Anna Fader

Founder & CEO of Mommy Poppins
Anna was born in Park Slope, spent her early years in the West Village. By the time she graduated high school, she had lived in 4 of the 5 boroughs. Growing up in NYC in the '70s meant the streets were her playgrounds. Museums and avant garde music venues were the kid-friendly activities. And living downtown taught her the importance of creating community for families in NYC.

Now, raising her own two children in the city, she tries to create the same sense of magic and community she felt growing up, despite today's more commercialized version of kid-friendly New York.

She started Mommy Poppins in 2007 to share a more artsy, educational, uncommercial, community-oriented vision of raising kids in New York City. Today Mommy Poppins is relied on by millions of families as the authority on the best things to do with kids beyond New York City: from Boston to Philly, Los Angeles, Houston and travel guides for dozens more cities and destinations.

Latest posts by Anna

Mother of All Giveaways: Metropolitan Moms Cooking Class

Submitted by Anna Fader on Mon, 05/05/2008 - 7:37pm

We're in day two of our Mother of All Giveaways. And have we told you what we have in store? Today, a deluxe Hands-On Cooking class for moms. Later in the week we will be giving away flowers, beautifully designed mommy calling cards, a beauty day, and an incredible portrait package with a professional photographer. Don't miss any of these great giveaways!

Mother of All Giveaways Day Two: Metropolitan Moms Hands On Cooking Class

The Mother of All Mother's Day Giveaways

Submitted by Anna Fader on Sun, 05/04/2008 - 4:54pm

Shouldn't every day be Mother's Day? Well, this week on Mommy Poppins, it is. We're celebrating Moms and honoring our readers with a full week of giveaways. We've got some great prizes totaling thousands of dollars in value and we want you to have it, so enter every day this week!

Mother of All Giveaways Day One: The Fine Art of Family
We are really happy to kick off our week of super big give aways with a gift that all moms love - jewelry!

Steal This!: Luxury Dresses for Old Navy Prices

Submitted by Anna Fader on Fri, 05/02/2008 - 2:21pm

We don't write about high end stuff here that much, but it's not because we don't like nice stuff, we just prefer to tell people about how to get the best stuff (whether it's stuff to do or buy) without spending a fortune. But we're just as happy to buy beautiful luxury goods as the next person when we can grab it for a steal.

Smitherman & Barnwell, the luxury design house for children, is having a HUGE sale online on Etsy. Regular prices for their luxury collection start at $100 and up, but the sale price for dresses are mostly in the $25-50 dollar range. These are stunning, classic designer dresses, made from imported Italian fabrics, perfect for little girls aged 12 months to 5 years. Shop while supplies last!

By the way, my other secret for beautiful Italian little girl dresses is

Free, Fabulous Friday: It's Festivals Time!

Submitted by Anna Fader on Thu, 05/01/2008 - 3:32pm

Festival Season has begun. This weekend alone there's over a dozen. We've picked out the really good ones for (mostly) free, fabulous fun this weekend. If it rains, take your umbrella and boots and be glad everyone else stayed home.

Not exactly a festival, but also of note to all those with little (or big) comic book lovers, Saturday, May 3rd is Free Comic Book Day. That's not a joke. Walk into any participating comic book store and they will give you free comic books. Type in your zip code to find participating comic book stores. There are several in NYC including Forbidden Planet, St Marks Comics, and Rocketship in Brooklyn.

Eight festivals actually worth going to:

How to Make Mommy Friends and Meet Other Parents in NYC

Submitted by Anna Fader on Wed, 04/30/2008 - 3:10pm

Bowery Babes
THIS POST HAS BEEN UPDATED. PLEASE SEE THE NEWER VERSION HERE
It's almost Mother's Day, time to celebrate motherhood. And what better way to celebrate being a mom than to get together with other moms and support each other. Let's face it, when you are a new parent New York can be like a sea of humanity: people, people everywhere, but not a soul to commiserate with. Finding the right parenting group can give you an instant social network to share the trials and tribulations of parenthood. Some mothers groups plan events and get-togethers, some offer seminars and discussions on pertinent topics, and some are just a place to chat on-line. Here are some of the best NYC parenting groups for moms and dads of every stripe.

Little Naturalists see Nature All Around in NYC

Submitted by Anna Fader on Mon, 04/28/2008 - 4:23pm

You don't have to move to the suburbs to experience nature right in your own backyard. Here in New York City we have more nature all around us than most people realize. I asked Leslie Day, author of Field Guide to the Natural World of New York City, to give NYC parents some ideas for how to find, experience and learn about nature with kids in New York. Read her article below for NYC nature activities; and I highly recommend her book, with detailed information on the flora and fauna of NYC and where you can find them, as an excellent resource to help you get more nature out of NYC with kids!

What's new at Mommy Poppins

Submitted by Anna Fader on Sun, 04/27/2008 - 4:31pm

If you were out of town last week or haven't been to the site lately for any reason, here are some updates and things you shouldn't miss:

The deadline for our Great Green Giveaway is tonight. This is actually 9 giveaways of really fun, cool earth-friendly stuff. Don't miss it. Next week we are doing another whole week of giveaways to celebrate Mother's Day. These are big prizes including a portrait package, a spa package, jewelry and more. Don't miss out.

Visit our new preschool page. You'll find an overview of the preschool admissions process, reviews of some of our favorite programs and some reader submitted preschool reviews, plus hundreds of listings for Manhattan and Brooklyn preschools from The Savvy Source.

Still looking for the right camp for this summer? Check out our Camp Guide. In addition to our camp selections, we have camp listings from 60 camps including Preschool Summer Programs, NYC Day Camps, Country Day Camps and Sleep Away Camps.

We've added some discount codes and links at the bottom of the page.