Jersey Family Fun Playdates in the Park

Our 2018 Playdates in the Park concluded at the end of the 2018 summer.

Announcing the Jersey Family Fun Playdates in the Park. I love planning events and the idea of hosting playdates around New Jersey at the various parks has been on my wish list for quite a while. I am so thrilled to be able to share with you that this summer we are making it happen. We WILL plan a special day out with your kids that you will all treasure long after the summer is over. Keep reading. Then get out your calendar or switch to it in your mobile device and save the dates to the playdates that you and your family can join us at.

About the Jersey Family Fun Playdates in the Park

This summer, Jersey Family Fun will travel across New Jersey visiting playgrounds to host playdates that provide families with a fun morning out as well as an opportunity to learn about businesses and brands relevant to you. At each playdate, we’ll provide snacks, crafts, and activities. We also look forward to helping each family we see learn more about all the ways to have family fun in New Jersey. Each of our Playdates in the Park will be free. You don’t need to sign up in advance, but doing so will earn you special perks. Take a look at all the fun we have planned and then comment below and tell us which date you’ll attend (you can attend more than one) and what you’re looking forward to.

Playdates in the Park Activities

Entertainment by Chubby Penguins Parties

Chubby Penguin Events & Parties will be bringing a character and an activity (balloon animals OR a facepainter) to each of Jersey Family Fun’s Playdates in the Park this summer! Stay tuned for more details. Learn more about these New Jersey party entertainers on their Facebook page.

Check out the schedule of Chubby Penguin characters

June 21 – Chase (Paw Patrol)
July 5 – Poppy Troll
July 12 – Rapunzel
July 19 – Mickey Mouse
July 26 – Doc McStuffins
Aug 2 – Minnie Mouse
Aug 9 – Skye (Paw Patrol)
Aug 16 – Elena of Avalor

Make and Take Crafts

We want kids to remember these Playdates in the Park long after the event has passed. At each of our playdates, we’ll bring make and take crafts so that your child can make their own souvenir. There will be no cost to make crafts and we’ll keep the crafts easy. After all, we know kids might not want to be tied down to a craft table when the swings are calling out to them.

Summer Reading Book Swap

At a time when kids may be more prone to be inside on screens we want to get them excited to read. With our Summer Reading Book Swap we will remind kids of the joy of holding a book in their hands and turning each page to see what’s next in an exciting story. Bring those books your kids haven’t read in a while and we’ll bring ours. Bonus, we’re grabbing new books we’ve been reviewing over the last few weeks to add to our Summer Reading Book Swap table as well. (If you are an author, book store, or publisher that wants to be involved, email me at [email protected].) Kids won’t be required to bring a book to get a book, but doing so will certainly help our efforts. Plus, what could be better for your child than making a new friend while talking about a book your child has loved? Oh and don’t forget to read about our Great Big Book Giveaway! where your family can win a big bag full of books from Scholastic Book Fairs and other book publishers.

Good Old Fashioned Playground Fun

We found the best playgrounds across New Jersey to host these playdates. Trust us, you won’t want to leave when our playdate is over. Pack a lunch and plan to make a day out of it. Take note, because some of these playgrounds are bringing the WOW factor with beaches, splash pads, train rides, a zoo, and more. We won’t leave when it’s over and we don’t think you will too.

Snack Time

Kids get hungry! We’ve got that covered. We’re working with some brands to bring our guests some yummy snacks and beverages. Our refueling station will be ready to solve those “I’m hungry” and “I’m thirsty’ requests, but we still encourage you to pack a picnic lunch for after our playdate has ended. Keep watching this blog post and our event listings for more details on what snacks you can expect.

Entenmann’s Little Bites…These snacks my kids LOVE them! They are one of our favorite grab & go snacks for lunch boxes and family field trips. Entenmann’s will be one of our snack sponsors for the Jersey Family Fun Playdates in the Park. At each playdate kids and parents will get to treat themselves to a Little Bites snack. Learn more about them at their site or give them a shout out of thanks to them for their support on Facebook or Twitter.

Welch’s Fruit Snacks .. Welch’s Fruit Snacks are America’s favorite Made-With-Real-Fruit fruit snacks! I taste-tested these when they came in. They are so yummy I am having a hard time keeping myself from snacking on them. You’ll see what I mean at our Playdates in the Park. At each playdate we’ll have the Welch’s Fruit Snacks available as a snack. Plus families that registered as early bird VIPS will get an extra fruit snack in their swag bags. Learn more about them at their site or give them a shout out of thanks to them for their support on Facebook or Twitter.

