Jessica Laird

Latest posts by Jessica Laird

Book Flexible Family-Friendly Tours and Experiences in Any City with Viator

Submitted by Jessica Laird on Tue, 08/10/2021 - 11:00am

Book memorable experiences for the whole family, like a New York City express water taxi tour past the Statue of Liberty.

After being mostly stuck in one place for more than a year, so many families are now taking off on road trips, daydreaming about overseas getaways, or desperately seeking new adventures close to home. Falling hopelessly into that last category myself at the moment, I was beyond happy when I heard about Viator, a Tripadvisor-owned aggregator that helps people find and book popular tours, tickets, and Insta-worthy experiences across the globe (or, in my case, right here in New York City).

From a hop-on-hop-off double-decker bus tour of San Francisco to a scavenger hunt in the covered passages of Paris, Viator’s got all the hot spots covered, plus a simple search feature and helpful filters that make it easy to find a good fit for your crew. You can start your hunt by entering your location and dates, and then refine results with options like “Good for avoiding crowds” and “Kid friendly.” You can also filter by your preferred price, duration, or time of day, or even by the activities’ ratings. No need to find an activity and then have to go digging for intel.

Long Island Downtown Deals Travel Pass Offers Discounts on Family-Friendly Attractions

Submitted by Jessica Laird on Thu, 08/05/2021 - 11:00am

With the Downtown Deals Travel Pass, you’ll get discounts on family-friendly attractions like the Long Island Aquarium.

There’s a new way to save on some of the best Long Island has to offer families, from historic museums and seasonal boat rentals to hand-pressed burgers and craft doughnuts.

Discover Long Island has created the Long Island Downtown Deals Travel Pass to bring special money-saving offers to LI natives and visitors alike. The easy-to-use mobile pass serves up exclusive discounts and promotions across participating downtown areas while helping to support local businesses as they recover from the COVID-19 crisis. Meanwhile, Discover Long Island’s YouTube channel and new podcast offer the lowdown on the Island’s most-loved activities, events, and deal-packed downtowns, from Great Neck to Greenport.

The Best Kids Clothing Labels and Name Stickers for Back-to-School

Submitted by Jessica Laird on Tue, 07/27/2021 - 10:00am

Mabel’s Labels are durable, waterproof, laundry-safe, microwave-safe, and easily customized.

Yes, I was a masking tape mom, too. But when an order of quality, convenient personalized name stickers and kids clothing labels from Mabel’s Labels appeared in my mailbox for my two young daughters—covered in unicorns and rainbows, no less—I was a very quick convert.

Created by four mothers who were tired of digging through the lost and found bin, Mabel’s Labels are durable, waterproof, laundry-safe, microwave-safe, and adorably customizable with dozens of designs. Specially made to fit kids’ most-used (and most-lost) school items, you’ll find labels for backpacks, lunch bags, shoes, sports gear, and water bottles—plus options for the daycare and preschool crowd, like pacifier and baby bottle stickers. You can even shop by occasion to find the best labels to fit your needs, or snag combo label packs like “Little Kid School Combo” and “School Uniform Label Pack.” Yeah, they get it.

Get Free School Supplies and Cash Back on Online and In-Store Purchases With Ibotta

Submitted by Jessica Laird on Tue, 07/20/2021 - 11:00am

Ibotta's cash back app lets you earn cash rewards when you shop online or in store.

With school supplies evolving from the Trapper Keepers and Scooby Doo lunch boxes of our childhoods to pricey tablets and fancy headphones, savvy parents' money-saving tips and tricks for back-to-school shopping have also come a long way. And, after spending far too much of the last few summers clipping coupons and hunting for promo codes myself to tackle expensive supply lists, cash back apps are one modern-day hack I'm totally adding to my shopping arsenal this year.

Now, with programs like Ibotta, you can download a free app or browser extension, create an account, and immediately start earning cash when you shop online or in-store. By saving special offers to the app, syncing your online shopping accounts, or even submitting photos of receipts after an in-person shopping trip, there are a number of ways to earn cash back on your purchases with minimal extra effort. Plus, the network of participating partners is so huge—including popular retailers like Walmart, CVS, Best Buy, Bed Bath & Beyond, Walgreens, Costco, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe’s—that I truly can't believe I haven't been using this rewards program all along.

