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  • Memorial Day Weekend for NYC Kids: Governors Island Family Festival, Dinosaur Safari,...
  • Memorial Day Weekend Getaways: 5 Fun Day Trips for NYC Families
  • Best Things to Do with NYC Kids: May 2013
  • New York City Summer Camp and Day Camp Guide 2013
  • This Week: Memorial Day Weekend in NYC and Beyond, Beaches After Sandy, Family Day Tr...
  • World Science Festival 2013: Free Street Fair and Other Science Fun for NYC Kids
  • Brand-New Queens Amusement Park: Fantasy Forest at the Flushing Meadows Carousel
  • NYC Beaches After Sandy: What to Expect at Rockaway, Coney Island, Brighton Beach and...
  • 5 Inexpensive Birthday Party Room Rentals for NYC Kids
  • Governors Island with Kids: Vintage Carnival Rides and What Else is New for 2013
  • 5 Ways for Kids to Experience Russian Culture in NYC
  • Family-Friendly Crown Heights Restaurants: Where to Eat with Kids in Brooklyn
  • This Week: Mommy Poppins App, Memorial Day Weekend Travel Deals, a Dino Ride at the B...
  • Mommy Poppins App Is Coming! Help Us Launch It and Win Cool Rewards
  • Free & Fun Things to Do this Weekend with NYC Kids: Outdoor Festivals, Dance Para...
  • Best Ice Cream and Ices in Queens: 9 Sweet Scoop Spots

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Apr 25 2013
  • Raven's blog
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This Week: Awesome New Giveaways, Best Free Annual Family Festivals, Things to Do During Screen-Free Week

Things to do with kids: This Week: Awesome New Giveaways, Best Free Annual Family Festivals, Things to Do During Screen-Free Week

Do you feel lucky? This week we have not one, not two but three great giveaways going on at Mommy Poppins. Enter to win an Earth Friendly Products gift basket chock-full of eco-friendly cleaning supplies; a professional portrait of your kids by artist Lori Nelson or a four pack of tickets to the Guggenheim Museum. Not only are the prizes eclectic, the methods of winning are as well. For the Earth Friendly Products and Lori Nelson portraits, all you need to do is enter to win. But for the Guggenheim giveaway, we're encouraging readers to take the kids to the museum's current exhibit Gutai, snap a pic and submit it to our Facebook or Pinterest pages. That giveaway is definitely the most fun and is totally in keeping with our site's mission of getting families out and about doing cool things with kids.

Speaking of fun family outings, festival season is in full swing, which inspired us to round up our top 25 FREE annual festivals. And would you believe three of our picks take place this very weekend?

Our other sites have also been busy sharing the best things to do this spring on Long Island, in New Jersey, Connecticut and beyond, but a few posts will be of particular interest to New York families. If your kids are begging to see the likes of Taylor Swift and One Direction live, NJ's got a roundup of concerts for tweens, most easily accessible from the city. Our LA site did an awesome post in honor of Screen-Free Week with 10 fun no-tech things to do with kids. And on a more somber note, our CT site has a heartfelt post about ways kids can volunteer in the wake of a tragedy. While some of the suggestions are local, there are also ideas that apply to families anywhere, like donating allowance or toys.

Here's what else we covered in NYC this week:

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Apr 25 2013
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Mother's Day Giveaway: Baby and Child Portraits by Lori Nelson

Mother's Day Giveaway: Baby and Child Portraits by Lori Nelson

There is nothing as precious to a mom as beautiful portraits of her children. Whether your cutie is an infant or a teenager, they grow up and change so fast that catching one moment in time is a priceless treasure. A professional portrait captures not only their delicious faces, but their personalities as well. 

I found out about Lori Nelson's paintings from her sister, Jodi Call, a Brooklyn mom blogger who writes about raising her three boys on the hilarious and heartfelt Pistols and Popcorn. I was immediately smitten with Lori's kids' portraits and wanted one for our family.

What I love about Lori's work is that she delivers gorgeous likenesses of her subjects in whimsical settings. Her one-of-a-kind portraits include local architectural details, nature and fantasy elements, and fun tidbits about the kids she's painting. When Lori contacted me to offer portraits of my children so I could review her work and offer a giveaway, I was obviously thrilled. But it was also great to work with her and learn about her process.

Read on to find out more about Lori Nelson's children's portraits and how you could win one of your kids.

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Apr 24 2013
  • Stephanie's blog
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Free & Fun Things to Do This Weekend with NYC Kids: Cherry Blossom Festival, Tribeca Family Festival, Street Games April 27-28

Things to do with kids: Free & Fun Things to Do This Weekend with NYC Kids: Cherry Blossom Festival, Tribeca Family Festival, Street Games April 27-28

Are you good at making tough decisions? We hope so, because there's a slew of amazing activities to choose from this weekend, including three picks from our April NYC Go List: the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Sakura Matsuri: Cherry Blossom Festival, the Parks Department's no-cost celebration of Street Games in East Harlem and the Tribeca Film Festival's free Family Street Fair.

