Join the Mass Audubon Society

One of the best things about living in Massachusetts is access to the Mass Audubon locations. There are over 40 sanctuaries throughout the state, and many within close proximity to Boston. View their map here.

Family memberships are currently $65 as of March 2012. Once you're a member, you can get into all of the sanctuaries for free, and memberships offer m

any other membership perks. It's really the perfect membership for a family who loves the outdoors, because you can visit the same sanctuaries over and over again and enjoy them just as much each time.

Different sanctuaries offer different and wonderful things. For instance, Drumlin Farm, located in Lincoln, is particularly great for young children because not only does it have plenty of hiking and scenic views, but it also has a working farm. You can visit sheep, goats, pigs, cows, ponies, and lots and lots of chickens! They also rescue injured birds which you can also visit. Others, such as Moose Hill in Sharon or Ipswich River in Topsfield have many miles of trails.

You don't have to travel very far at all to enjoy one of the sanctuaries. Boston Nature Center is an urban wildlife sanctuary right in Mattapan, with two miles of trails and boardwalks.

When hiking on the trails, a baby carrier is a plus. Some of the trails are difficult to get around even with a hearty jogging stroller.

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This was originally posted on Examiner.com in June, 2010.

Box Office Babies in Brookline

Sometimes with a baby, especially with a newborn, getting out of the house is the key to sanity. There are only so many times you can run errands or take a walk around the block, but luckily the Coolidge Corner Theatre offers something called Box Office Babies.

Box Office Babies offers a baby-friendly atmosphere for parents and caregivers to catch a current movie, baby in tow. They leave some extra lighting on during the movie and they lower the volume just a little bit. If your baby cries, you won't get the evil eye, and you can feel completely comfortable nursing your baby whenever he or she gets hungry during the movie.

The Coolidge Corner Theatre has a huge lobby where you can park your stroller and changing tables in the bathroom. The movies are held twice a month, on alternate Fridays. Sign up for their newsletter to get information on which movies are being shown.

This is probably best suited for very young babies (under 3 or 4 months), as once they get a little more alert and active it can be difficult to get them to sit still for the duration of a full-length movie. The movies shown are not necessarily kid-friendly movies (some recent ones included Vincere and The Last Station) so if you have older children, this probably isn't the best outing.

The Capitol Theater in Arlington offers something similar on Monday afternoons.

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This originally appeared on Boston Baby Activities - Examiner.com on June 14, 2010.

Hello, friends!

My name is Krissy. I live in Newton with my husband Matt and my son, Isaac, born 11/11/09. I am the Community Manager for KeenForGreen.com and the Communications Manager for Harmonic Lab Solutions, LLC.

I'm the type of person who is always looking for places to go and things to do. After my son was born, I was specifically looking for things to do with younger kids - the babies, toddlers, and preschooler age. What's stroller-friendly? Which restaurants have kids menus? Which places have changing tables?

Babies & Tots in Greater Boston began as a column called "Boston Baby Activities" on Examiner.com in the summer of 2010. I ultimately lost interest in writing for Examiner, and later decided to spin this off into a specific blog. I'll be copying and pasting my old Examiner posts here and writing new posts, as well.

Thanks for visiting!