Happy Family .. At Happy Family they’re parents, too. That’s why their delicious, premium organic foods always offer the best possible nutrition for growing babies, toddlers and kids. At each playdate we’ll have Happy Family products available as a snack. You may even see the Happy Family truck there as well. Learn more about Happy Family products at their site or give them a shout out of thanks to them for their support on Facebook or Twitter.

GoGo Squeez .. Grab and Go with GoGo SqueeZ, the perfect complement to any lunchbox! The all – natural yumminess in a pouch. GoGo SqueeZ is available in a variety of great flavors for every taste bud. The original applesauce pouch! 100% natural fruit! A healthy on-the-go snack! New Yogurtz! from GoGo SqueeZ. All Natural shelf stable YogurtZ in a pouch. the perfect complement to any breakfast or lunchbox! All – natural yumminess in a pouch. GoGo SqueeZ YogurtZ is available in 3 great flavors for every taste bud. A healthy on-the-go snack that our guests will get to enjoy at our Playdates in the Park! Learn more about GoGo Squuez at their site or give them a shout out of thanks to them for their support on Facebook or Twitter.

Cabot Cheese…Cabot is a dairy cooperative located in Vermont and owned by farmers throughout New England and New York. Their farmers and employees take great pride in producing a great-tasting, all-natural, cheddar cheese. At each playdate kids and parents will get to snack on Cabot Cheese cheddar cheese samples. Learn more about them at their site or give them a shout out of thanks to them for their support on Facebook or Twitter.

Jersey Family Fun Prize Wheel

Who doesn’t love to win prizes? We’ll bring the Jersey Family Fun Prize Wheel to each of the Jersey Family Fun Playdates in the Park. In order to spin, you’ll need to sign up for one of our Jersey Family Fun newsletters. Once you do you can spin the wheel for a chance to win:

2 Tickets to the Franklin Institute
2 Tickets to Sahara Sam’s
2 Tickets to Diggerland USA
2 Tickets to the Tuckerton Seaport
2 Tickets to the Garden State Discovery Museum
2 Tickets to the Penn Museum
Books or toys from our prize box
Bubbles, pencils, temporary tattoos, and other mini toys

Playdates in the Park Swag Bags for VIP Guests

Look at some of this great swag our registered guests will take home with them. This list will grow as we get closer to each event. Register early because these VIP swag bags will be limited to the first 50 registered families per event. There’s no fee to attend, but we can only provide take home bags to the first 50 families that register for each playdate. There will be a limit of one bag per family.

JoJo Maman Bébé

JoJo Maman Bébé is the leading British independent maternity, baby & nursery designer/retailer available in the UK, Ireland and USA. They will be opening a store in Montclair, New Jersey in the coming months. To celebrate each swag bag will include 2 of the JoJo Maman Bébé bunnies. Get to know JoJo Maman Bébé in the video below and across their site and social media channels: Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

JUNKLESS Chewy Granola Bars

JUNKLESS Chewy Granola Bars are family-friendly snacks that are minimally processed, contain no artificial flavors, colors or preservatives, are Non-GMO Project Verified and contain 6 grams or less of sugar. No junk, and they taste good! In the New Jersey area, JUNKLESS bars are sold at ShopRite stores. They are also sold on Amazon and in select grocery stores around the country.

Ernie Pang, who used to do marketing for Kellogg’s, came up with the idea after he and his son were grocery shopping and Michael asked about the lengthy list of hard-to-pronounce ingredients on the side panel of a frozen food product. Ernie believed it was time to go back to basics and create wholesome food products the whole family would love. JUNKLESS Foods Inc. is a small startup committed to providing families with better treats made with simple, real ingredients. Two of the three founders have New Jersey ties, and they’re so excited to share their Cinnamon Roll and Chocolate Chip bars with $1-off coupons in each of our gift bags. I tasted tested the Cinnamon Roll and it was ymmy. Get to know JUNKLESS Chewy Granola Bars in the video below and on their site and social media channels: Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Supernatural Plant-Based Food Colors

Serious vibrancy, amazing performance, and a little bit of magic: Supernatural Kitchen’s plant-based food colors are safe for humans with allergies and attention disorders. Four single-use packets: Yellow, Orange, Pomegranate and Magic Blackberry. Our guests are going home with a tube of 4 single-use packets. Each packet vibrantly colors 2 cups frosting or 24 cupcakes (standard usage). It’s 100% plant-based color, no artificial colors, no allergens and no GMOs. It’s a vegan, gluten-free, and kosher food coloring option. Get to know Supernatural Plant-Based Food Colors on their site and social media channels: Instagram and Facebook.

iCloth Cleaning Products

iCloth specializes in making products to clean what they call sensitive optical surfaces since 2001. It all started with eyewear, then came to include in-flight entertainment screens in a major airline fleet, and today includes all the screens on the many devices that surround us daily at work and at play. Just think of how grimy your kids’ electronics could be. There will be 2-3 iCloths in each gift bag. Get to know iCloth Cleaning Products in the video below and on their site and social media channels: Twitter and Facebook.