While those three annual family favorites promise to be super-cool, they'll also be super-crowded. So you might want to try hitting an event that's a bit more under the radar like Park Slope's Fifth Avenue Family Fest, the Queens Botanical Garden's Arbor Festival or your local YMCA for Healthy Kids Day. If you just feel like hanging out at a local green space, check out our Parks and Playgrounds Guide for the scoop on NYC's best outdoor play spots.

These are just a few of the great things going on this weekend. All of our best bets are below. You can find additional options in our Event Calendar and our Spring Fun Guide.

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Apr 24 2013
  • Nataki's blog
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Staten Island Kids Party Places: 10 More Great Birthday Ideas

Things to do with kids: Staten Island Kids Party Places: 10 More Great Birthday Ideas

In the past we've touted Staten Island as a great place to find a birthday party bargain. But there are so many fun Staten Island party spots, we thought it was time to do a new roundup.

Not only do Staten Island parties tend to be some of the least expensive options in NYC, they often offer the kind of fun you usually only find in the 'burbs, like bumper cars, go-carts and massive video game arcades. So in addition to our original list of Staten Island party places, here are 10 more spots where you can throw a memorable birthday bash. You can find even more options in our Party Guide.

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  • Staten Island
  • United States
Apr 23 2013
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Jewish Children's Museum: Play, Learn and Go Back in Time at this Brooklyn Culture Spot

Jewish Children's Museum: Play, Learn and Go Back in Time at this Brooklyn Culture Spot

You don't have to be Jewish to enjoy the Jewish Children's Museum. Although much less famous than that other Brooklyn Children's Museum (which happens to be located just a short walk away), the Jewish Children's Museum is the biggest institution of its kind in the U.S., and opened back in 2004. And yet my family and I had never been, a real shame (or shonda as we say in Yiddish).

Last month my kids and I finally made it to the museum and it was well worth the schlep. We originally intended to stay only an hour or so, but ended up spending almost four hours, there was just so much to see, do and try—including an indoor mini-golf course. Like a traditional children's museum, the displays are interactive and educational, the notable difference being that they all relate to Jewish history and culture in some way. And while there are certainly other places where you can learn about Jewish culture in NYC, the Jewish Children's Museum is the only spot that engages kids in such a fun, hands-on way.

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  • Preschoolers
  • Brooklyn
  • Crown Heights
Apr 23 2013
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TADA! Brings a Pair of Books by Ezra Jack Keats to Vibrant Life on Stage

TADA! Brings a Pair of Books by Ezra Jack Keats to Vibrant Life on Stage

From Fancy Nancy to the Berenstain Bears to Matilda, putting popular children's books on stage is nothing new. And yet TADA! Youth Theater's musicalization of a pair of Ezra Jack Keats stories is pretty daring because most theater companies stay far away from the award-winning author/illustrator. Yes, he's famous and many of his books are beloved, so adapting his work might seem like a no-brainer. But here's the thing: While Keats' tales are quite evocative on the page, with moody illustrations and sparse text that capture the inner lives of his characters, there isn't a lot of action. How the heck do you make that theatrical?

Well, TADA!—a company made up of talented local kids ages 8 to 18 that we're always raving about—decided to give it a go. How did they fare?

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  • Chelsea
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Apr 22 2013
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Bryant Park and Other Midtown West Playgrounds for NYC Kids

Bryant Park and Other Midtown West Playgrounds for NYC Kids

Great playgrounds aren't the first thing you picture when you think about Midtown West. However, if you move away from Times Square and roam the side streets, you'll be surprised at how many parks and playgrounds you'll find.

Of course Midtown West's most famous green space is Bryant Park, and we could easily do an entire post on all of the cool things for kids there, from the carousel to the seasonal ice-skating rink. The one thing it doesn't have? A playground. As we conclude our month-long focus on Midtown West, we take a look at our top five outdoor romping spots in the area, from small local playgrounds to amenity-filled multiacre parks to a public plaza with an iconic Tom Otterness play structure. You can find all of our posts about the neighborhood in our Midtown West Kids Guide including our roundup of indoor places to play.

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  • Uptown
  • Midtown West
Apr 22 2013
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Take the Kids—10 Ways to Enjoy Gutai: Splendid Playground at the Guggenheim Museum with Children

Take the Kids—10 Ways to Enjoy Gutai: Splendid Playground at the Guggenheim Museum with Children

One of the things we always try to do at Mommy Poppins is to look beyond typical kid activities and share cultural happenings that aren't aimed at children but can be enriching and fun for the whole family. Many of my family's most amazing NYC moments are when my mini-mes found inspiration and excitement in some amazing happening that was a little bit above their heads.

In that vein, we're starting a new series called Take the Kids where we'll highlight a grown-up exhibit, performance or other event that we shared with our kids and everyone loved. We acknowledge that all kids and families are different and—especially when you are pushing boundaries—not everyone will dig the same thing. Our goal here is to encourage you to try something new.

