How Do You Like Your Macaroni?

Most of you have been with Macaroni Kid for a while, but I know there are some of you who are brand new, WELCOME!  When I look at the Macaroni Kid website, I see a clean easy to navigate site, free from clutter.  But, I know when something is new, sometimes you need a little guidance on where to find things, and how to take advantage of all the bells and whistles.  So, this is my play-by-play on how to make the most out of Macaroni Kid, and soon it'll be second nature.  

I am going to start with the tool that I love the most - "My Macaroni" - then I will walk you through the rest of the site... 

When you are looking for free and affordable events close to home, start with the MacKid event calendar




This will bring you to the current month's calendar.  Find the day that you are looking for something to do, and click "view more."  Here, I am looking for something to do on Thursday July 3, 2014.




You will now find the complete listing of the days local, free, and affordable family-friendly events.  You can click on the events to see more information if needed.  When you have found an event that you want to attend, Macaroni Kid offers you two options.  My Macaroni is the option I prefer!  

Click on "Add to My Macaroni" and you will remain right on the same page but the text in that spot will change.


You can remove it if you want to - but I want it to stay as a favorited event for now! You can now finish looking at the calendar, I usually plan about a week at a time.  When you are done, click on "My Macaroni."



You will be brought to a page listing all the awesome events you plan on attending!



You have the ability to remove individual events, or clear them all if you are ready to start fresh.  But, most importantly, this is where you can download your PDF file, listing all your events!  The PDF will list all the details and you can easily email it to yourself, to a babysitter, or a friend; or you could print it out and hang it by the fridge or tuck in your planner.  I send My Macaroni to my husband, so he knows what our plans are for the week!  


You also have the option (from the daily calendar page) to add events directly to your google calendar if you prefer, but I love My Macaroni!

Now... a quick walk through the rest of the website:  Let’s start at the top!  

• You will find links to the Archives, where you can click back and see all the past publications of Macaroni Kid Pittsford SE-Rochester.  Maybe you are looking for something specific that you know happened at this time last year, or maybe you just need a second helping this week and want to check out a past edition - It’s all right there waiting for you!
• If you want to know more About Me - the local mom behind Pittsford-SE Rochester Macaroni Kid - you can find that here.  As well as a little bit about Joyce and Eric - the local parents behind the national brand, Macaroni Kid.  
• And how you can Contact Me - if you have any questions, concerns, or comments.  Whether you are a subscriber, local business, advertiser, or visitor - we want to know what you think.  This site is for you, and we love receiving feedback and helping you the best we can.

Moving down - when you are on our main page, you will see the following links on the main menu strip: 

• We have already discussed the Events Calendar...
• The next link is for the Business Directory.  Clicking on our Buisness Directory will bring you to a listing of local businesses who have elected to be included in the Macaroni Kid Business Directory.  These are businesses who are family-friendly and support the Macaroni Kid Mission, so we highly recommend supporting their businesses.
• If you enjoy Macaroni Kid, but live outside of the Pittsford-SE Rochester territory, you may want to consider Becoming a Publisher Mom, like I did.  Currently, we are the only edition local to Rochester, so chances are good that you would be able to publish in your community.  This link will tell you what your next steps should be.
• And, we have already discussed My Macaroni too!
• If you are in charge of, or know of, an event that we do not have listed on our calendar, please use the Submit an Event button to submit the information.  Typically, all events will be live on the calendar within 2 business days.  We list events that are free, or affordable and open to the general public.  Calendar events may not be ongoing classes or require a membership. If you are interested in advertising an ongoing class, or special event that does not meet our calendar requirements, we also have many affordable advertising options available.
• Next, is the Search bar - it is pretty self-explanatory.  If you would like to search for anything, this is the place to do it!  It will search articles and events in current and past publications.
• Last on this menu is the Subscribe button.  If you have not subscribed to the FREE weekly newsletter, what are you waiting for?  Now is as good of a time as any!

Now, onto the substance of the website:

Along the right hand margin you will find some advertisements from our sponsoring businesses.  These businesses believe in Macaroni Kid and are helping me to bring you the best information every week.  There are typically 2 national sponsors, and the rest are locally owned, and family-friendly.  Exactly the types of businesses that I love supporting, and I personally recommend each of them to all of my readers.  Make sure to take some time to check them all out, and see what they have to offer you! 

A constant presence on the right side of the screen are our social media buttons.  Please take a moment and like/follow on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.  I will post the most up to date information or changes I find through social media.  I also Pin a lot of cute crafts, recipes and ideas that may not make it into the newsletter.   

The site leads with a large sized Slideshow Article, with multiple pictures that rotate.  Typically this will be a “This week’s Highlights” article - outlining what information can be found in the current newsletter.  Occasionally, it may be a special article of interest.

Next, are the Featured Articles.  There are typically 6-12 articles here.  This is where you may find product reviews, business reviews, crafts, recipes, parenting tips, special events, and other articles that are of interest to our readers.  Typically these articles are all new this week, but if an article pertains to more than one week, you may see it repeat here.

After the featured articles, you will find the Event Listings.  

• This Week’s Picks are listed first.  I hand pick one event per day that I think is unique, special, or may enjoy attending myself.  If you are interested in advertising an event specifically in This Week’s Picks, you can contact me, otherwise I can not promise or guarantee placement in this section.  
• Today’s Events are listed next.  The events on today’s calendar are listed by time, so you can easily see, what is happening and when.  
• This Weeks Calendar follows, with all the events occurring over the coming week.
• Teen Scene has the events especially for tweens/teens.  
• Plan Ahead are the events that are over a week away, but worth knowing about.

Always scroll all the way down!  Our general articles are found after the event listings.  This is where you will find the relevant guides, like our Kid’s Eat Free (or cheap) Guide, Festival Guide, and more.  These listings are typically all ongoing articles, but also an interest to many parents!  

You will find our Main Menu repeated at the bottom of the page, with all the same great links.  

The links on the very bottom will give you more information about the National Macaroni Kid media brand, Privacy & Editorial Policies, and more.