Valuable Money Savings Offers

Each of our following partners have provided us with exclusive coupons to help you save $5 or more off your next family visit.

Diggerland USA
Franklin Institute
iPlay America
Sahara Sams

Playdates in the Park Schedule

The following is our schedule of Jersey Family Fun Playdates in the Park. We encourage you to register early for the events you can attend. Gift bags will be limited to the first 50 families that register for each event. Extra gift bags will be available as prizes for guests in attendance.

Special Note to parents: We’ve done our best to arrange playdates at parks with restrooms.

Thursday, June 21, from 10 am to Noon at Wolcott Park in Eatontown, New Jersey – Please register here.
- Follow all the updates by marking yourself as attending in this Facebook event listing.
- Read our Wolcott Park review here.
POSTPONED Thursday, June 28, from 10 am to Noon at Turkey Brook Park in Mount Olive, New Jersey
Thursday, July 5, from 10 am to Noon at Estell Manor Park in Mays Landing, New Jersey – Please register here
- Follow all the updates by marking yourself as attending in this Facebook event listing.
- Save some time to see the turtles and frogs on display in the nature center, visit their second set of playgrounds, and to hike one of their trails.
- Read our Estell Manor Park review here.
Thursday, July 12, from 10 am to Noon at Johnson Park in Piscataway, New Jersey. – Please register here.
- Follow all the updates by marking yourself as attending in this Facebook event listing.
- Charge up your phone to get some great pictures of the kids with the animals in the animal haven.
- Read our Johnson Park review here.
Thursday, July 19, from 10 am to Noon at Van Saun County Park in Paramus, New Jersey – Please register here.
- The first 50 families to register will receive a free 4×6 digital family portrait compliments of MadCris Images Photography.
- Follow all the updates by marking yourself as attending in this Facebook event listing.
- Bring a few extra dollars with you to this playdate. Van Saun Park has a carousel, train, and zoo for guests to enjoy.
- Read our Van Saun County Park review here.
Thursday, July 26, from 10 am to Noon at Long Bridge Park in Hainesport, New Jersey – Please register here.
- Follow all the updates by marking yourself as attending in this Facebook event listing.
CANCELLED Thursday, August 2, from 10 am to Noon at Ocean County Park in Lakewood, New Jersey.
- Pack your bathing suits and towels. Ocean County Park will have their beach open and staffed with lifeguards.
Thursday, August 9, from 10 am to Noon at Ponderosa Park in Scotch Plains, New Jersey – Please register here.
- Follow all the updates by marking yourself as attending in this Facebook event listing.
- Pack your bathing suits and towels. Ponderosa Park has a splash pad.
- Read our Ponderosa Park review here.
Thursday, August 16, from 10 am to Noon at Cape May County Zoo and Park in Cape May Court House, New Jersey – Please register here.
- The first 50 families to register will receive a free 4×6 digital family portrait compliments of MadCris Images Photography.
- Follow all the updates by marking yourself as attending in this Facebook event listing.
- Save time to visit the Cape May County Zoo. Admission is free but donations are appreciated at the main entrance to the park and zoo area.
- If it’s hot pack your bathing suit, we’ve been told the park staff may put out some sprinklers for us.
- Read our Cape May County Zoo review here.
NEW DATE Thursday, August 23, from 10 am to Noon at Turkey Brook Park in Mount Olive, New Jersey – Please register here.
- The first 50 families to register will receive a free 4×6 digital family portrait compliments of MadCris Images Photography.
- Follow all the updates by marking yourself as attending in this Facebook event listing.
- Pack your bathing suits and towels. Turkey Brook Park has a splash pad.
- Read our Turkey Brook Park review here.

Save this link! As new details are available they will be posted here.

Sponsorships are still available. If your business is interested in being involved or sponsoring one or more of our Playdates in the Park, please contact Jennifer Auer at [email protected].