Our first Take the Kids pick is the Guggenheim Museum's Gutai: Splendid Playground, an artistic treat my usually reticent son couldn't get enough of. Read on to find out what this exhibit has in store for kids, how to get the most out of your visit, plus inspiration for activities to try at home. Bonus: We're giving away some special prizes from the Guggenheim Museum to encourage everyone to share their visit to the exhibit, too.

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Things to do Today

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The 18th Annual Lower East Side Festival Of The Arts Street Fair & Youth Program
Theater for the New City
Various times
Kings County Fair
Aviator Sports and Events Center
Various times
Dance Africa 2013 Bazaar
Brooklyn Academy of Music
Various times
Rennie Harris RHAW
The New Victory Theater
Various times
Governors Island Opening Weekend
Governors Island National Monument
10:00am
View all events
Kings County Fair
Aviator Sports and Events Center
Various times
Rennie Harris RHAW
The New Victory Theater
Various times
Dance Africa 2013 Bazaar
Brooklyn Academy of Music
Various times
Governors Island Opening Weekend
Governors Island National Monument
10:00am
New York Aquarium: Partial Reopening
New York Aquarium
10:00am
View all events
Dance Africa 2013 Bazaar
Brooklyn Academy of Music
Various times
Kings County Fair
Aviator Sports and Events Center
Various times
Governors Island Opening Weekend
Governors Island National Monument
10:00am
Opening Weekend: Design Zone
New York Hall of Science
10:00am
Opening: Doodle 4 Google exhibit
American Museum of Natural History
Various times
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Summer Salute To Heroes
INTREPID Sea, Air, & Space Museum
Various times
Catch & Release Fishing
Charles A. Dana Discovery Center
10:00am
Silly Sing Along with Mike Gold
LARKcafe
10:00am
Preschool Play
Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Park
10:00am
Arts & Crafts, Snack and Chat
RHOW_BK
10:30am
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Moosiki Kids Demo Class
Murray Hill Wee Ones CLub
Various times
Catch & Release Fishing
Charles A. Dana Discovery Center
10:00am
Preschool Play
Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Park
10:00am
The Dad Beats
LARKcafe
10:30am
Open Play Session
JACK
10:30am
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CityParks PuppetMobile: Little Red's Hood
Washington Square Park
5:00pm
Harborlore Festival
Various times
The 20th Annual Red Hook Fest
Red Hook
Various times
Catch & Release Fishing
Charles A. Dana Discovery Center
10:00am
River Tots On Pier 25
Pier 25, Hudson River Park
10:00am
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Fun Fridays Kid Concert
Putnam Triangle Plaza
10:00am
The Girl Who Forgot To Sing Badly
The Duke on 42nd Street
Various times
The 20th Annual Red Hook Fest
Red Hook
Various times
Trial Class with Eastside Westside Music Together
Manhattan Church of Christ
9:30am
Catch & Release Fishing
Charles A. Dana Discovery Center
10:00am
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Welcome to Mommy Poppins

MommyMommy Poppins is New York City's favorite free online resource for parents and kids where you'll discover the inside skinny on things to do, see, learn, play, make, read, splash, eat, run amok, party and envy in the New York area with kids. I hope you like the site. Feel free to email me if you have any questions.Anna

From the region

Mommy Poppins

  • This Week: Memorial Day Weekend in NYC and Beyond, Beaches After Sandy, Family Day Trips, Mommy Poppins App
  • World Science Festival 2013: Free Street Fair and Other Science Fun for NYC Kids
  • Memorial Day Weekend for NYC Kids: Governors Island Family Festival, Dinosaur Safari, Beach Season, New York Aquarium Reopens
  • Brand-New Queens Amusement Park: Fantasy Forest at the Flushing Meadows Carousel
  • NYC Beaches After Sandy: What to Expect at Rockaway, Coney Island, Brighton Beach and Others in 2013

Mommy Poppins

  • Long Island Kids' Activities May 25, 26, & 27: Memorial Day Weekend Bethpage Air Show, Community Mosaic Street Painting Festival
  • Great Long Island Beaches for Families Post-Sandy
  • Train Museums, Exhibits and Rides on Long Island
  • Strawberry Fields: 4 Strawberry Picking Farms on Long Island (and a Couple of Festivals)
  • Long Island Kids' Activities May 18 & 19: EMCON3 Anime Festival, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Fleece & Fiber Fair

Mommy Poppins

  • Great Day Trips in NJ: Wild West City
  • Mostly Free and Fun Things To Do With NJ Kids This Memorial Day Weekend May 25-27
  • Organic Farm Shares in New Jersey
  • Take a PEEC: Visit the Pocono Environmental Education Center
  • Kid-Friendly NJ-Based Party Boats

Mommy Poppins

  • CT Open House Day in Connecticut June 8th: Fairfield County Participants
  • Mommy Poppins App Is Coming! Help Us Launch It and Win Cool Rewards!
  • Mostly Free and Fun Things to do with the Kids this Memorial Day Weekend in Connecticut: Parades, Fairs and Picnics
  • Memorial Day Parades and Events in Litchfield County
  • Memorial Day Events and Parades in New Haven County
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