His son is usually apologetic; his daughter sometimes gets sassy. But all parties go home happy.

11. Fail to walk a straight line. Block out your senses by closing your eyes and plugging your ears, and try to walk 100 steps in a straight line. It will not work. You will end up 50 yards to the left, or back where you started, or in the middle of a mud puddle—but never ever straight ahead.

https://www.parents.com/holiday/fathers-day/traditions/fathers-day-activity-ideas/

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inpeaks · 4 years

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Our wonderful Christmas day trip to our amazing WONDERLA

It was just another day in calendar to celebrate our most divine celebration, Christmas – the birth of Jesus. Visiting parents and relatives is the most common form of bringing joy in everyone’s life. This time my wife who works in a bank has only one public holiday on 25th December. This made us drop our idea to visit our native place but plan our day to visit the most happening place for the Bangalore residents, WONDERLA – The Amazement Park, on the route to Mysore, India.

WONDERLA is a group of parks and resorts having presence in Kochi, Bangalore and Hyderabad. It is a part of the big business house of V-Guard Industries, the manufacturers of voltage stabilizers, inverters, wires, cables, heaters, fans and switch gears.

We were a group of 5 members, that is me, my wife, our son, our aunty and our care taker. We started the day with a delicious breakfast in one of our friends house in Ulsoor, Bangalore. After wishing them Merry Christmas and happy New Year, we got into our Alto K10 car. In the Google map the destination was given as, Wonderla-Bangalore. It showed around 1 hour 10 minutes to reach and it was aroung 10 am in the morning.

On the way we prayed a Mercy Rosary for the protection and guidance from the Almighty. By 11:30 am we arrived at our favorite destination, the Wonderla. We took our vehicle to the parking lot and saw that the security persons were sincerely noting down the vehicle numbers and mobile numbers in their log books.

Slowly, we walked towards the entrance of the main gate and took a couple of snaps at the ‘I Love Wonderla’ board placed in front of the ticket counter. Then I went straight to the kiosk to take print out of the tickets booked through online on their website, www.wonderla.com.

Once we entered inside, we were given some contest coupons for finding the lucky winners of the day. We filled them and dropped in the boxes to try our luck. We moved a little further and saw a magnificent train splashing water while sliding down the rail.

Going further there was screams of people coming from above the sky and there we saw a ride rolling over-side and upside-down with the people tightly bound to their seats. It was an awesome sight. Our son was so excited that we wanted him to enjoy in the rides and made him sit safely in the kids ride which was running round and round.

Splash Ride

The SPLASH ride was having a long queue and since we did not take the fast track ticket, we decided to stay in the queue to take the ride. The life guards ensured that everyone is seated properly with the belts in place. We got into the ride and slowing the train moved upwards and in a quick twist the train took pace while sliding downwards and splashed the water on the floor. It drenched us with water and it was a fantastic experience.

Then we moved to washroom and noticed that the toiletries were so clean and neat. The attendants were really helpful and supportive to the guests. Our son was loosing patience, he took out the layout map, showed us the dashing cars zone and asked us to take him there. We moved to the dashing cars counter and I sat beside him to drive the car. It was a lovely ride and we enjoyed it.

As time was moving ahead, we proceeded ourselves one by one to get into the rope way ride, chikku show and so on. The musical fountain and laser show in a large auditorium was an excellent feeling for us. It was lunch time and we went to the courtyard restaurant to have some deliciou non-veg biryanis, paratta combo and cold drinks.

After having lunch we walked to the water area having wave pools and slides. The life guard were checking the people to inform that only nylon or synthetic dresses were allowed inside the pools. Me and wife entered into the pool and just after 5 minutes the powerful waves came towards us. It was stress relieving and making our moments joyful. After this, we spent time in the water slides and play pools. Thinking that we will get cold, we did not spent much time in the pools and changed our wet clothes in the changing rooms.

During the course of the time we kept on taking photos and videos using our smart phones. Interestingly, there were no charges for taking photos and videos.

As our son did not get into the pool, he was insisting us to take him in the dry rides. On the other side of the park, there were kids ride’s and he took the initiate to get a chance to have the rides. Fortunately, he was able to make it to around five kids rides and he was enjoying his time in the beautiful park. There was a remote control kid’s car and he took it for one round at Rs. 50. All the rides inside the park are included in the ticket price and only we need to pay for the food.