Now, to take some of the stress out of tackling long school supply lists at a time when so many families could use a little extra support, Ibotta is offering 100% cash back on select learning essentials and groceries on top of the usual savings. Read on to learn more about Ibotta's cash back app, and find out how to secure your free gear before it's time to pack up those backpacks.

Sesame Helps Houston Families Find More Affordable Healthcare

Submitted by Jessica Laird on Thu, 07/15/2021 - 11:00am

Sesame's affordable direct-to-patient healthcare marketplace is making medical expenses more transparent and affordable.

From a broken arm or an unexpected cavity to weekly therapy sessions or prescription medications, it's alarming just how quickly healthcare expenses can pile up for families. And, as a parent who has opened more than one jaw-dropping medical bill, I was totally intrigued when I first read about Sesame, the affordable direct-to-patient healthcare marketplace that's making medical expenses more transparent and affordable. Urgent care appointments starting at $26? Tell me more...

Sesame's easy to use website lets you search for, book, and pay for doctor visits and medical services in the Houston area and beyond, all with clear upfront pricing. With no membership fees, no insurance mark-ups, and no surprise bills in your mailbox, you can use Sesame to book in-person and telehealth visits directly with doctors across 40+ specialties.

By allowing the practitioners to set their own prices, eliminating administrative costs, and cutting the restrictive health insurance red tape, Sesame says visits booked on the platform can be up to 60% more affordable than when using health insurance. And, while the marketplace was created with people who are uninsured or underinsured in mind, anyone can use the platform and benefit from the conveninece and transparency it provides.

How to Pick Early Reader Books—Advice from the Pros Behind Scholastic's Acorn Line for New Readers

Submitted by Jessica Laird on Tue, 07/13/2021 - 11:00am

With Acorn, Scholastic has created a collection of bright, funny, captivating stories from award-winning authors and illustrators.

If you've been browsing "early readers" at the bookstore or you've eagerly Amazon Prime'd "kindergarten books" for your kiddo like I have, you've likely already noticed that not all books for budding readers seem to be created equal. While these brief books are all known for large text, short sentences, easy-to-follow plots, and loads of sight words, the simplicity of the stories can sometimes make them, well, dull.

How to Turn Your Backyard or Neighborhood Into an Interactive Adventure Map This Summer

Submitted by Jessica Laird on Tue, 07/06/2021 - 10:00am

Fight summer slump by creating an interactive adventure map with your kids that turns your backyard, neighborhood, or nearby park into a one-of-kind adventure!

Taking inspiration from Rowley Jefferson's Awesome Friendly Adventure—a sharp, funny, fantastical addition to the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series from #1 international bestselling author Jeff Kinney—a hands-on map can take kids on a journey of epic proportions. Read on to find out how to make your map and where you can snag Rowley Jefferson’s other chart-topping books, plus the rest of the Wimpy Kid collection.

RVshare Makes Renting a Camper or RV So Easy—And Now My Family Wants to Do It Every Year

Submitted by Jessica Laird on Thu, 06/24/2021 - 11:05am

RVshare—the first and largest peer-to-peer RV rental website—is like Airbnb for RVs, campers, and travel trailers.

The second I told my kids we were renting an RV to spend a weekend in the woods, they raced for their unicorn suitcases and started packing! Ok, so it took a little creativity to explain what an RV was to my two-and-half and five-and-a-half-year-old daughters who, like me and my husband, are born and raised New Yorkers. But "a 36 foot long house on wheels with bunk beds" was enough to get them counting down the days to our big camping getaway.

We booked our camper through RVshare—the first and largest peer-to-peer RV rental website. It's like Airbnb for RVs and campers, offering families a totally memorable travel experience while also helping RV owners make money renting their motorhomes when they aren't using them. From affordable travel trailers to decked out "glampers," the site features more than 100,000 options to fit every families' needs and budget. And, to make borrowing a motorhome even easier, many vehicles can actually be delivered right to your door or—even better, if you ask me—directly to your campsite.