✨🎱 February Top 8 🎱✨

Remember when someone was your favorite, they were in your Myspace Top 8? 
This is kind of like that minus Panic at the Disco lyrics scrolling across the screen.😛

A list of things I saved, bought, or that caught my eye this month:

💘 Valentines PJs : Kiki and Lulu is a new-to-me brand that I found via Instagram. Love this mom and me cherry matching set (this is def the year of the cherry 🍒) and the boy’s Valentine’s options are equally as cute. They are local and women-owned which makes this a no-brainer brand to support.

👾 Light-up pop-up toy: I will admit the title of this item screams annoying but for only $5 I am willing to give it a go. I saw these featured on a reel for the best activities for kids when traveling and am curious to see if they have any entertainment power on our upcoming flights.

🧢 Initial ball cap: As the mad rush for summer camp signups in February ramps up, (stressing out moms across the nation) I find myself already shopping for summer and warm-weather trips. The only hats I can get my kids to wear are ball caps and these Rey to Z heart caps made me click! ( Also another local and mom-owned business!)

🎨 Learning with Kelsey theme boxes: I discovered Learning with Kelsey activity boxes sometime during covid but put it on pause when full-time preschool resumed. Now that my 5-year-old can independently do crafts (miracles happen!) I am ready to put these back in rotation.

🎀 OG AG Posh Peanut Collab: Posh Peanut is clearly on a mission to bankrupt millennial moms - first with their Lisa Frank line and last month they launched their heritage American Girl collection that brings back all the nostalgia. 💸💸💸

🧴 Tubby Todd All Over Ointment: This is a cult product that I feel like you either know and love or it’s somehow totally off your radar. If the latter, this is a cureall in our house for baby acne, excema and super dry skin that I always have at the ready for winter.

💋 Non-Toxic Lip Balm: As if Chicago winter isn’t bad enough for your skin, we are running through chapstick like it’s our job in our house. Partly because my two-year-old likes to eat chunks of hers (anyone else???) which put me on a hunt for non-toxic chapstick. I found Poppy & Pout and was immediately sold on the ingredients and super-cute packaging. (PSA for 80’s kids they have a Fraggle Rock collection because who doesn’t need muppet-inspired lip balm.)

🛍️ NEXT Kids Clothing: Nordstrom has been expanding their kids brands and assortment and one of my favorites is NEXT. From the UK, think Mini Boden meets Zara at a really reasonable price point. For girls this cherry dress, floral set, madras dress and striped shirt are all in my cart. For boys I love this checker sweater, joggers and this sweat set for dino lovers.

Indoor fun in Chicago and the burbs

Even though February is a short month it’s filled with lots of fun indoor activities across the city since that pesky groundhog sentenced us to 6 more weeks of winter. 🥶

•  🍰 Fancy Afternoon Tea: Get your pinkies ready and book a Queen of Hearts Valentine’s Tea at the Langham. They also offer an Alice and Wonderland-themed tea service through May.

• 🚌 Ms Frizzle is back! Revel in 90’s childhood nostalgia with the Marriot Theatre’s production of The Magic Schoolbus: Lost in Space starting Feb 21 through March 29.

• 🪩 Tuff Taylor with Rod and The Tuffcurls. If you have been to a street fest or over-the-top wedding in Chicago you have likely seen this popular cover band perform. They have a show dedicated entirely to Taylor Swift covers that’s fun and appropriate for all ages. Catch them Sunday, February 23 at Joe’s Live (Rosemont) plus activities like friendship bracelet stations. I took my daughter this fall and we had a blast - this is also a great group activity.

• 🤳 Luft Balloons Lover-Land - If you have a TikTok-obsessed tween who’s also a Swifty, check out this iridescent Lover-themed photo-op experience featuring 2,000 balloons! For $25 they can take selfies with their besties and make Reels and Toks for 2 straight hours - a true tweenage dream.

• 🦖 Dino-mite plans: If you have a dinosaur-obsessed kiddo Chicago is having two interactive dinosaur events this month. February 15-17 is Dinosaur Adventures at the Donald E Stephens Convention Center. Also worth noting that the Field Museum hosts Dozin’ with Dinos 3x this month (Feb 8, 15, 28) where kids ages 6-12 (with an adult) can spend the night at the Museum and explore the museum by flashlight and take part in special activities. (This would be a really fun birthday party option for older kids!)

• Shedd Aquarium Free Days- the Shedd has a number of free days and time slots available for Illinois residents this month: Feb 11-13, 18-20 and 25-27. You can book your time slot ahead of time here.

🗓️ Mark your Calendar

Even more fun stuff to do this short, heart-filled month:

• All Month: 🐦 Don’t Let Pigeon Drive the Bus @ Big Noise Theatre (Des Plaines) - this is SUCH a great show! 💯 recommend it.

