Anna Fader

Founder of Mommy Poppins

A fourth-generation Brooklynite, Anna started Mommy Poppins in 2007 to help families find the best things to do with kids in NYC, with a particular emphasis on sharing activities that are free, affordable, and enriching. The site, used by millions of families, has grown to become the ultimate resource for parents in the major US cities, plus travel guides for 100s of destinations.

Anna is a believer in the magic of summer camps, traveling with kids, and that you can raise kids on a budget and still have a rich life full of amazing memories. Anna's first Mommy Poppins book, The Young Traveler's Journal and Activity Book, published in 2025 and co-written with her daughter, Amelia Eigerman, brings that ethos to life, in addition to this website.

Latest posts by Anna

Mommy Poppins Travel Activity Book for Kids is Coming!

Submitted by Anna Fader on Sat, 03/22/2025 - 12:35pm

Mommy Poppins has jumped out of the internet into a real, hold it in your hands book!

Exciting news: our first ever Mommy Poppins book is coming out on May 6th, 2025. If you pre-order your copy today, we’ve created a fun pre-order bonus for you.

I’m so excited to finally share something really special with you—our very first book, The Young Traveler’s Journal and Activity Book! Since starting Mommy Poppins in 2007, first as my personal blog and then watching it grow into this amazing community, I’ve been traveling with my family all over the world in order to share our travel tips, destination guides, and so many activity ideas. Now, Mommy Poppins is jumping out of the internet into a real, hold it in your hands book for the first time. I can’t wait for you all to see it!

Designed for curious kids ages 7–12, the book is packed with all kinds of fun activities to keep them entertained and engaged—whether you’re flying halfway around the world or just exploring your own neighborhood. What I love most about it is that it’s more than just something to keep them busy. The activities and prompts teach valuable travel skills, like being flexible, staying curious, and handling little bumps along the way. Honestly, those are skills that come in handy whether you’re traveling or just dealing with everyday life!

BABYTOPIA Returns in April with Big Fun for Young Families

Submitted by Anna Fader on Fri, 03/14/2025 - 6:17am

Mommy Poppins and Brooklyn Bridge Parents will host their second annual BABYTOPIA on Saturday, April 5.

Attention new parents, parents-to-be, and parents of preschoolers, BABYTOPIA is returning to Atlantic Terminal on Saturday, April 5, 2025, and registration is now open!

BABYTOPIA is Mommy Poppins' latest IRL event, staged in cooperation with Brooklyn Bridge Parents. It's a day dedicated to kids ages 0-5 and their parents and is a great place to make connections with local businesses catering to young families, including daycare and medical providers, kids activity providers, and more. Best of all: This action-packed day of fun is completely FREE to attend.

Find more details and register for BABYTOPIA below, then bookmark our NYC Baby Guide to stay up to date on all the need-to-know information for new parents.

Free and Cheap Summer Camps in NYC for Kids

Submitted by Anna Fader on Mon, 02/10/2025 - 12:05pm

Registration is now open for the reasonably priced summer camps at YMCA locations in NYC.

Finding summer camps in NYC can be especially stressful for your family's finances, and while we want our children to have a fun, rewarding, and safe experience, we don't want to dig into our retirement fund to pay for it. New York City families are lucky because free and cheap summer camps abound all across the five boroughs, where arts and education funding subsidizes some excellent New York City summer camps so all children can enjoy fantastic summer camps in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island.

Read on for all our picks for free and affordable summer camps in NYC. Find more summer camps in New York City, including preschool summer camps, great sleepaway summer camps in the Northeast, and STEM summer day camps in our Summer Camp Guide and NYC Camp Directory, where you can search for summer camps in NYC by type, age, and neighborhood.

Snow Day Activities: 55 Fun Things to Do on a Snow Day Indoors

Submitted by Anna Fader on Thu, 01/23/2025 - 10:55am

Pillow Fort photo by Seamus McCauley via Flickr 2 .0

Snow day activities are a must when school is closed and you've got a house full of stir-crazy kids. Sure, you can go sledding and try some of the ideas on our list of snow games for kids. But when the kiddos get too cold and are ready to come indoors, it's only a matter of time before they start to get bored.

Luckily, there are lots of fun things to do on a snow day indoors that don't involve zoning out In front of a screen all day. From fun crafts and games to interesting STEM projects and easy recipes, here are 50 snow day activities for kids of all ages.

Find more things to do on a snow day indoors in our Guide to Boredom Busters for Kids.

Don't Miss CAMPTOPIA, Our Amazing Indoor Festival with Camps

Submitted by Anna Fader on Sun, 01/19/2025 - 6:50am

Visit our NYC experience for a surprise photo moment with iconic WICKED displays

If you've been to a Mommy Poppins event, you know they are always full of fun, but our upcoming CAMPTOPIA summer camp fair may be one of the best yet.

We've convinced top area day and sleepaway camps to bring their activities to CAMPTOPIA so you can try them out and see how much fun summer camp can be. Enjoy arts and crafts, slime making, cooking, basketball, soccer, a bounce house, and more—all at this FREE event, which is sponsored by Peppermint.

Find all the details and how to sign up for CAMPTOPIA below.

Best Sledding Hills in NYC

Submitted by Anna Fader on Sun, 01/19/2025 - 6:41am

Central Park has some great hills for a fast ride. Photo by Jody Mercier

When the flakes fly, the sledding hills in New York City really come to life. Families flock to these local sledding spots spread across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island for wintertime fun with the kids. In compiling our list of the best sledding hills in NYC, we asked our readers, family, and Mommy Poppins writers and editors for their top recommendations for sledding hills citywide.

Looking for more snowy day activities? Read our roundup of snow day boredom busters, and bookmark our NYC Kids Guide to Winter Fun for more seasonal activities.

Free Museums and Free Museum Days in NYC for Kids

Submitted by Anna Fader on Fri, 01/17/2025 - 12:11pm

The Met offers pay-what-you wish admission at all times to New Yorkers and kids always attend for free. Photo by Jody Mercier

When it comes to saving money on culture, there are tons of free museum days and free admission hours offered at a wide variety of New York City's top museums, zoos, gardens, and cultural institutions. Many of these local cultural hubs offer free or reduced admission on certain nights, days, or hours at least once a month—a city perk no busy, cash-strapped parent should miss! Plus, many grown-up museums let kids in for free year-round.

It can be hard to keep track of when and where these free museum days in NYC are available, so we've compiled an exhaustive list of reduced or free admission days at our favorite NYC cultural spots from the Bronx Zoo to the Brooklyn Children's Museum and every free museum in between.

As always, you can visit our Family Activity Calendar for more budget-friendly kid activities every day or visit our NYC Kids Guide to Museums, Galleries, and Exhibits for the latest kid-friendly exhibitions. Also, don't forget to put your library card to work for free admission at many of these same places!

Anna Fader

Latest posts by Anna

Pages