And your kids are stuck inside.

When spring showers have children bouncing off the walls, cooped up inside, it’s time to get creative.  Listed below are some fun arts and crafts projects to keep them busy and having fun until the sun shines again.

• Beautiful paper insects and flowers will be the talk of the neighborhood when your kids create a butterfly hanging garden
• Build an edible bridge and make it a contest to see whose bridge will stay up the longest or just have fun tearing it down and eating it
• Have your kids draw crazy body parts on index cards and mix them up for the silly creature creator
• Let the sun reflect in the window with a handmade crayon sun-catcher
• If all else fails, pull the cushions off the couch and have an indoor camp-out under a homemade tent

Have your own fail-proof suggestions for indoor imaginations? Share in the comments!

Interested in getting your kids involved in something that benefits themselves and the community? Volunteering is the perfect way to do both.

Listed below are a couple of creative ideas to for your kids to lend a helping hand.

• Bedtime Snack Sacks: Decorate lunch bags and fill them with snacks and a toy for children living in homeless shelters
• Cleanup Coalition: Have your kids gather their friends monthly to help beautify the community by picking up trash, planting flowers, etc. Contact your local parks and recreation office and they can help find projects.
• Charity Birthday Party: Have guests bring old or new toys to be donated to a charity instead of given to the birthday boy or girl

If you’d like more volunteering options, check out www.volunteermatch.com or www.volunteer.gov.

Want to become an official fan of clek? Join us on Facebook, where we’ve created the ultimate clek portal featuring celeb photos, product news, giveaways and real-time updates. Best of all, as a “fan” of clek, you can share your own photos and videos. You’ve met clek—now let us meet you!  

Become one of clek’s first 200 fans and you’ll automatically be entered into a drawing for a free clek olli booster seat!

Visit clek’s Facebook page.

This weekend, we’re hitting the road and heading to Boston for the American Baby and Family Expo. Held at the Seaport World Trade Center (get directions here), the show will run Saturday through Sunday (10 am – 5 pm).

Boston parents: You’re invited to come by and check us out! You’ll see the new olli special-edition Paul Frank designs and get a sneak peek of our new full back booster oobr (coming to stores this summer). You’ll also have the chance to enter our olli giveaway and take a backless booster home with you!

For full details on the event, click here. Hope to see you there!

Valentine’s Day for school-aged kids can be a day to look forward to or a day to dread, especially when young hearts are involved. Before they hit the bus stop with Valentine’s Day cards, candy or treats, be sure to affirm your unconditional love. You can spark the love bug by trying one or more of the following heartfelt activities:

• Make heart-shaped pancakes for a special breakfast
• Put a love note in their lunch box telling your child what you love about them
• Make Valentine’s Day crafts together
• Set a fancy table and cook a Valentine’s Day dinner and/or dessert together
• Write a family love poem and frame it with a family photo

Valentine’s Day trivia
Did you know that Valentine’s Day is the second most popular holiday to give greeting cards? According to Hallmark, more than 188 million cards are exchanged annually on Valentine’s Day.

The holiday break just ended and with kids back in school, it’s already time to start thinking: Spring break. Whether you’re planning for a warm escape or a weekend getaway, there are plenty of options for injecting some fun into the school year.

Family Fun offers a great round-up of Spring travel suggestions—from sun and surf destinations to the great outdoors—while Concierge highlights more luxury-laden trips for the family.

And, if you’re still struggling to plan a getaway that everyone (parents included) will enjoy, simply check out Travel + Leisure’s Top 50 Resorts for Parents and Kids, judged by the best reviewers out there, fellow families.

What are your plans? Share your favorite family travel tips in the comments!

The time has come – and your school-aged kids are officially on holiday break. How do you make the most of the time at home? Celebrate the shorter days by soaking up the sun while it shines! Grab the kids, coats and head outside… fresh-fallen snow is a blank canvas for fun.

Snowman: You can’t deny a classic. Three balls of snow and some much-needed accessories will occupy an afternoon easily. Still waiting for the snow to fall? Build one online here.

Snow fort: If you’re lucky enough to live in a snow-laden location, there’s nothing better than a fort to keep you safe from those chilly winds. Bring a storage container or loaf pan outside to craft some sturdy snow bricks. (Add food coloring for extra oomph!)

Sledding: Pick up the pace at a local sledding hill. Don’t forget to pack the hot cocoa!

Snow angels: The only must-have? A camera.