This Week: Best November Events for NYC Kids, Where to Donate Halloween Candy, Mommy Poppins Holiday Photo Event

All of those ghoulish decorations (like the Grim Reaper pictured) will soon be replaced by colorful twinkling lights. The period between Halloween and the holidays is always such a blur. So much seems to happen so quickly in those two months—especially this year with the mayoral election coming up next week and Hanukkah coinciding with Thanksgiving. We're not trying to stress you out! In fact, we want to help you get a jump on your seasonal to-do list by holding our second annual Mommy Poppins Holiday Photo Event early on Saturday, November 16. The awesome photographers from Big Apple Portraits will be snapping pictures of kids with Santa (or against a seasonal background), plus you'll get a $25 credit toward holiday cards and there will be fun crafts, storytime and other activities. Sessions are selling out fast so book yours today.
Speaking of planning ahead, many of our sites published their November Go Lists this week and Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade isn't the only must-do tri-state area event. Find out about the best things to do throughout the month in NYC, New Jersey and Connecticut.
Another theme across all of our sites this week? What to do with all of that Halloween candy. We've got lots of recommendations including repurposing it, using it for crafts and science experiments, bringing it to a dentist participating in a candy buy back, or, our favorite, donating it to worthy charities.
Here's what else we covered on the NYC site this week:
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We finished up our month-long focus on Sunnyside and Woodside, Queens with a roundup of ethnically diverse family-friendly restaurants in the area.
The Thanksgiving Day Parade isn't the only November event to mark on your calendar. We've got 13 amazing picks for the month including the seasonal Canstruction display at the World Financial Center, a Festival of Artmaking for Families at the soon-to-reopen Queens Museum and the Brooklyn Museum's annual Children's Book Fair.
Got a kid who's going through a serious princess phase? We've got five creative ways to feed the obsession in NYC. Don't worry, it's only temporary.
Our biweekly links roundup includes info on the New York City Police Museum's new temporary location, the end of the Science Storefront experiment and a brand-new pinball arcade.
Though it may be moot by the time you read this, we highlighted our top 20 things to do on Halloween night. You can always bookmark the post for next year!
Meanwhile, find out where you can donate all of that leftover Halloween candy so your family isn't tempted to eat it all.
Our Mommy Poppins Holiday Photo Event is coming up in a little over two weeks on Saturday, November 16! Make sure you reserve your space today so you don't miss out.
Best bets for the weekend include a pair of Day of the Dead festivals, two Diwali celebrations in honor of the Hindu festival of lights and the opening weekend of Canstruction.
About the Author

Raven is a writer, editor, performer and mom, who was born and bred in NYC, just like her husband, her mother and now, her daughter. As a writer, she's contributed articles to New York Magazine, Time Out New York, The Village Voice, the New York Post, TV Guide, Better Homes and Gardens, iVillage, AOL TV and Moviefone, Parents.com, and worked as an in-house editor for ParentsConnect.com and TimeOutKids.com. As a performer, she's appeared on many downtown stages (sometimes even for pay!), a couple of obscure films and TV shows, and The Maury Povich Show as a female drag queen. She's also the founder of Hot Mama Burlesque, the world's only all-moms burlesque show. After being the NYC editor from March 2011-March 2015, she is now happy to just be a blogger as she pursues additional writing opportunities.