• Feb 1 - 9 🐷 🐘 Piggie and Elephant book characters @ CAMP 

• Feb 6 - 9 👸 Disney on Ice at Allstate Arena

• Feb 6 - 16 🎭 Chicago Theatre Week with discounted performances

• Feb 8 - March 23 🏵️ Orchid show at Botanic Garden. A great way to spend a cold morning - in a warm, light-filled greenhouse then grab lunch at the cafe.

• Feb 9 🐍 Lunar New Year Parade in Chinatown

• Feb 11 🎵 Sweet Beats lunch with Mr. Dave @ Summer House Santa Monica

• Feb 15 🧰 Build a Tool Chest for kids @ a Lowes Workshop near you

• Feb 17 - Blackhawks vs Ottawa Senators “Best Day Ever” - a kid-friendly game at @2 PM with special programming geared towards younger fans.

• Feb 26  🏀 Bulls vs. Pistons BMO Hat series game where you can get a free bulls hat as part of an artist series collection.

 🧳 Spring and Summer Travel Tips

As we slowly inch towards the glimmer of hope (or hell 🥴) that is Spring Break with small children, I am trying to get my proverbial over-packed ducks in a row. Here are a few tips I encountered in my planning:

🪪 Real ID deadline in Illinois is coming!

Beginning May 7, every US resident will need to present a REAL ID compliant license/ID, when flying domestically. You can use your passport as a backup but I plan on getting my ID updated in the next few months to avoid the hassle.

✈️ Pool Your United Miles: 

A few months ago United launched an awesome new feature where families (including your children) can pool and share miles. Previously, you could share and send miles but it came with a hefty fee. This is a game-changer for family travel and one that I’m sure other airlines will follow suit and start to offer as well. (note: Jet Blue does offer pooling as well)

🛫 Setup your kid’s airline loyalty account

You know the saying the “cobblers children go barefoot?” As an ex-airline employee, I thought I knew every trick in the book until I realized that I had been traveling with my children sans loyalty accounts. (THE HORROR! 🫨 ) Our family exclusively travels on points so I majorly dropped the ball on this one but I blame standby travel and no-travel covid years for fogging my brain. They need to have an email - I set ours up on Gmail and thankfully most airlines will award miles within a calendar year of travel if you have made this egregious points error like myself.

🪩 Indoor Birthday Party Venues (for little ones)

Finding birthday party venues for kids 5 and under can be challenging. With Chicago's unpredictable weather and limited age-appropriate options, indoor venues can be tough to find. Based on vetted recommendations and personal experience, here are some of the best indoor birthday party spots in Chicago:

City

• Bubbles Academy (Gold Coast, Bucktown)

• Camp Chicago (Lincoln Park)

• A Fairytale Ballet (Bucktown and Southport)

• Fit City Kids (Lincoln Square)

• Kidz Can Cook ( Edison Park - Note must be 5 years old)

• Norwood Park Train station (A train theme here would be adorable! 🚂)

• Oui Chef (Lincoln Park - Note must be 5 years old)

• Purple Monkey Playroom (Bucktown)

• Sunny Village Cafe (Jefferson Park)

• The Little Gym (Lakeview)

Suburbs

• Your Local Park District - Look up your local park district and nearby party rooms and hire a vendor like a soft play rental, character meet and greet, face painting or a balloon artist.

• Bubbles Academy (Highland Park)

• Brookfield Zoo (Oakbrook)

• Exploratorium (Skokie)

• Giggles Play (Highwood)

• Legoland Discovery Center (Schaumburg)

• Playroom Cafe (Mt Prospect and Naperville)

• Peppa Pig World (Schaumburg)

• The Little Gym (Glenview)

• Uppers-Land (La Grange)

• Wagner Farm (Glenview)

• Waterlemon Kids (La Grange)

• Wildwood Nature Center (Park Ridge)

📣👩‍💻 Small Business Shoutout

B+W Priceless Portraits by Bridge Matkovich

I had the pleasure of working with Bridget years ago (in my graphic design and her blogging days!) and she was my first call when I needed newborn pictures for my secondborn. She is an insanely talented family photographer and is now offering black-and-white personality portraits. I did these for my daughter's 1st birthday and they are some of my favorite pictures—it's fast, fun, and much less stressful than traditional family portraits. She has a waitlist, so make sure to follow her on Instagram to catch her openings!

📮 But wait, there’s more!

If you want even more Big Weekend content, follow me on Instagram where I will share more content and resources like this, and be sure to tag me if you find yourself doing any activities from this list! If you know someone in your network who would like this content you can forward this email or have them subscribe here and see all past Funletters.

Keep an eye on your inbox for March for the next Funletter - I aim to send these out at the beginning of every month.

P.S. While I do my best to highlight as much as possible I may miss an event or business or two since since I am a one-woman show.💃 Feel free to send me any leads or ideas for future Funletters by replying to this email.

XOX
💌 Kaitlyn