It was getting dark in the sky and the lights began glowing in the park with full of stars, Christmas trees and music. My wife likes dosa and we had masala dosa and ghee rost. The price at the restaurant were reasonable. The entrance ticket price also was worthy enough to spend one whole day in the park.

There were souvenir stalls available while heading towards the exit. We bought a few Wonderla printed key chains, pens and a cap. When getting outside, the stewards gave free Santa Claus caps for each guest. Again we took a few more photos and started sharing them in our families, relatives and friends whatsapp group. They appreciated the photos with likes and thumbs up. While returning in the car we said a small prayer and reached home safely at around 9pm. Overall it was a great day at WONDERLA on a Christmas day.

I thank God for the precious and memorable time that I spent with my family.

The post Our wonderful Christmas day trip to our amazing WONDERLA appeared on Digital Ideas.

source https://www.inpeaks.com/2019/12/28/our-wonderful-christmas-day-trip-to-our-amazing-wonderla/

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kathleenseiber · 4 years

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22 sustainable gifts for everyone on your list

As you pick out gifts for loved ones, consider these 22 options for making the tradition a bit more sustainable.

After all, Americans throw out about 25% more trash between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day than during the rest of the year. That increase that works out to one million extra tons of garbage each week, according to the National Environmental Education Foundation.

The 2.6 billion holiday cards sold in the United States each year could fill a football field several stories high, and the 38,000 miles of ribbon used for gifts could literally wrap around the entire planet.

These sobering figures should give would-be shoppers pause, but apart from the obvious—such as skipping the wrapping paper and avoiding plastic-entombed products—how can we tap into the endorphin-releasing, stress-reducing benefits of giving, while also protecting the climate, oceans, forests, and air?

In the spirit of the season, these sustainability-driven New York University faculty members offer their environmentally sound ideas.

Louise Harpman, professor of architecture, urban design, and sustainability:

1. Get physical: I highly recommend trying a flying trapeze class (the first one I took was with my 14-year-old son) or an intro class at a rock climbing gym.

2. Play the re-gifting game: This works well for office parties. Everyone who comes must select, wrap, and give something (in new or very good condition) that they already own. During the party, everyone chooses a number out of a hat (or dry punch bowl) and the person with #1 selects and opens the first gift. The person with #2 can either “steal” the gift from person #1, or open a new gift. Person #3 can either steal one of the already-opened gifts, or open a new gift. This goes on until the person with the highest number has made their selection. This is also known as a White Elephant Party. I’ve hosted these for years and it’s hilarious when previous years’ gifts have come back into circulation.

3. Be a tourist at home: For kids, I love making neighborhood or multi-borough scavenger hunts. Usually the last stop has fantastic food (donuts, hot chocolate, soup dumplings).

4. Walk together: The best gift my son ever made for me was three gift cards for taking “bridge walks” with him. We walked the Brooklyn Bridge (of course), but also the High Bridge between Manhattan and the Bronx, and and the Pulaski Bridge between Long Island City and Greenpoint.

Jennifer Jacquet, associate professor of environmental studies:

5. Stuff stockings with vegan treats: Pick out vegan chocolates or a gift certificate to a vegan restaurant. Animal agriculture represents 15-20% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Plant-based gifts are better for your health and the environment.

6. Join a green group: Purchase a membership to an active civil society group working to defend the environment, such as the Union of Concerned Scientists, which is working to defend science and the environment, or the National Park Foundation, which is working to protect and preserve US National Parks.

7. Read up on animals: Some classics include The Lives of Animals by JM Coetzee, H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald, or Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness by Peter Godfrey-Smith.

8. Go iconic: A poster of the Blue Marble—the famous image of Earth taken on December 7, 1972 by the Apollo 17 crew on their way to the Moon—makes a great gift. Earth Day turns 50 on April 22, 2020.

