Toledo Parent

12/12/2025

🎁 Shop local and check out our 2025 Holiday Gift Guide! 🎁

🛍️ Hit Franklin Park Mall for a one-stop shop for the whole family!

🏖️ Gift an experience with a gift card to The Sandbox for Kids!

🦒Grab educational gifts that spark curiosity from The Toledo Zoo's North Star Trading Post

🖼️ Gift a custom keepsake with We'll Frame It! From shadowboxes with concert photos and posters to diplomas, awards, medals, and jerseys, We'll Frame It's attention to detail makes every piece shine.

Get the full list here: https://toledoparent.com/features/holiday-gift-guide-2025/

12/12/2025

Local Momma Stacee Duncan and her baby, Button, have been fighting an uphill battle since Button was born at just 22 weeks.

Button is now 26 months old, defying all odds, and is looking for help.

The baby named Button sure was in a hurry to come into the world. Ever since then, she’s led quite the life, as has her mother. It’s been a tough life all around. And they’re looking for help. Button—officially Jrdyn (pronounced “Jordan”) Makaylee Duncan—was born on Oct. 16, 2023, at P...

12/12/2025

Black Swamp Fine Arts School LLC 's production of Mina & The Nutcracker will show on Saturday, December 20th, at the Marathon Center for the Performing Arts!

The production will have a special sensory-friendly version of the show at 1pm where audience members can meet Mina, the Sugar Plum Fairy, and the Nutcracker!

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/14Uv5BombM4/

12/11/2025

🚂 Imagination Station Toledo is screening The Polar Express 3D THIS Saturday, December 13th at 10am and 2pm! 🚂

After the show, Santa himself will greet guests and present each child with the First Gift of Christmas.

Grab your tickets & learn more:

This holiday season, the magic of Christmas comes alive in downtown Toledo as Imagination Station presents The Polar Express 3D! On Saturday, December 13, audiences of all ages are invited to climb aboard for an unforgettable journey to the North Pole at 10am and 2pm. As the theater lights dim and t...

12/11/2025

A bipartisan group of Ohio lawmakers recently introduced a resolution for greater awareness around firearm storage and promoting safety campaigns that reach homes, schools and neighborhoods.

The goal isn’t about changing who can own a gun—it’s about making sure fi****ms are stored responsibly, especially when children are nearby.

No parent ever expects tragedy to strike at home. Yet across Ohio, more children are being injured or killed in accidental shootings—most involving unsecured fi****ms. Toddlers, teenagers and curious kids of all ages are finding guns left out in plain sight or stored without locks, often with deva...

12/11/2025

Weekend Roundup! Check out our event calendar for more local events: https://toledoparent.com/calendar/

🩰 Toledo Ballet's 85th annual production of The Nutcracker is taking place this weekend!

⛸️ Catch Disney on Ice presenting Frozen & Encanto at Huntington Center this weekend.

🧥The Gather by Graze Station is hosting a Merry Little Makers DIY Denim Patch Party for kids this Sunday!

🎳 Santa and Mrs. Claus are coming to Forest View Lanes - Recreation Bar and Grill on Saturday for Breakfast & Bowling with Santa!

12/10/2025

✨ Experience the magic at the 40th year of Lights Before Christmas, presented by Huntington Bank from Nov. 21 through Dec. 31. ✨

See over one million lights and 200+ illuminated animal images, the award-winning Big Tree, and holiday snacks at the Yuletide Food & Spirits tent.

Explore the Winter Village sponsored by Kroger in the Amphitheatre and visit Santa at Santa's Lodge!

Find the full event schedule and reserve tickets here: https://www.toledozoo.org/events/lights

🦒The Toledo Zoo 🦒

12/10/2025

❄🩰Toledo Ballet's production of The Nutcracker is THIS WEEKEND! ❄🩰

Grab tickets to the 85th annual Toledo tradition now!

🍭✨ 𝗧𝗢𝗟𝗘𝗗𝗢 𝗕𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗧'𝗦 𝟴𝟱𝗧𝗛 𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗨𝗔𝗟 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗡𝗨𝗧𝗖𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗥 🍭✨

Join the elegant Cavalier as he brings strength and grace to the Land of Sweets in Toledo Ballet’s 85th annual production of The Nutcracker. This beloved holiday tradition is filled with breathtaking choreography, dazzling costumes, and the timeless music that makes the season magical.

We are thrilled to present four public performances plus a special student show this season. Make this holiday unforgettable and experience the enchantment of The Nutcracker!

✨ Grab tickets now and celebrate 85 years of holiday magic!

🍭December 12 - 7PM
🍭December 13 - 2PM & 7 PM
🍭December 14 - 2PM
✨The Stranahan Theater

𝗧𝗜𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗧𝗦 - Link in bio, or visit https://www.artstoledo.com/events/2025/12/14/toledo-ballet/the-nutcracker/293/

12/10/2025

🍎 Children and parents need health literacy to make informed decisions regarding their health. 🍎

Dr. Lawrence Monger MD, medical director of the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department, provides this insight regarding why health literacy is so important for parents and children.

With the rise of technology and medical advances in healthcare, health literacy—the ability to obtain, process and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions—is more important than ever. Children and parents need health literacy to make informed ...

12/10/2025

We spoke with a local mother of 4, LaKedria Lozano, about how she manages to parent while overcoming daily health hurdles, the importance of self care and her advice for other parents in similar situations.

Parenting little ones can be exhausting, even on the best of days. But parents with debilitating diseases, illnesses or disabilities have even more hurdles to overcome on a daily basis. LaKedria Lozano knows this all too well. As a homeschooling mother of four children, ages 5 to 10, her weekly cale...

12/09/2025

❄️ Save the date & register for the FREE Santa Pajama Party at Franklin Park Mall on Wednesday, December 17th! ❄️

This month's Kids Club will feature:
📚 Holiday story-time with Santa
✨Watercolor snowflakes and holiday collage with Educare Academy
☃️ Snowman dancing from DivaDance Toledo
🍪 Hot cocoa and cookies courtesy of Franklin Perk Cafe
✂️ Holiday crafts, and coloring contest sheets from Children's Wonderland

🧦 Families who pre-register will receive a pair of holiday socks to keep the cozy going at home!

Register here: https://visitfranklinparkmall.com/event/santa-pajama-party-c91f0fdfe87c/

12/09/2025

📣 Toledo School for the Arts New Student Enrollment Lottery is open! 📣

Apply now for the 2026-2027 school year. TSA provides an education unlike any other, blending the arts & harnessing each student's unique abilities.

Documents are due by January 30, 2026 at 3pm to qualify.

For more information on enrollment and the application, visit: ts4arts.org/enrollment/ or email [email protected]