Recently Kmart hosted a special Playdate Picnic at Hudson River Park in NYC and invited families to come play and meet special guest from Time to Play Magazine along with some of their Playdate Place Expert Bloggers like Lamar and Ronnie Tyler, the power couple behind the website Black & Married With Kids. So they wanted me to meet famous social media people AND play for most of the day? How could I say no?!

After arriving at the picnic, I soon met and chatted with Lamar and Ronnie Tyler about juggling time with family while being social media rock stars. Their advice? Always keep family first and a priority. Everything else needs to work around that. Great advice! I also chatted with Lamar and Ronnie about why the Kmart's Playdate Place website is a great family resource. Watch the video to hear what they had to say. Since they are Playdate Place Experts, Lamar and Ronnie had to continue meeting other families attending the picnic, so my son and I went off to enjoy some of the activities available. There was so many play options at the picnic. Families could play with all sorts of toys and games including bubble blowers, water guns and hola hoops. As we went around playing at the different station we discovered the special guest from Time to Play Magazine are Christopher Byrne and Jim Silver. Let me just say I'm always happy to see Chris and Jim. They really understand why kids needs to play and how to help parents understand that need. They took time out to share with me why their connected with Kmart's Playdate Place. As Jim played with my son and tried to guess how much heavy he is (a lot!), Chris shared that they loved the idea of helping parents plan playdates for their families. They provide toys to be featured on the site to help families find the right ones to encourage all different types of play. Chris also shared that it's not always the hottest and latest toy that makes play fun for a child. Great advice I though so parents chose playtime toys for your family wisely! Along with sharing toys, Jim and Chris was there to give toys away! They held a raffle and after picking a child's name, that child got to pick a toy to take home and enjoy. Even my son was called and received a prize. I couldn't help laughing that his prize was bigger then he was. But he was happy about winning a prize and insisted on carrying it all by himself. A birthday was also celebrated during the picnic. Everyone gathered around to wish one child a happy birthday and help blow out his candles. If your child is celebrating a birthday soon make sure to sign up for Kmart's Birthday Club , where kids earn $5 birthday bucks on their birthday and parents can access great tips on gifts for children. My son and I had a great time at the picnic and enjoyed hearing tips and advice to make our next playdate even more fun. If you'd like some tips on planning the perfect play date make sure to visit the newly redesigned Kmart Playdate Place community - http://bit.ly/kmartplaydateplace Don't forget to also enter to win the Ultimate Playdate Picnic Package, worth $250. Have fun playing!