Hi loopers,
A gentle hug to anyone else battling the flu right now. I’ve been down with it myself this week, and my thoughts are with all the families juggling sick days, missed plans, and foggy brains. Our January book club is almost here, and I can’t wait to dive in with fellow book-loving parents.
I’ve also been sharing a few posts on @theparentloopnyc on Instagram, if you’d like to follow along. I sometimes post quick updates, especially if event times change or something new pops up. Per usual, all events below are free unless otherwise noted.
Scroll down to read The Loop Edit’s first post from a series on secondhand clothing in NYC, that will feature interviews with founders of Little Swaps and Carousel, who are making a real impact by keeping great kids’ stuff in circulation. You can also read it further below.
Calling all parents, collaborators, and local businesses!
Have a space, service, or product for families and want to reach UWS parents in a thoughtful, community-first way? The Parent Loop partners with local businesses to spotlight services, host events, review products, and offer limited sponsored placements that genuinely help parents. If you’re interested in collaborating or advertising, just reply to this email — I’d love to explore what makes sense together.
Friday - Jan 9
Coloring for Babies and Toddlers @ Columbus Library (51st & 10th Av), 10:30-11:00am, ages 0-5.
Family Storytime @ Columbus Library (51st & 10th Av), 11:00-11:45am, ages 0-5.
Toy and Book Swap @ St. Agnes Library (82nd & Amsterdam Av), 11am-12pm. A quick note that this date changed from Jan 2 to this Friday. You can still bring books and toys up until and on the day of the swap. St. Agnes is also a really cute library if you havent check it out, this is a great opportunity. The Parent Loop pick!
Children's Family Board Games Night @ Columbus Library (51st & 10th Av), 3-4:00pm, ages 3-12.
Open Playtime @ Bloomingdale Library (100th & Amsterdam Av), 10am-2:00pm, ages 0 months-5 years and families.
Benevolence @ Lincoln Center (Rose Building), pay-what-you-wish, 7-8:30pm, ages +10.
Saturday - Jan 10
Puzzles & Play @ Bloomingdale Library (100th & Amsterdam Av), 10am-2:00pm, all ages. We were there last week and it was great to see plenty of kids playing with the puzzles. Addie enjoyed the magna tiles on wheels!
Open Process Art Afternoon @ Columbus Library (51st & 10th Av), 12-3pm, ages 18 months-12 years.
Mulchfest Chipping Weekend @ chipping sites only. On the UWS, those are: W 83rd St and Riverside Dr or W 81st and CPW (at the bridle path, chipping/mulch), Sat, Jan 10 and Sun Jan 11, 10am-2pm). Kids can see sustainability in action, take a home a “tree-mento,” and their own bag of mulch for your home or winter bed for a street tree. Another The Parent Loop pick!
Family Music Showcase by Mayers Consulting @ Lincoln Center (David Rubenstein Atrium), 2-5 pm, first-come-first serve, all ages. Another The Parent Loop pick!
Benevolence @ Lincoln Center (Rose Building), pay-what-you-wish, 3:30-5 pm, ages +10, with post-show talk.
Sunday - Jan 11
Storytime @ Book Culture (2915 Broadway & 114th St), 1pm, ages 0–7.
Storytime @ The Strand (81st & 82nd), 12pm & 3pm.
Mulchfest Chipping Weekend @ chipping sites only. See details above.
PJ Library & 92NY Jewish Children’s Book Festival @ 92nd St Y (1395 Lexington Ave), 10am-4pm, Jan 11. Free but registration required. All ages, with specific workshops for ages +3. Note: Waitlist only.
Pastoral: Pam Tanowitz, Sarah Crowner, Caroline Shaw @ Lincoln Center (Rose Theater), 7:30-8:30 pm, also on Monday and Tuesday, few tickets left, pay-what-you-wish, ages +2.
Winter outdoor activities
Drop off your tree to a Mulchfest location map through Jan 11. Wrap up your holiday season and say goodbye to your tree. NYC Parks volunteers will chip your tree into wood chips that will nourish our NYC trees.
3 locations on the UWS, two with chipping/mulch and one just for drop off: W 67th St and CPW (north side of Tavern on the Green entrance; drop off only), W 81st and CPW (at the bridle path, chipping/mulch) and W 83rd St and Riverside Dr (chipping/mulch)
Explore Central Park and create a discovery journal with your kids using NYC’s tailored journals for each part of the park.
Bumper cars on ice @ Bryant Park (10 min ride), ages 6 and up, prices vary, through Jan 22.
Ice skating:
@ Wollman Rink (Central Park, near east 63rd). Prices vary and tickets required, ends in March.
@ Bryant Park Winter Village. Prices vary and tickets required but free if you bring your own skates.
@ Gottesman Rink at the Davis Center, Central Park north end. They have paid classes available for tots and up. Prices vary.