Cassandra L. Thiel, assistant professor in department of population health:

9. Give experiences: As we get older (and particularly if we live in NYC), we don’t really need as much stuff. Gift your friend or family member single or season tickets to a sports or musical event. Help them learn something new by gifting swimming, piano, dance, or cooking classes. Buy them a membership to their local museum or theater. If the funds are available, you could even gift a weeklong family vacation somewhere interesting! Experiential gifts get back to the spirit of giving, as we have to understand the person we’re giving to, and what would be truly meaningful to them.

10. Read it forward: My family started a new Christmas tradition a few years ago. We love to read, and we always have too many books around the house. So now, after we finish a book, we give it to the next person we think would be most interested in it. We call this “second Santa” and some books have slowly made their way around to everyone in the family!

11. Aim for durable and unique: I try to find items that my friend or family member is likely to use and cherish for a long time. I also look for items that are responsibly manufactured—without slave or child labor, and with some thought given to the environment. For these gifts, I like to explore local or handmade markets, or purchase from stores where I know they have a good record for sustainable sourcing and manufacturing.

Mary J. Leou, clinical professor of environmental education:

12. Skip the gift bag: Wrap your gifts with paper or material you no longer have use for (old maps, material, or cloth bags) or make the wrapping part of the gift (e.g. napkins, or scarves).

13. Deck the halls: Potted plants are a welcome addition to any home. They can improve the air quality. Potted herbs are also great gifts that can be used throughout the year in baking and cooking.

14. Think 12 months, not 12 days: Memberships to environmental organizations or cultural organizations can provide access to amazing places and programs throughout the year.

15. Make it yourself: If you can knit or sew, gloves, hats, or scarves are a great way to express your friendship or love. Homemade jams or cookies or other baked goods are always a treat, along with ingredients to make homemade hot chocolate!

16. Choose wisely: Give products that are made from recycled materials, and purchase gifts from stores that give back to the environment.

Gernot Wagner, clinical associate professor of environmental studies and public service:

17. Skip the gifts: In the end, we know we can’t shop our way to sustainability. It takes policy. Donate (time and money) to your favorite environmental cause. Help push for the right policies.

Robin Nagle, clinical professor, liberal studies:

18. Give your time: Most of us already feel like we don’t have enough, but that’s part of what makes it such a generous gift. Do you know any parents? Offer to babysit or to cook a delicious dish to drop off. Anyone in your life who is elderly and often alone? Invite them for a stroll (or, if they have impaired mobility and use a wheelchair, for a roll). Or ask if you can visit. Either way, be careful to listen more than talk. Or how about that friend whose company you cherish but whom you see too rarely? Take them to breakfast. Or if they’re far away, make a date to “meet” for a video chat.

19. Share you talent: No doubt you have a skill or hobby you love that a friend or family member would love to learn. Cooking, quilting, knitting, glass blowing, rollerblading, ice skating, meditating, drawing, playing a musical instrument, singing…

20. Pay for a class: The possibilities are nearly endless: pottery, gelato making, axe throwing, remaking old clothes into new fashions. Or arrange an insider tour of an iconic location… or a beloved museum. Offer to go with them, or get them two spots (or two tickets) so they can invite someone to join them.

21. Donate: Non-profits all over the world are happy to accept contributions on behalf of someone you love. Give a donation in that person��s name.

22. Write from the heart: Give your loved ones a letter that makes clear how much they mean to you. A hand-written version will be appreciated even more than something printed, especially if you add any artistic touches (and it matters not at all if you think you can’t draw).

Source: NYU

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nebsabroad-blog · 7 years

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When I say Zanzi you say Bar. Zanzi...No? Anyone? (there were creative differences over the title of this blog)

Zanzibar did not disappoint. We ended up extending our stay here twice because it was everything we wanted it to be…perfect weather, perfect beaches and enough to keep you interested. Our itinerary was a couple nights on the island’s capital, Stone Town, before heading off to one of the beaches for tan time.

To get there we took a 2 hour ferry from Dar during which Ariel was not sick, this is worth noting and celebrating.

Stone Town is like a little Arabian city (I was reliably informed by Ariel). It is this crazy rabbit warren of a place; tiny streets that go on all directions (except straight) that are banked by beautiful old buildings with arches for windows. It is impossible to not get lost but it turns out getting lost in Stone Town and wandering its atmospheric streets is pretty much the best thing to do. For instance on one excursion, we took a turn down a narrow street where a Mosque was emptying out after Friday prayers. Ariel managed to be the only woman around for what seemed like miles, let alone the only foreigner. Another interesting experience.

