A Monumental Playdate at the Central Park Petting Zoo

Disclosure Note: This was a paid, sponsored meet-up with Safari Ltd. The opinions expressed in this post are our own and have not been influenced by our sponsor.  We limit our advertising to relevant partners that offer products and services we believe in and use ourselves. 

One of my favorite family activities is visiting the Central Park Zoo.  It’s a little oasis in the middle of Central Park that has become an essential destination every few weeks to satisfy our love of animals. Visiting the zoo with my parents during my childhood was a highlight for me and I love sharing that passion with my son.  With the balmy weather finally upon us in New York, we decided to extend an invitation to our entire NYC Dads Group organization to join us for a monumental playdate at the petting zoo.

The dads in our community love opportunities to play with their children!  Last week, twenty-five dads with their little ones in tow descended upon the Central Park Zoo.   We decided to take it up a notch and invite Safari LTD. to the #ZooPlayDate to “discover the frontiers of our imagination” with their authentic, hand-crafted zoo animal figurines so we could recreate scenes happening at the zoo, in the petting zoo, or wherever else our children’s imaginations take us.

Our little ones had a blast at the petting zoo feeding and engaging with the sheep, goats, pigs, alpacas, and cows.  Sure, we spent a bloody fortune on overpriced animal food pellets so our children could giggle and get slobbered on as they fed their favorite animals, but it was completely worth it.  The children played with their new animal figurines and climbed all over the massive spiderweb, while the dads had a chance to ride the pine and catch up with each other as we basked in the sunshine of the perfect Spring day.  I still have vivid images of my son and I pretending we were kangaroos (just like our Safari Ltd. Aussie figure) as we hopped and skipped home from our monumental playdate.