Let’s say good-bye to January with an eclectic mix of activities this weekend. Pack the Hall for a free UI women's game or enjoy music, dance, donkey basketball (whatever) and maybe some prom-dress shopping? Plus, get helpful information about preparing your little one for kindergarten!

Yes, it's cold. Really cold. And you may just feel like staying in and sipping hot chocolate by the fire this weekend. But the kids are bound to go bonkers at some point, so here are a few free ideas to burn off that energy. Or send them outside to build a snowman!

UPDATED: What's even better than discounted books? Free books, of course!

The Center for Children’s Books, which runs an annual discount book sale in February, also gives away free copies of galley books every six months.

The second semester is in full swing, and I’m trying hard not to think about it.

About how my fifth-grade son will soon celebrate his last PTA “Fun Night” and his last classroom party. How we have cried through his last elementary music program. How he has only a few short months left to walk to school with his little sister.

It’s a three-day weekend! Time to take your kids to celebrate the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., beat the winter blahs with live music at the library, take a "Solar System Safari" or enjoy special holiday swimming or ice-skating hours. But don’t forget: public libraries are closed Monday.

Things are a little quieter than usual this weekend, with the holidays over and the University of Illinois still gearing up for the semester. But we’ve scrounged up a few activities for you and your family, from sports to world cultures to Legos.

Now that we’ve gotten through the holidays and hauled all of our new stuff home, we face the annual task of finding somewhere to put it.

For 30 years, they’ve been apart — 30 Christmases, 30 News Year’s, Easters and birthdays, through marriages and divorces, the death of a son, a husband and brother.

Holiday traditions take many forms. Ours is the annual Christmas road trip.

With all of our relatives in other cities, we hit the road for at least part of every holiday season, visiting one if not both sides of the family in metro St. Louis and Omaha.

We know you're busy with that last-minute shopping, but if you want to squeeze in some fun with the kids we've got you covered!