On our first day we managed (after many consultations of the map, a handful of arguments and with the good grace of many locals who took pity on us) to find Lukman restaurant which is a bit of a must see. Like a bustling bazaar with no menu so you just go up to the counter and point and hope. Luckily everything was delicious. I had prawns the size of my face for £4 a piece.

Zanzibar’s history is blighted by slavery. It was the hub for slave trading to the East (mostly for the Gulf I think) and this story is well told in the island’s new slavery museum. This was the only real activity we did. We spent the next two days mostly getting hopelessly lost and eating. One thing we consumed was Zanzibar pizza which frankly is not a pizza or anywhere close to it. It is Bric pastry filled with: minced beef, garlic, laughing cow cheese, an egg, mayonnaise and then fried on a flat top. It sounds disgusting but was strangely delicious.

After ticking off Stone Town, we went to tourist information to find out about the local transports (dalla dallas) to Jambiani - the beach we were staying at. The (black) man behind the counter basically said we wouldn’t want to go on them because that is what locals took and we would surely prefer to take a shared taxi with other “white people.” He made it sound like taking a dalla dalla (which we had done all through Africa) was asking to get robbed. Not only racist in the extreme but of course completely false. The dalla dalla we got was packed to Malawi levels…the Korean man opposite me pleading “no no no we go, we go please” as another person squeezed on. But the journey was fine and took only 45 minutes which was half as long as the tourist information guy said.

The next week won’t take long to summarise. Every day went: wake up, breakfast, lie on beach or at pool (you heard, we had a pool), maybe walk, eat lunch, lie, eat dinner, watch episode of Handmaid’s tale (which we got given by fellow traveller in Malawi), sleep.

We met a lovely Danish/Scottish family who are living in Tanzania. The Mum (Amy) had a very distinctive Glasgow accent so the intro went the classic way: Me: “you from Glasgow”, Amy: “yes, you?” Me: “yes” both us internally “we shall be friends.”

We hung out with them for 5 days. The highlight with them was when their 5 year old, Olaf, asked Ariel what she was reading. She replied the “underground railroad.” He asked what it was about and Ariel then started very earnestly explaining to Olaf about America’s history of slavery. After a 5 minute lesson into the finer points of the rights of man Olaf looked blank and then informed us that “well I’m reading Dr. Proctor’s fart powder and it’s really good.” Those two are pretty much on a par.

Our time with the family reached a nadir when we dragged them (2 adults, 3 children from 5-11) to try find a cave we had heard about from two other backpackers. This was supposed to be an easy walk but it turned into Leonardo DiCaprio’s search for the Beach. After getting lost we asked many locals about the cave and all of them looked at as blankly. We proceeded to drag this (got to be said) very white family through the blazing heat on and on. They were forced to abandon when the 5 year old very understandably started flagging (as we all were). Ariel and I then proceeded to walk a further 2km before asking another nice man about the cave who informed us we were walking in completely the wrong direction. Luckily his mate turned up in a nice 4x4 and dropped us pretty much at the door of the place. Fortunately, the cave was worth the hassle. It was a beautiful cavern with stalactites/mites that at the bottom had this clear impossibly clear pool of water that we couldn’t distinguish from the rocks until we were right above it. The water was amazing…until little pondskater-come-woodlice started crawling on us which prompted some screaming and blind panic entirely from me.

There were not many other mishaps on the island. And we left feeling we had had a holiday from our holiday. After 8 nights we felt ready to get back on the road (which in typical style started off with a mad dash across the island to catch a ferry, extreme sweat, a couple arguments and a lot of panic…we were hopelessly late but by some miracle got on the boat).

Ariel was not sick on the return journey, this too is worth noting and celebrating.

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inpeaks · 4 years

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Splash Ride

During the course of the time we kept on taking photos and videos using our smart phones. Interestingly, there were no charges for taking photos and videos.

I thank God for the precious and memorable time that I spent with my family.

The post Our wonderful Christmas day trip to our amazing WONDERLA appeared on Digital Ideas.

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