Indoor recurring neighborhood favorites
Hands-on-activities @ American Museum of Natural History, NYC residents pay-what-you-wish.
Discovery Room: 0-12, open daily except Tues, check exact times. The Parent Loop favorite!
Climate Learning Lab: ages 8 and up, select Sat and Sun
Human Origins Learning Lab: ages 8 and up, Sat and Sun
Libraries are open Friday and Saturdays, closed Sundays: Bloomingdale Library (99th st), Riverside Library (66th st), St. Agnes Library (81st st), Columbus Library (51st st).
Bookstores, times vary: Book Culture (@112th, @114th), The Strand (81st & 82nd on Columbus - I love their basement reading nook), Barnes and Noble (@82nd st). Consider pairing the AMNH with a visit to The Strand - they’re right next to each other!
Upcoming hot tickets
Musical Explorers Family @ Carnegie Hall (Zankel Hall, 7th Av & W 57th St.), interactive concerts about American freedom songs, the Puerto Rican bomba and plena and Indian classical music, Jan 17, 12pm and 3pm, $20, ages 4-8. A The Parent Loop pick!
The Mom Dance Party - Moms Feelin’ Themselves @ The Bowery Electric, Jan 17, 7-10 pm, $35, ages 21+. A The Parent Loop pick, see you there!
Family Saturdays @ New York City Ballet (David Koch Theater, Lincoln Center), A Timeless Tale on Feb 21 + The Comedy of Coppélia on May 30, price varies +$29, ages +5. Tickets are required for infants, children, and adults.
25th Flamenco Festival @ Ballet Hispánico, grades 3-12, Feb 26-Mar 1 and Mar 5-8, $45.
Recurring classes
Mommy & Me Pilates @ Bondd Pilates (66 E 85th St), Fridays 9:30 am and Sundays 10:30 am, $35. First class is free. A welcoming space for postpartum and expecting moms to move safely, bring their babies and build friendships. Stay after class to connect, chat, and meet other moms.
The Loop Edit: Let’s rethink kids’ clothes in New York
How parents are reworking what we buy, what we pass along, and what actually makes everyday life easier.
I still remember the first time I walked into a Goodwill in Columbus, Ohio. Rows of clothes and shelves packed with possibilities. With a small allowance, I suddenly felt like I could buy far more than I ever had before.
I grew up in Mexico, but my mom’s family is from Ohio. Every summer we would go back to visit, and that’s where I was introduced to thrift shops: Goodwill, the Salvation Army, church basements, and small consignment stores tucked into neighborhoods. I loved the hunt. The surprise. The feeling that you might find something no one else had. Those early trips made shopping feel creative rather than transactional, and that instinct stayed with me.
Parenting in New York has given that instinct new meaning.
Here, kids’ clothes aren’t an occasional errand. They’re a constant. What works for daycare, what fits the weather, what lasts a season, what needs replacing again. In a city where space is limited and time is tight, the old default of buy new, donate later starts to feel less practical and more exhausting.
What’s been interesting to watch is how parents are responding, not with grand declarations, but by building better options.
When I spoke with the founder of Carousel, Jessica Grenata, based in Brooklyn, what stood out wasn’t just her commitment to sustainability, but how directly her business grew out of real-life friction. After becoming a parent, shopping secondhand for her daughter felt time-consuming and inconsistent. Carousel emerged from that gap, a mission-driven company that offers curated, pre-loved clothing bundles for babies and young kids, designed to make secondhand feel easy, fun, and intentional while keeping kids’ clothes out of landfills.
I heard a similar thread when talking with the founders of Little Swaps, Claudia de la Guerra and Mónica Leesha, two New York parents who were tired of how hard it was to move kids’ things along. Overpriced gear, wasteful buying cycles, and the safety concerns of selling online felt mismatched with the realities of parenting. Little Swaps was built to remove that friction: no selling fees, no awkward meetups, no strangers at your door, just a safer, parent-first way to let go of what you’ve loved and pass it on.
What connects these stories isn’t just secondhand. It’s intention. A shared belief that kids’ clothes can circulate more thoughtfully. That systems should reduce effort, not add to it. And that practicality doesn’t have to come at the expense of joy, taste, or care.
This is the shift I’m paying attention to at The Parent Loop, not because it’s trendy, but because it reflects something deeper about modern parenting in New York. Fewer one-off decisions. Better defaults. Less accumulation. More intention. Systems that finally make room for both ease and delight.
Over the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing more of these conversations about how kids’ clothes move through NYC families today, and what it looks like when secondhand is designed for real life. But can still be fun.
More soon,
Jessie
Because good stuff really shouldn’t sit in a closet.
The Parent Loop
Disclaimer: Event details, dates, and links are subject to change — please check with venues before heading out. Some product links may earn me a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only share items we genuinely use and love.